Nature of a wave

 A wave is described by frequency , wavelength ,

phase velocity u and intensity I

 A wave is spread out and occupies a relatively large

region of space
 Nature of a particle

 A particle is specified by mass m, velocity v,

momentum p, and energy E

 A particle occupies a definite position in space.

In order for that it must be small
 Light

 Interference and Diffraction experiments showed the

wave nature of light

 Blackbody radiation and Photoelectric effect can be

explained only by considering light as a stream of
particles
 So is light a
wave or a particle
?
How are they related?

E = h

 E– energy of the photon

 – frequency of the wave
 h– plank's constant

p=h/

 p – momentum of the particle

  - wavelength of the photon
 DE BROGLIE HYPOTHESIS
In the Year 1924 Louis de Broglie
made the bold suggestion
“ If radiation which is basically a wave can exhibit
particle nature under certain circumstances, and since
nature likes symmetry, then entities which exhibit
particle nature ordinarily, should also exhibit wave
nature under suitable circumstances”
The reasoning used might be paraphrased
as follows

1. Nature loves symmetry

LOUIS DE BROGLIE
2. Therefore the two great entities,
matter and energy, must be mutually
symmetrical
3. If energy (radiant) is undulatory
and/or corpuscular, matter must be
corpuscular and/or undulatory 7
 The de Broglie Hypothesis

 If light can act like a wave sometimes and like a particle

at other times, then all matter, usually thought of as
particles, should exhibit wave-like behaviour

 The relation between the momentum and the

wavelength of a photon can be applied to material
particles also

Prince Louis de Broglie

(1892-1987)
 de Broglie Wavelength

h

mv

Relates a particle-like property (p)

to a wave-like property ()
 DE BROGLIE WAVELENGTH
e associated with the matter particle is called Mat
Wavelength associated is called
h h
de Broglie Wavele
de Broglie wavelength   
p mv
h is Planck' s Constant
m is the mass of the particle
v is the velocity of the particle
for an electron with Kinetic Energy ' E '
accelerated by a Potential difference 'V '
h h
Then   
2mE 2meV
substituting for h , m , and e we get
6.625 10 34 1.226
   nm
2  9.11 10 31  1.602  10 19 V V
thus for V  100 Volts
1.226
   0.1226 nm 10
100
 The frequency

 De Broglie postulated that all particles satisfy

Einstein’s relation

E  hf

In other words,

E
ƒ
h
Example: de Broglie wavelength of an electron

Mass = 9.11 x 10-31 kg

Speed = 106 m / sec

6.63 1034Joules  sec 10

 31 6
 7.28  10 m
(9.11 10 kg)(10 m/sec)

This wavelength is in the region of X-rays

 Example: de Broglie wavelength of a ball

 Mass = 1 kg
Speed = 1 m / sec

6.63 1034Joules  sec

  6.63 1034m
(1 kg)(1 m/sec)
 Theoretical implication – The Bohr
postulate

 Consider standing waves produced in a stretched

string tied at two ends

 Condition for these standing waves is that the length

of the string should be integral multiple of /2
 Bragg Scattering

Bragg scattering is used to determine the structure of the atoms in a crystal

from the spacing between the spots on a diffraction pattern (above)
 The Diffraction

X-rays electrons

The diffraction patterns are similar because

electrons have similar wavelengths to X-rays
 Wave-like Behaviour of Matter

 Evidence:
– electron diffraction
– electron interference (double-slit experiment)

 Also possible with more massive particles,

such as neutrons and a-particles

 Applications:
– Bragg scattering
– Electron microscopes
– Electron- and proton-beam lithography
 Wave-Particle Duality

particle wave function

 Wave Function

 Completely describes all the properties of a

given particle

 Called y  y (x,t); is a complex function of

position x and time t
 Wave-Particle Duality

particle wave function

 PHASE VELOCITY
Phase velocity: The velocity with which a wave travels is called Phase
velocity or wave velocity. It is denoted by v p. It is given by

c2
vp 
v

Where c = velocity of light and v = is velocity of the particle.

The above equation gives the relationship between the phase velocity and
particle velocity.

It is clear from the above equation that, Phase velocity is not only greater
than the velocity of the particle but also greater than the velocity of light,
which can never happen. Therefore phase velocity has no physical
21
meaning in case of matter waves. Thus a concept of group velocity was
 GROUP VELOCITY
Since phase velocity has no meaning, the concept of group velocity was
introduced as follows.
“ Matter wave is regarded as the resultant of the superposition of large number
of component waves all traveling with different velocities. The resultant is in the
form of a packet called wave packet or wave group. The velocity with which this
wave group travels is called group velocity.” The group velocity is represented by vg.

V
g

Particle

Vp
22