Wavelike properties

[Steven Garcia 1H]

If something has an extremely small wavelength such as 6.94x10^-38m, would we say that it has wavelike properties ? Why or why not?

[Andre_Galenchik_2L]

I think it always depends on the situation you put it in. For example, with the photoelectric effect it will act as a particle but when testing for interference it will act as a wave.

[Miriam Sheetz 2B]

I think for this type of example, since the value is so small you just don't consider the object to have wave-like properties. Dr. Lavelle mentioned in class that it would be pretty clear if something had wave-like properties because the value would be like 3.46 x 10^-10 for example.

[Sameen Mahmood 3D]

All matter has wavelike properties, but anything smaller than 10^-18m is neglible. Usually anything that doesn't have an extremely small mass or extremely fast velocity (like an electron) will generate numbers like 10^-30m for their wavelength, so the aren't actually waves bc their wavelength is even smaller than that of gamma rays (10^-14). Also keep in mind that when we discuss wave-particle duality, we're talking about quantum mechanics, which applies to subatomic particles, instead of classical mechanics, which is everything else in the common world. I hope that helps!

[Nicole Jakiel 4F]

I think with a calculated value this small, you would say that it does not have any wavelike properties because a number this small is not going to be detectable.

[Nicole Jakiel 4F]

I think with a calculated value this small, you would say that it does not have any wavelike properties because a number this small is not going to be detectable.

[shaunajava2e]

wavelengths under 10^-15 or 10^-18 are so small that their wavelengths cannot be detected and therefore are said to have no wavelike properties

[annaspain]

All objects do exhibit some sort of wavelike properties. However, as mentioned in lecture, the objects that have wavelengths smaller than 10^-18 nm (ex: 10^-34) will not be considered to express detectable wavelike behavior.