The concept of particles being actual waves of something physical is intriguing and differs from the current understanding of quantum mechanics. In the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics, particles are described by wavefunctions, which are mathematical representations of probability amplitudes. These wavefunctions provide information about the probability distribution of a particle's properties, such as its position, momentum, and energy.
However, proposing that particles are actual waves of something physical raises several questions and challenges. Here are a few key considerations:
Wave-particle duality: The wave-particle duality is a fundamental principle in quantum mechanics. It suggests that particles exhibit both wave-like and particle-like behavior depending on how they are observed or measured. This duality is supported by numerous experimental observations and has been validated by the success of quantum mechanics in explaining a wide range of phenomena.
Wave-particle interactions: If particles were physical waves, it raises questions about how they would interact with other particles and fields. The current understanding of quantum mechanics, which treats particles as wavefunctions, provides a robust framework for describing particle interactions and their behaviors in various physical systems.
Conservation laws and quantization: The quantization of certain physical quantities, such as energy levels in atoms, is a crucial aspect of quantum mechanics. It is not clear how this quantization would be explained if particles were actual physical waves, as opposed to probabilistic wavefunctions.
Experimental evidence: The predictions and experimental results obtained from the wave-particle duality framework of quantum mechanics have been consistently successful in explaining and predicting a vast array of phenomena, including the behavior of subatomic particles and the properties of materials. Any alternative theory proposing physical waves as particles would need to account for these well-established experimental observations.
While the idea of particles as physical waves is interesting, it is important to note that the wave-particle duality framework of quantum mechanics has proven to be highly successful in describing the behavior of particles at the microscopic scale. It provides a mathematically robust and experimentally validated framework that has been extensively tested and verified.