## Visualizing wave-particle duality

$c=\lambda v$

Helen Struble 2F
Posts: 97
Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2019 12:17 am

### Visualizing wave-particle duality

I find that I keep visualizing light as a wave of photons now. Does the wave-particle duality mean that light is like a stream of photons in a wave? Or does it mean that every individual photon also individually behaves as a wave? If the latter, is the wavelength of light the same as the wavelength of the photon?

Angela Patel 2J
Posts: 110
Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2019 12:17 am

### Re: Visualizing wave-particle duality

Light has both wave-like and particle-like qualities. It is hard to define light as just one thing because it has different properties depending on what experiments you are doing. We can think of light as being made up of photons or we can think of it as behaving like a wave would (with a specific wavelength and frequency). The two are separate and account for different properties of light.

505306205
Posts: 97
Joined: Thu Jul 25, 2019 12:15 am

### Re: Visualizing wave-particle duality

The wavelength of light is different from the wavelength of a photon/electron. The equation for light is c = wavelength x frequency, whereas, the equation for wavelength of an electron is wavelength = h (Planck's constant)/p (momentum).

Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2019 12:17 am

### Re: Visualizing wave-particle duality

^^ "The wavelength of light is different from the wavelength of a photon/electron."

A wavelength of light is different from the wavelength of an electron, but not a photon. A photon is essentially light