23.3. Wave-Particle Duality http://www.ck12.org
23.3 Wave-Particle Duality
Objective
The student will:
- Understand that light has both wave and particle attributes.
Vocabulary
- wave-particle duality:The wave-particle nature of light.
Introduction
In 1927, two physicists, C.J Davisson (1881-1958) and L.H. Germer (1896-1971), conducted an experiment on
electrons scattering through a target made of nickel. Due to an accident in their procedure, the target was changed
to the crystalline form of nickel, which had atoms in a very regular structure.
FIGURE 23.8
Setup of the Davisson-Germer experi-
ment.They found was that the scattered electrons displayed a diffraction pattern, with peaks at certain heights that related
to the spacing of the atoms.