The goal of the Physics/Fields Colloquium is to feature scientists whose
work is of interest to both the physics and the mathematical science community.
The series has been running since the Spring of 2007.
Usually there is one speaker per semester. Each speaker gives a primary, general
talk in the regular physics colloquium venue and, whenever possible, a second,
more specialised talk at the Fields Institute.
Previous speakers have been Andy Ruina (March 2011), Eitan Grinspun (November
2010), Jane Wang (March 2010), Carson Chow (December 2009), Ehud Meron (March
2009),
Andrea Liu (Nov 2008), Jun Zhang (October 2007), and Phil Holmes (March 2007).
Index of 2010-11 seminars
2011-12 Schedule
|
|
October 27, 2011
4:10 - 5:00 pm
MP 102
|
Yves Couder (Université Paris Diderot)
http://www.lps.ens.fr/recherche/formes/
Wave-particle duality at the macroscopic scale
It is usually assumed that the quantum wave-particle duality can have
no counterpart in classical physics. Is this entirely true? We came
across this question when we found that a droplet bouncing on a vibrated
bath can couple to the surface wave it excites and become propagative.
Through several experiments on this classical system we address a general
question. How can a continuous and spatially extended wave have a common
dynamics with a localized and discrete droplet? Surprisingly some quantum-like
behaviors emerge; a form of uncertainty and a form of quantization are
observed. I will show that both properties are related to the "path
memory" contained in the wave field. The relation of this experiment
with the pilot wave models proposed by de Broglie and by Bohm for quantum
mechanics will be discussed.
|
back to top
