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Fiction. © Copyright 1998, Jim Loy
Professor Alexiev positioned the laser so that it pointed straight down, toward the table. He placed a piece of paper under the laser. He flipped the switch, and a vivid, tiny, red spot appeared in the middle of the paper. He switched off the laser. It seemed to be working.
Next, he positioned a glass bowl under the laser. In the bowl, he placed a spoon, with its handle sticking out of the bowl at one side. And, into the bowl, he poured a measured quantity of milk.
Then he placed a microphone next to the bowl, and plugged it into a tape recorder, which stood off to the side. He powered up the tape recorder. He spoke into the microphone, "Testing one two three four." A needle on a meter on the front of the tape recorder moved in response to his voice. He was ready to begin the experiment.
He started recording. The reels turned, as the tape moved over the record head. He fired up the laser. The bright red light shined into the glass bowl, reproducing the bright red spot on the surface of the milk. And he heard the sound that he was hoping to hear. The microphone heard the sound, too. And the tape recorder recorded it.
The experiment was a success, of Nobel proportions.
Dr. Alexiev set up the laser on the desk of the lecture auditorium. His students were entering the room, and sitting in their seats. He placed the glass bowl under the laser. He placed the spoon in the bowl. He poured the milk. He placed the microphone next to the bowl. And he plugged the microphone into the tape recorder.
Some of the students were curious. Others talked to each other about other things. The professor plugged two large speakers into the tape recorder.
The bell rang. And the lecture began. "Newton and his contemporaries were able to prove that light is made up of waves, not particles. Later, scientists were able to prove that light is made up of particles, not waves."
"What is light, a particle or a wave? Well, it turns out that it is both. If your experiment is designed to measure some wave property of light, such as its wavelength, then light will exhibit wave properties. If your experiment is designed to measure some particle property of light, such as momentum, then light will exhibit particle properties."
"This is called, 'wave/particle duality.' Light is both a wave and a particle."
"One might ask, 'Is this all?' Is there only a 'duality'? Or, is there perhaps a third manifestation of light? If we design an experiment to measure a third kind of property of light, say, 'Rice Crispiness' (there was laughter in the audience), might not the experiment show Rice Crispy properties (more laughter).
He switched on the laser. And the students heard, over the large speakers, "snap, crackle, pop" coming from the red light in the glass bowl.
Author's note: I suspect that maybe "snap, crackle, pop" is a registered trademark of the Kellogg company. No other breakfast cereal may utter those words, without giving credit to Rice Crispies.