Neutron interferometer

Overview

Interferometry inherently depends on the wave nature of the object. As pointed out by de Broglie in his PhD-thesis, particles, including neutrons, can behave like waves (the so called Wave-particle duality, now explained in the general framework of quantum mechanics). Since free neutrons only live about 11 minutes, experiments need to be carried out near a neutron source, usually a nuclear power plant. Since neutrons react only very slightly to electromagnetic forces, special optics is required, nevertheless many exeperiments were carried out, especially in the 1960s.

See also

V. F. Sears, Neutron Optics, Oxford University Press (1998).