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5: Matter Waves

  • Page ID
    9740
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    Inspired by the dual nature of light, in 1923 Louis DeBroglie postulated, in his PhD thesis, that material particles also have both a particle-like and a wave-like nature. He conjectured that the frequency and wavelength of a “particle” are related to its energy and momentum in the same way as the frequency and wavelength of light are related to its energy and momentum, namely

    \[E -hf\]

    \[p =\dfrac{h}{\lambda}\]

    After the experimental verification of this prediction, DeBroglie was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1929.

    Contributors and Attributions


    This page titled 5: Matter Waves is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Paul D'Alessandris.

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