[petmon]

The case for particles is quantization. We've never seen half a photon or half an electron. This dates back to the ultraviolet catastrophe. If it was all about waves that would be easy; we reluctantly acknowledge particles because Nature has forced us to.

[timberfox]

Quanta is fundamental to Quantum Field Theory so it can't be the deviding factor. I would say we are biased to think in terms of particles because our brains and senses have evolved to perceive macro objects as having a precise location and definite boundaries, thus we have a tendency to project that macro structure onto everything we want to describe.

[Jensson]

But they still aren't waves. Waves can be split, quantum particlewaves can't. This is a fundamental difference and makes them neither waves nor particles.

[timberfox]

What wave are you referring to?

[Jensson]

It is equally wrong to view them as classical particles as it is to view them as classical waves. Classical particles with a probability wave is more accurate than both of those, but still not fully accurate. However I don't think there is any better likeness than that, to explain better you'd need to teach the math and equations behind quantum mechanics which usually takes years.

[akomtu]

Can this probabilities field simply be the magnetic field? An electron has magnetic field that travels at the speed of light, while the electron is crawling behind, and by the time it enters one of the slits, its magnetic field has already formed the interference pattern that will guide the electron further.

[evanb]

Not OP but (classical) electromagnetic waves, water waves, and sound waves can all be split arbitrarily.

[cycomanic]

Not all waves can be split, e.g. Solitons which are named because of their particle like nature and can be observed in optics, water chains of oscillators and more.

I think that is the crux of the issue, we have waves with a discrete energy, we can call them particles but they are very different from the traditional image that people have of what a particle is.

[Jensson]

You can easily split solitons in water, just cut it in the middle and both sides will continue to live on as the water displacement field is still there.

On the other hand, try grab a part of an electron cloud around an atom and you will either get the entire electron or you will grab nothing. No matter what you do you can't separate one part of the cloud from the other, they are always connected. Trying to grab the electron will either remove all of the wave parts outside, or remove all of the wave part you try to grab. There is no classical system that behaves like this.

[selimthegrim]

The quantum Hall effect would like a word