Introduction

Wave-particle duality is one of the fundamental properties of matter and also one of the
mysteries of modern physics. Waveparticle duality postulates that all particles exhibit both
wave and particle properties. A central concept of quantum mechanics, this duality addresses the
inability of classical concepts like "particle" and "wave" to fully describe the behavior of
quantum-scale objects. Standard interpretations of quantum mechanics explain this paradox as a
fundamental property of the Universe, while alternative interpretations explain the duality as an
emergent, second-order consequence of various limitations of the observer. It was first
introduced by A. Einstein in 1905 [1], who showed that when light is treated as a flux of particles
(quanta) with energy h that interact with the particles of a substance according to classical
mechanics, one can explain all known laws of photoelectric phenomena. The discovery of the
Compton Effect [2] became a triumph of the corpuscular hypothesis, which was easily explained
by treating light as a flux of Einsteins quanta that possess energy h and momentum h c.
Later, it became clear that other interactions of light with matter (the photochemical effect,
fluorescence, etc.) have simple explanations if light is considered to be a flux of quanta, but are
difficult to explain if light is considered to be a continuous wave. Conversely, the interference
and diffraction phenomena cannot be explained if light is considered to be a flux of particles
(quanta), but are naturally described within the limits of the classical wave theory.
Thus, the entire set of experimental evidence indicates that in some experiments, light behaves
like a wave, while in others, light behaves as a flux of quanta, or photons.

Developmental milestones
In the late 1600s, important questions were raised, asking if light is made up of particles, or is it
waves.

Corpuscular Theory
Sir Isaac Newton, held the theory that light was made up of
tiny particles. Beginning in 1670 and progressing over
three decades, Isaac Newton developed and championed
his corpuscular hypothesis, arguing that the perfectly
straight lines of reflection demonstrated light's particle
nature; only particles could travel in such straight lines. He
explained refraction by positing that particles of light
accelerated laterally upon entering a denser medium.

Newton imagined a light ray as a stream of tiny particles

which he referred to as corpuscles. He developed his
ideas to explain reflection and refraction. When a light ray
is reflected by a plane mirror, Newton said the corpuscles
bounce off the mirror without loss of speed. To explain the
law of reflection, he said that the normal component of velocity, vN, of each corpuscle is
reversed and the component of velocity para
the idea. Since the magnitude of normal and parallel components of velocity are unchanged on
reflection, it can be shown that the angle of reflection, r, is equal to the angle of incidence, When
a light ray is refracted on passing from air into a transparent substance, Newton said the
corpuscles are attracted into the substance so they travel faster in the substance than in air. To
explain the law of refraction, he said that the component of velocity perpendicular to the
boundary of each corpuscle is increased as the corpuscle crosses the boundary into the substance
and the component of velocity parallel to the boundary is unchanged. Figure 2 shows the idea.
Wave Theory
In 1678, Dutch physicist, Christiaan Huygens, believed that light was made up of waves
vibrating up and down perpendicular to the direction of the light travels, and therefore
formulated a way of visualizing wave propagation. This became known as 'Huygens'
Principle'. Huygens theory was the successful theory of light wave motion in three
dimensions. Huygens suggested that light wave peaks form surfaces like the layers of an onion.
In a vacuum, or other uniform mediums, the light waves are spherical, and these wave surfaces
advance or spread out as they travel at the speed of light. This theory explains why light shining
through a pin hole or slit will spread out rather than going in a straight line. Newton's theory
came first, but the theory of Huygens, better described early experiments. Huygens Principle
lets you predict where a given wavefront will be in the future, if you have the knowledge of
where the given wavefront is in the present.

At the time, some of the experiments conducted on light theory, both the wave theory and
particle theory, had some unexplained phenomenon, Newton could not explain the phenomenon
of light interference, this forced Newton's particle theory in favor of the wave theory. This
difficulty was due to the unexplained phenomenon of light polarization. Scientists were familiar
with the fact that wave motion was parallel to the direction of wave travel, NOT perpendicular to
the direction of wave travel, as light does.

The wave theory of light put forward by Huygens at roughly the same time also explained
reflection and refraction of light. Huygens explanation of reflection and refraction assumed light
waves travel slower in a transparent substance than in air. The wave theory of light was rejected
by most scientists in favor of Newtons corpuscular theory because:
1. It was not possible to measure the speed of light in air or in a transparent substance at that
time so there was no experimental evidence showing whether light travels faster or
slower in a transparent substance than in air.
2. Newton had a much stronger scientific reputation than Huygens so most scientists
thought Newtons theory was correct.
3. The wave theory of light was considered in terms of longitudinal waves so could not
explain polarization of light.

Other brief history

In 1803, Thomas Young studied the interference of light waves by shining light through a screen
with two slits equally separated, the light emerging from the two slits, spread out according
to Huygenss principle. Eventually the two wave fronts will overlap with each other, if a screen
was placed at the point of the overlapping waves, you would see the production of light and dark
areas.

Later in 1815, Augustin Fresnel supported Young's experiments with mathematical calculations.

In 1900 Max Planck proposed the existence of a light quantum, a finite packet of energy which
depends on the frequency and velocity of the radiation.

In 1905 Albert Einstein had proposed a solution to the problem of observations made on the
behavior of light having characteristics of both wave and particle theory. From work of Plank on
emission of light from hot bodies, Einstein suggested that light is composed of tiny particles
called photons, and each photon has energy.

Light theory branches in to the physics of quantum mechanics, which was conceptualized in the
twentieth century. Quantum mechanics deals with behavior of nature on the atomic scale or
smaller.

As a result of quantum mechanics, this gave the proof of the dual nature of light and therefore
not a contradiction.

Light Wave Theory

Light can exhibit both a wave theory, and a particle theory at the same time. Much of the time,
light behaves like a wave. Light waves are also called electromagnetic waves because they are
made up of both electric (E) and magnetic (H) fields. Electromagnetic fields oscillate
perpendicular to the direction of wave travel, and perpendicular to each other. Light waves are
known as transverse waves as they oscillate in the direction traverse to the direction of wave
travel.
The De Broglie Hypothesis
The De Broglie hypothesis proposes that all matter exhibits wave-like properties and relates the
observed wavelength of matter to its momentum. After Albert Einstein's photon theory became
accepted, the question became whether this was true only for light or whether material objects
also exhibited wave-like behavior. Here is how the De Broglie hypothesis was developed.

De Broglies thesis
In his 1923 (or 1924, depending on the source) doctoral dissertation, the French physicist Louis
de Broglie made a bold assertion.
Considering Einstein's relationship of wavelength lambda to momentum p, de Broglie proposed
that this relationship would determine the wavelength of any matter, in the relationship:

Lambda = h / p
Recall that h is Planck's constant

This wavelength is called the de Broglie wavelength. The reason he chose the momentum
equation over the energy equation is that it was unclear, with matter, whether E should be total
energy, kinetic energy, or total relativistic energy. For photons, they are all the same, but not so
for matter.
Assuming the momentum relationship, however, allowed the derivation of a similar de Broglie
relationship for frequency f using the kinetic energy Ek:
f = Ek / h

Alternate formulations

De Broglie's relationships are sometimes expressed in terms of Dirac's constant, h-bar = h / (2pi),
and the angular frequency w and wavenumber k:
p = h-bar * k
Ek = h-bar * w

Experimental confirmation

In 1927, physicists Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer, of Bell Labs, performed an experiment
where they fired electrons at a crystalline nickel target.
The resulting diffraction pattern matched the predictions of the de Broglie wavelength. De
Broglie received the 1929 Nobel Prize for his theory (the first time it was ever awarded for a
PhD thesis) and Davisson/Germer jointly won it in 1937 for the experimental discovery of
electron diffraction (and thus the proving of de Broglie's hypothesis).

De Broglie didn't have any experimental proof at the time of his proposal. It took three years for
Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer to observe diffraction patterns from electrons passing a
crystalline metallic target (see ). Before the acceptance of the de Broglie hypothesis, diffraction
was a property thought to be exhibited by waves only. Therefore, the presence of any diffraction
effects by matter demonstrated the wave-like nature of matter. This was a pivotal result in the
development of quantum mechanics. Just as the photoelectric effect demonstrated the particle
nature of light, the DavissonGermer experiment showed the wave-nature of matter, thus
completing the theory of wave-particle duality.

Further experiments have held de Broglie's hypothesis to be true, including the quantum variants
of the double slit experiment. Diffraction experiments in 1999 confirmed the de Broglie
wavelength for the behavior of molecules as large as buckyballs, which are complex molecules
made up of 60 or more carbon atoms.

Davisson-Germer Experimental Setup

The experiment included an electron gun consisting of a heated filament that released thermally
excited electrons, which were then accelerated through a potential difference (giving them a
certain amount of kinetic energy towards the nickel crystal). To avoid collisions of the electrons
with other molecules on their way towards the surface, the experiment was conducted in a
vacuum chamber. To measure the number of electrons that were scattered at different angles, an
electron detector that could be moved on an arc path about the crystal was used. The detector
was designed to accept only elastically scattered electrons.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave%E2%80%93particle_duality

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mod1.html

https://chem.libretexts.org/Core/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry/Quantum_Mechanics/09._
The_Hydrogen_Atom/Atomic_Theory/Electrons_in_Atoms/Wave-Particle_Duality

https://www.scribd.com/document/49583851/wave-particle-duality

https://www.slideshare.net/asober/wave-particle-duality-10015531

https://www.scribd.com/document/222375122/Wave-Particle-Duality

https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-de-broglie-equation-604418

https://www.scribd.com/document/206582000/Paradox-in-Wave-Particle-Duality

https://www.scribd.com/document/162041920/Wave-particle-duality