Essay on The Duality of Light and Matter - 1203 Words

In school you learned about the atom as though the electrons were particles. But what if you were taught wrong? What if matter is in reality a wave? This is the question raised by Lois de Broglie and is the focus of this essay. First we will cover the difference between particles and waves. Then we will cover the origin of this debate, the duality of light and the double slit experiment. Then we will look at the man behind this unorthodox idea, what his scientific background is and his reasons for suggesting this unorthodox idea. Finally we will examine the data behind this experiment and see if it stands up or not. What are the main differences behind a wave and the particle? A particle has locality, this means it can be in only one†¦show more content†¦In the photoelectric effect light was transmitted onto a metal surface, with certain conditions the light could knock off electrons, its behavior could only be explained by considering light as a particle aka a photon. In Co mpton scattering the radiation of high frequency waves off of electrons could only be explained by considering the radiation in terms of quantified particles. So is light a wave or a particle? Throughout the years the debate has gone back and forth and back and forth. In the 19th century Leon Foucault Established that light moves slower in water than in air which is in favor of wave theory in the same century Maxwell proved that light was an electromagnetic wave. But in the 20th century Max Planck discovers that light is quantified and not continuous and Albert Einstein reestablishes particle theory with his mathematical proof of the photoelectric effect. Interestingly a good example of the ongoing struggle is the fact that J. J. Thompson got the Nobel Prize in 1906 for proving that electrons were particles, but his son received the prize in 1937 for proving electrons to be waves. Of course if scientists were questioning the properties of light why not matter as well? Enter in our m ain character Prince Louis-Victor de Broglie. Prince Louis-Victor de Broglie was born in Dieppe on the fifteenth of August in the year 1892. He graduated from the Lycà ©e Janson of Sailly inShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of Louis De Broglie865 Words   |  4 Pagesexperiments like the Photoelectric effect, light behaves like a particle. In diffraction experiments, light is shown to behave like waves. This phenomena can be explained with de Broglie’s wave-particle duality theory. An experiment that can characterize whether an object has properties like a wave or particle is called the two-slit experiment. This was utilized while testing a few of Louis de Broglie’s hypothesizes. The experiment consists of â€Å"a point source of light [that] illuminates two narrow adjacentRead MoreDuality Exists in Many Literature Books967 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"One thing you learn when you’ve lived as long as I have - people aren’t all good, and people aren’t all bad. 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