Wave-Particle Duality of Light
Introduction
Some physical entities such as light can display some characteristics of both particles and waves. Before the early 20th century, scientists believed that light was in the form of an electromagnetic wave. It wasn’t until the 20th century onwards that scientists found that light has properties of waves and particles. Scientists discovered different properties of light through experimentation and allowed them to determine that light actually has a wave-particle duality.
Physics Concepts
In an electromagnetic wave, the constantly changing electric and magnetic fields affect each other so they both oscillate in different axis while the wave moves in a direction perpendicular to the oscillation of the fields as shown in Figure 1.
Waves
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Throughout different experiments, scientists have discovered that light behaves as both a wave and a particle in different circumstances. The only way that all of the properties of light can be explained is through the idea of a wave-particle duality.
Bibliography
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Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2016, 12 02). Wave-Particle Duality. Retrieved from Encyclopaedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/science/wave-particle-duality
Physics Classroom. (n.d.). Wavelike Behaviors of Light. Retrieved from the Physics Classroom: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/light/u12l1a.cfm
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through space. This theory came to life when Heinrich Hertz created those waves and seven
Well Erwin Schrodinger was a scientist who did an experiment on his cat (“The Mandela Effect” 2). He placed his cat in a steel box, along with a device containing a vial of hydrocyanic acid. Which would cause a wave of two simultaneous macro scale realities. According to quantum law the cat appears in two states, dead and alive (“The Mandela Effect” 2). Once you break open the box the cat will either be dead or alive (“The Mandela Effect” 3).
This aspect of relativity explained the phenomena of light bending around the sun, predicted black holes as well as the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) -- a discovery rendering fundamental anomalies in the classic Steady-State hypothesis. For his work on relativity, the photoelectric effect and blackbody radiation, Einstein received the Nobel Prize in 1921.
The author tells of how waves are effected by quantum mechanic. He also discusses the fact that electromagnetic radiation, or photons, are actually particles and waves. He continues to discuss how matter particles are also matter, but because of their h bar, is so small, the effects are not seen. Green concludes the quantum mechanics discussion by talking about the uncertainty principle.Chapter 5: The need for a New Theory: General Relativity vs.
2. Kirkpatrick, Larry D. and Gerald F. Wheeler. Physics: A World View. ed. 4. Harcourt College Publishers. Fort Worth. 2001.
...at this book should be included with all works that hold a high literary merit. This book appeals to a wide scope of people; it relates the complicated aspects of physics in a manner that can be understood by much of the general public. More than that, this novel gives the reader a glimpse into Feynman himself. The reader can now see how he thinks and functions, additionally, it allows the reader to preview what it may have been like to be in one of Feynman’s classes. This man is considered a modern day genius, and just the chance to further see what he is actually like, is something that allows for this book to be valued more highly.
It can only explain how nature works by observing the effects on material objects. In his book In Search of Schrödinger's Catch. 8, Gribbin suggests the possibility that no particle is real until it is observed. The act of observation collapses the wave function so that one of a number of ghost particles becomes a real particle. This idea has similarities with idealism and its appearance and reality arguments. Gribbin does not take the argument forward, so let us consider the philosophical arguments instead of the physics.
Masters, Barry R. "Albert Einstein and the Nature of Light." 2010. Optics and Photonics News. The Optical Society. Article. 31 March 2014. .
Matter is energy (Fernflores 1). The fact that electron-positron interactions can either produce photons or...
Nature of wave: It is an electromagnetic wave as it does not necessarily require a medium for p...
Sound is essentially a wave produced by a vibrating source. This compression and rarefaction of matter will transfer to the surrounding particles, for instance air molecules. Rhythmic variations in air pressure are therefore created which are detected by the ear and perceived as sound. The frequency of a sound wave is the number of these oscillations that passes through a given point each second. It is the compression of the medium particles that actually constitute a sound wave, and which classifies it as longitudinal. As opposed to transverse waves (eg. light waves), in which case the particles move perpendicular to the direction of the wave movement, the medium particles are moving in the same or opposite direction as the wave (Russell, D. A., 1998).
In 1801 Thomas Young provided some very strong evidence to support the wave nature of light, he placed a monochromatic light in front of a screen with two slits cut into it, and observed an interference pattern, only possible if light was a wave. In 1965 Richard Feynman came up with a thought-experiment that was similar to Young’s experiment. In Feynman’s double-slit experiment, a chosen material is fired at a wall which has two small slits that can be opened and closed at will – some of the material gets blocked and some passes through the slits, depending on which ones are open.
For instance, throughout the nineteenth century, it was correctly believed that light was a wave. If light were a wave like all other waves, it must have a medium through which to propagate through. This medium was called the ether, a substance which was everywhere throughout the universe. If this hypothesis were true one would be able to calculate the velocity of the Earth through the ether. Many experiments were conducted to determine this velocity the most famous one being the Michelson-Morley experiment.
Providing the basis of nineteenth century physics, Young's Double Slit Experiment proved that light was made up of waves. During Thomas Young’s time, it was very difficult to describe the behavior of light. The predominant theory was that light was made up of particles. However, in his experiment, Young was able to observe the interaction of light waves when passed through two slits, showing the wave-like nature of light. This report will cover the reasons for Young’s experiment, the experiment itself, and its implications.