Physical Science

Quarter 4
Week 4
Lessons 1 and 2
Objectives:

1. Cite experimental evidence showing that

electrons can behave like waves.
2. Differentiate dispersion, scattering,
interference, and diffraction.
Experimental evidence showing that electrons can
behave like waves.

Can Particle behave like Waves?

Louis de Broglie (1892-1987), postulated that light has a dual

nature . He also postulated that if light is a wave but acts like a
particle, then a particle may also have a wave like behavior. He
further theorized that the wavelength of particle is related to
Planck’s constant and is inversely proportion to its momentum.
The wavelength
shows the wave
nature of electron,
whereas the
momentum show its
particle nature.
In 1927, Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer, both
American physicists, tried to verify a prediction in
classical physics that says scattered electron will
appear from all directions with little dependence on
their intensity, scattering angle and energy. Electron,
when they hit smooth surface would still experience a
diffuse reflection because they are relatively very
small.
When Davisson and Germer bombarded a nickel crystal with
a beam of electron, they found nothing significant about their
experiment until their set up got broken and the nickel crystal
was oxidized. Upon recrystallization, the nickel created small
holes similar diffraction grating. When they performed the
experiment, the electron passing through these very holes were
diffracted. Significantly, they found out that elementary
particles like electrons also behave like waves since
diffraction is one of the properties of waves.
• Dispersion of Light- The separation of
visible light into its different colors is
known as dispersion. It was mentioned in
the Light and Color unit that each color is
characteristic of a distinct wave frequency;
and different frequencies of light waves will
bend varying amounts upon passage
through a prism.
Properties of light related to the Wave
Theory

Scattering of light- is the phenomenon in which light

rays get deviated from its straight path on striking an
obstacle like dust or gas molecules, water vapors
etc. Scattering of light gives rise to many spectacular
phenomena such as Tyndall effect and the “red hues
of sunrise and sunset”.
Interference of light- is a phenomenon in
which two waves superpose to form a
resultant wave of greater, lower, or the same
amplitude. Interference effects can be
observed with all types of waves, for example,
light, radio, acoustic, surface water waves,
gravity waves, or matter waves.
Diffraction of light- is the slight bending of
light as it passes around the edge of an
object. The amount of bending depends on
the relative size of the wavelength of light to
the size of the opening. If the opening is
much larger than the light's wavelength, the
bending will be almost unnoticeable.