Wave-Particle Duality
We have seen in the last section that light waves, in the photoelectric effect, behave
as if they are particles. The particle-like behavior of electromagnetic waves was also
instrumental in the explanation of the Compton effect. In this experiment. an x-ray
beam was incident on a solid. A portion of the x-ray beam was deflected and the frequency
of the deflected wave had shifted compared to the incident wave. The observed
change in frequency and the deflected angle corresponded exactly to the expected
results of a "billiard ball" collision between an x-ray quanta, or photon, and
an electron in which both energy and momentum are conserved.
In 1924. de Broglie postulated the existence of matter waves. He suggested that
since waves exhibit particle-like behavior, then particles should be expected to
show wave-like properties. The hypothesis of de Broglie was the existence of a
wave-particle duality principle. The momentum of a photon is given by
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as if they are particles. The particle-like behavior of electromagnetic waves was also
instrumental in the explanation of the Compton effect. In this experiment. an x-ray
beam was incident on a solid. A portion of the x-ray beam was deflected and the frequency
of the deflected wave had shifted compared to the incident wave. The observed
change in frequency and the deflected angle corresponded exactly to the expected
results of a "billiard ball" collision between an x-ray quanta, or photon, and
an electron in which both energy and momentum are conserved.
In 1924. de Broglie postulated the existence of matter waves. He suggested that
since waves exhibit particle-like behavior, then particles should be expected to
show wave-like properties. The hypothesis of de Broglie was the existence of a
wave-particle duality principle. The momentum of a photon is given by
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