Why can't we always predict where a ball will roll?
Weak localization
Why can't we always predict where a ball will roll?
Imagine you're at a carnival, playing a game where you throw a ball at a wall with random holes. You expect it to bounce back, but sometimes it just stops.
The ball's path is like a wave in a quantum system. Anderson localization occurs when disorder, like the holes in the wall, causes the wave to stop spreading, just as the ball stops moving.
Example
If the wall has a 50% chance of having a hole at any spot, you might expect the ball to stop after a few throws. But with Anderson localization, the ball stops after just one throw if the hole is right there.
Remember this
Anderson localization is the reason why waves in a disordered quantum system can suddenly stop spreading instead of continuing indefinitely.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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