Re: Conducting Wave-Particle debates with students

[Jack Uretsky <jlu@HEP.ANL.GOV>]

Hi Joe-
        There was a time when "wave-particle duality" stood for an
apparent paradox.  The apparent paradox stemmed from a certain mindset
that was trying to come to terms with quantum mechanics.
        Feynman, in particular, has taught us that the mindset that
saw a paradox is not really productive.  Interference, which we first
experienced when playing with sound and light, occurs also with electrons
and atoms.  The two contrasting situations are not waves and particles
but coherence and incoherence.  Given this view, it is difficult to say
what one means by the word "particle."  Without good definitions of
the two words, "wave" and "particle", there is nothing to discuss.
        My advice is: avoid wave-particle duality and get your people
to come to grips with the really important concept: coherence.
                                        Regards,
                                                Jack
On Tue, 23 Jan 2001, Joe wrote:

> Hello, my name is Joe Taylor. I was a high school physics teacher before
> becoming a doctoral student in science education at Penn State University.
> This semester, I am teaching a course for prospective secondary school
> science teachers. The students in this course are studying to teach either
> biology,chemistry, physics, or earth/space science.
>
> As a part of this course, I would like to divide the students in half and
> have each half of the class debate the other regarding the wave-particle
> duality of light. My hope is that the students will learn not only about
> light but also about important aspects of the history and nature of
> science. I was envisioning that the students would build their respective
> arguments by collecting experimental data that supports one or both
> viewpoints.
>
> Here is where I greatly appreciate your advice...
>
> Is conducting such a debate feasible? That is, will the students be able to
> collect convincing data for either argument using everyday materials or
> low-tech lab equipment? Our science education lab does have a decent amount
> of the traditional light and optics apparatus that you might find in a high
> school physics lab.
>
> Will the discussion necessarily become so in-depth that the non-physics
> majors will struggle with the concepts and become disengaged? In my
> experience with conducting other debates concerning science issues, the
> dabate seems to break down when the issues being discussed go beyond the
> content understanding of the participants. The participants,
> understandibly, become less willing to make claims or challenge the claims
> of others.
>
> I have eight, two-hour sessions to: introduce the duality issue, facilitate
> data collection, facilitate the debate, and help the students reflect on
> what they have learned. Does this sound doable? Has anyone tried similar
> approaches?
>
> And finally, if you think its doable, what experiments are both possible
> and most clearly illustrate wave and particle behaviors?
>
>
>
> Joe

--
While [Jane] Austen's majestic use of language is surely diminished in its
translation to English, it is hoped that the following translation conveys
at least a sense of her exquisite command of her native tongue.
                        Greg Nagan from "Sense and Sensibility" in
                     <The 5-MINUTE ILIAD and Other Classics>