Wave and Particle Properties of Electrons and Photons

[RichardValdez1L]

Are we just supposed to understand that electrons and photons act sometimes as waves and sometimes as particles because when using two beams the particles do not collide and the interference patterns for waves? Any clarification would be much appreciated ! :)

[Chem_Mod]

Hello Richard,

For the purposes of this class, we are to understand that massless photons as well as matter with mass (electrons, protons, a baseball) all have wave-particle duality to some degree.

For a photon, its wavelength is defined via


And for particle with mass (eg. electron), its wavelength is defined via De Broglie,


Hope this helps!

[RichardValdez1L]

Perfect response!

[vivianndo_1L]

How does constructive/destructive interference relate to the wave-particle duality then? I'm still a little confused

[Chem_Mod]

The constructive/destructive interference patterns show that they have wave-like properties because you can see diffraction.

For an understanding of diffraction, see this post:
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=30885&p=97373&hilit=diffraction&sid=cb3a739b3b5986fdd7a628d9ad2d6fcc#p97373