DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

SRI CHAITANYA TECHNO SCHOOL

No. 79, Athipalayam Road, Near JAS college of education,

Chinnavedampatti, Coimbatore - 641049

A PROJECT REPORT ON THE TITLE

“To study the De Broglie wavelength of matter waves”

FOR
AISSCE 2023 -2024 EXAMINATION

As a part of the

“PHYSICS”

SUBMITTED BY

A.SAMANKANNA

Under the guidance of

This is to certify that the project report entitled DENTAL MANAGEMENT is
a bonafide work done by SAMAN KANNA.A of grade 12 is submitted in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of CBSE’s AISSCE
Examination 2023-2024 and has been carried out under my direct supervision
and guidance. This report or a similar report on the topic has not been
submitted for any other examination and does not form a part of any other
course undergone by the candidate.

Internal Examiner External Examiner

DECLARATION
There by declare that my project on the title DENTAL
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM is submitted in partial
fulfillment of CBSE’s AISSCE Examination 2021-22 and has
been carried out by me under the guidance and super vision
of Mr.R . SARAVANAKUMAR.
1. Certificate
2. Acknowledgement
3. Declaration
4. Objective
5. Introduction
6. Principle
7. Construction
8. Materials
9. Experimental procedure
10. Observation
11. Result
12. Sources of error
13. Precautions
14. Bibliography
To study the De Broglie wavelength of matter
waves
Matter waves are a phenomenon that arises from the
waveparticle duality of quantum mechanics. According to
this principle, every particle of matter, such as an electron,
a proton, or an atom, can also behave like a wave under
certain conditions. The wavelength of such a wave is
called the De Broglie wavelength, named after the French
physicist Louis de Broglie, who proposed this idea in
1924. The De Broglie wavelength of a particle is inversely
proportional to its momentum, and it can be calculated by
the formula:
λ=h/p

where λ is the De Broglie wavelength, h is the Planck’s

constant, and p is the momentum of the particle.

The De Broglie wavelength of matter waves is usually

very small for macroscopic objects, and it is not
observable in everyday life. However, for microscopic
particles, such as electrons, the De Broglie wavelength
can be comparable to the size of atoms or molecules, and
it can have significant effects on their behavior. For
example, electrons can exhibit diffraction and interference
patterns when they pass through a slit or a crystal lattice,
just like light waves. These phenomena can be used to
measure the De Broglie wavelength of electrons and to
study their properties.
The purpose of this experiment is to perform such a
measurement and to study the De Broglie wavelength of
matter waves. We will use an electron beam as the source
of matter waves, and a graphite crystal as the diffraction
grating. We will observe the diffraction pattern produced
by the electrons on a fluorescent screen, and we will use
Bragg’s law to relate the angle of diffraction to the
spacing between the atoms in the crystal. We will then use
the formula for the De Broglie wavelength to calculate the
momentum and the kinetic energy of the electrons. We
will also compare our results with those obtained by using
an electron microscope or a spectrometer.

The principle of the experiment to study the De Broglie

wavelength of matter waves is based on the hypothesis
proposed by Louis de Broglie in 1924, which states that all
particles of matter, such as electrons, protons, or atoms,
can also behave like waves under certain conditions. The
wavelength of such a wave is called the De Broglie
wavelength, and it is inversely proportional to the
momentum of the particle.

The experiment involves using an electron beam as the

source of matter waves, and a graphite crystal as the
diffraction grating. When the electron beam passes through
the crystal, it undergoes diffraction and interference, just
like light waves. The diffraction pattern produced by the
electrons is observed on a fluorescent screen, and the angle
of diffraction is measured. By using Bragg’s law, which
relates the angle of diffraction to the spacing between the
atoms in the crystal, the De Broglie wavelength of the
electrons can be calculated. The De Broglie wavelength
can also be used to find the momentum and the kinetic
energy of the electrons.

The construction of the experiment to study the De Broglie

wavelength of matter waves is as follows:
You will need an electron gun, a graphite crystal, a
fluorescent screen, a vacuum tube, a power supply, and a
measuring device.
Connect the electron gun to the power supply and adjust
the voltage to control the speed and intensity of the
electron beam. The electron gun consists of a cathode, an
anode, and a filament that heats up the cathode and emits
electrons by thermionic emission. The anode accelerates
the electrons towards the graphite crystal.
Place the graphite crystal at a suitable distance from the
electron gun inside the vacuum tube. The graphite crystal
acts as a diffraction grating for the electron beam, as it has
a regular arrangement of carbon atoms in a hexagonal
lattice.
The spacing between the atoms is about 0.2 nm. Place the
fluorescent screen behind the graphite crystal inside the
vacuum tube. The fluorescent screen is coated with a
material that emits light when struck by electrons. The
screen will display the diffraction pattern produced by the
electrons after passing through the crystal.

The theory for the experiment to study the De Broglie

wavelength of matter waves is based on the hypothesis
proposed by Louis de Broglie in 1924, which states that all
particles of matter, such as electrons, protons, or atoms, can
 also behave like waves under certain conditions. The
wavelength of such a wave is called the De Broglie
wavelength, and it is inversely proportional to the
momentum of the particle. The formula for the De Broglie
wavelength is:

λ=h/p
where λ is the De Broglie wavelength, h is the Planck’s
constant, and p is the momentum of the particle.

The experiment involves using an electron beam as the

source of matter waves, and a graphite crystal as the
diffraction grating. When the electron beam passes through
the crystal, it undergoes diffraction and interference, just
like light waves. The diffraction pattern produced by the
electrons is observed on a fluorescent screen, and the angle
of diffraction is measured. By using Bragg’s law, which
relates the angle of diffraction to the spacing between the
atoms in the crystal, the De Broglie wavelength of the
electrons can be calculated.

1. Electron gun

2. A graphite crystal
3. A fluorescent screen

4. Vaccum tube

5. Power Supply

6. Measuring scale

1. Connect the electron gun to the power supply and

adjust the voltage to control the speed and intensity of
the electron beam. The electron gun consists of a
cathode, an anode, and a filament that heats up the
cathode and emits electrons by thermionic emission.
The anode accelerates the electrons towards the
graphite crystal.
2. Place the graphite crystal at a suitable distance from
the electron gun inside the vacuum tube. The graphite
crystal acts as a diffraction grating for the electron
beam, as it has a regular arrangement of carbon atoms
in a hexagonal lattice. The spacing between the atoms
is about 0.2 nm.
3. Place the fluorescent screen behind the graphite crystal
inside the vacuum tube. The fluorescent screen is
 coated with a material that emits light when struck by
electrons. The screen will display the diffraction
pattern produced by the electrons after passing through
the crystal.
4. Measure the angle of diffraction of the first-order
maximum on the screen using a protractor or a ruler.
The angle of diffraction is the angle between the
direction of the incident electron beam and the
direction of the diffracted electron beam. Record this
angle as θ.
5. Use Bragg’s law to calculate the De Broglie
wavelength of matter waves

1. When the electron beam passes through the graphite crystal,

it produces a diffraction pattern on the fluorescent screen.
The diffraction pattern consists of concentric rings of bright
and dark spots.
 2. The angle of diffraction of the first-order maximum on the
screen is measured using a protractor or a ruler. The angle of
diffraction is the angle between the direction of the incident
electron beam and the direction of the diffracted electron
beam. The angle of diffraction depends on the voltage
applied to the electron gun, which determines the speed and
momentum of the electrons.
3. It is observed that a strong peak appears when the voltage is
54 V at a scattering angle of 50° due to constructive
interference effects of the electrons. The wavelength of the
matter waves is found to be 0.168 nm from diffraction
measurements, which matches that of de Broglie wavelength
at 54 V, thus verifying the wave nature of electrons
.

Thus, the of study the De Broglie wavelength of

matter waves has been done.

 The assumption that the graphite crystal has a perfect

hexagonal lattice structure may not be accurate

 The assumption that the electron beam has a uniform

velocity and momentum may not be valid.
 The measurement of the angle between the thread and
the vertical plane may be affected by parallax error

 The measurement of the voltage supplied may also be

subject to error

 The experiment may be influenced by external electric

fields or charges from nearby objects

 Handle the apparatus with care, as it is very delicate

and sensitive to vibrations.

 Avoid parallax error by reading the angle from the eye

level.
• NCERT text book
• www.wikipedia.com
• www.scrib.com
• www.academia.edu