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If waves (light) can be particles (photons), can particles (electrons,
etc.) be waves? de Broglie gave a positive answer to this question, and
argued that for a particle with energy E and momentum p
| E |
= |
h |
(1.7) |
| p |
= |
h/ |
(1.8) |
where
and
are the frequency and the wavelength,
respectively. One way to show that this behaviour is the correct one is
to do the standard double slit experiment. For light we know that we have
constructive or destructive interference if the difference in the distance
traveled between two waves reaching the same point is a integer
(integer plus one half) times the wavelength of the light. With
particles we would normally expect them to travel through one or the other
of each of the slits. If we do the experiment with a lot of particles, we
actually see the well known double-slit interference.