is defined as the phenomenon where under certain circumstances a particle exhibits wave properties and under other conditions

a wave exhibits properties of a particle.

UNIT 11: WAVE PARTICLE DUALITY

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11.1 de Broglies relation

From the Plancks quantum theory, the energy of a photon is given by

From the Einsteins Special Theory of Relativity, the energy of a photon is given by E = mc 2 and mc = p (11.1b) By equating eq. (11.1a) and (11.1b), hence particle aspect (11.1c) wave aspect From the eq. (11.1c), thus light has momentum and exhibits particle properties. This also show light is dualistic in nature, behaving is some situations like waves and in others like particles (photons). Table 11.1a shows the experiment evidences to show wave particle duality of light. Wave Particle Table 11.1a
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c E = hf and f = hc E= (11.1a)

E = pc

pc =

hc

p=

Youngs double slit Young experiment Diffraction experiment

Photoelectric effect Compton effect

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Based on wave particle duality of light, Louis de Broglie suggested that matter such as electron and proton might also have a dual nature. He proposed that any particle of momentum p should have a wavelength (now called the de Broglie wavelength) given by wavelength

=
where

h h = p mv

(11.1d)

de Broglie relation
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h : Planck constant = 6.63 10 m : mass of a particle v : velocity of a particle

Js

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This wave properties of matter is called de Broglie waves or matter waves. waves The de Broglie relation was confirmed in 1927 when Davisson and Germer succeeded in diffracting electron which shows that electrons have wave properties. properties Example 1 : In a photoelectric effect experiment, a light source of wavelength 500 nm is incident on a potassium surface. Find the momentum and energy of a photon used. (Given the speed of photon in the vacuum, c = 3.00 x 108 m s-1 and Planck constant, h = 6.63 x 10-34 J s)
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Solution: =500x10-9 m By using the de Broglie relation, thus the momentum of a photon is

h p p = 1.33 10 27 kg m s 1

By applying the Plancks quantum theory, thus the energy of a photon is hc

E=

Example 2 : Calculate the de Broglie wavelength for a. a car of mass 2.00 x 103 kg moving at 50.0 m s-1. b. an electron of mass 9.11 x 10-31 kg moving at 1.00 x 108 m s-1. (Given Planck constant, h = 6.63 x 10-34 J s) Solution: a. Given m= 2.00 x 103 kg and v= Using the de Broglie relation, thus

E = 3.98 10 19 J

50.0 m s-1

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h mv = 6.63 10 39 m =

b.

Given m= 9.11 x 10-31 kg and v= Using the de Broglie relation, thus

1.00 x 108 m s-1

h mv = 7.28 10 12 m =

11.2 Electron Diffraction

A beam of accelerated electrons strikes on a layer of graphite which is extremely thin and a diffraction pattern is seen on the tube face as shown in figure 11.2a. graphite film anode e +4000 V cathode electron diffraction
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screen

diffraction pattern

Fig. 11.2a : Electron diffraction tube

This experiment made by Davisson and Germer proves the de Broglie relation was right where the wavelength of the electron is given by

=
where

If the velocity of electrons is increased, the rings are seen to become narrower showing that the wavelength of electrons decreases with increasing velocity as predicted by de broglie (eq. 11.2a). The velocity of electrons are controlled by the applied voltage V across anode and cathode where 1 U = K since U = eV and K = mv 2

h (11.2a) mv m : mass of an electron v : velocity of an electron

eV =

1 2 mv 2 2eV v= m

(11.2b)

By substituting eq. (11.2b) into eq. (11.2a), thus eq. (11.2a) can be written as

=
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h 2 meV

(11.2c)
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Example 3 : a. An electron is accelerated from rest through a potential difference of 1200 V. Find its de Broglie wavelength. b. An electron and a photon has the same wavelength of 0.250 nm. Calculate the momentum and energy (in eV) of the electron and the photon. (Given c = 3.00 x 108 m s-1, h = 6.63 x 10-34 J s , 1 eV=1.60 x 10-19 J, mass of electron m = 9.11 x 10-31 kg, e = 1.60 x 10-19 C ) Solution: a.

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h 2 meV = 3.55 10 11 m b. Given e=p=0.250 x 10-9 m For electron: h pe = 2.65 10 24 kg m s 1 The momentum is pe = e pe 1 2 and its energy is K = me ve and ve = me 2 2 3.85 10 18 pe K= = 24.1 eV K= 7 1.60 10 18 2me =

Given V=1200 V The de Broglie wavelength is

For photon: The momentum is

pe = 2.65 10 24 kg m s 1 same as the electron momentum. and its energy is hc E= p 7 .96 10 16 E= = 4973 eV 1.60 10 19

Example 4 : Compare the de Broglie wavelength of an electron and a proton if they have the same kinetic energy. (Given h = 6.63 x 10-34 J s ,1 eV=1.60 x 10-19 J, me = 9.11 x 10-31 kg, mp = 1.67 x 10-27 kg ) Solution: Ke=Kp=K By using the de Broglie relation below,

h 2meV h = 2 mK

and

eV = K

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The ratio of their de Broglie wavelengths is

h e 2me K = p h 2m p K
mp e = p me
e = 42.8 p

Example 5 : (exercise) a. An electron and a photon have the same wavelengths and the total energy of the electron is 1.0 MeV. Calculate the energy of the photon. b. A particle moves with a speed that is three times that of an electron. If the ratio of the de Broglie wavelengths of this particle and the electron is 1.813 x 10-4, calculate the mass of the particle. (Given h = 6.63 x 10-34 J s ,1 eV=1.60 x 10-19 J, me = 9.11 x 10-31 kg) Ans. : 1.62 x 10-13 J, 1.67 x 10-27 kg
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11.3 Electron Microscope

A practical device that relies on the wave properties of electrons is electron microscope. It is similar to optical compound microscope in many aspects. The advantage of the electron microscope over the optical microscope is the resolving power of the electron microscope is much higher than that of an optical microscope. microscope This is because the electrons can be accelerated to a very high kinetic energy giving them a very short wavelength typically 100 times shorter than those of visible light. Therefore the diffraction effect of light electrons as a wave is much less than that of light. light As a result, electron microscopes are able to distinguish details about 100 times smaller. In operation, a beam of electrons falls on a thin slice of sample. The sample (specimen) to be examined must be very thin (a few micrometres) to minimize the effects such as absorption or scattering of the electrons. The electron beam is controlled by electrostatic or magnetic lenses to focus the beam to an image. The image is formed on a fluorescent screen. There are two types of electron microscopes: Transmission produces a two-dimensional image. twoimage Scanning produces images with a three-dimensional quality. threequality
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Figures 11.3a and 11.3b are diagram of the transmission electron microscope and the scanning electron microscope.

Fig. 11.3b
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Fig. 11.3a

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THE END
Next Unit
UNIT 12 : Atomic Structure

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