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wave-particle

created by Belgarath

(idea) by Belgarath (?) (print)   ?   I like it! Sat Nov 13 1999 at 9:01:31

In quantum physics it is possible for solids to act like waves. However, because most matter is so large, you don't see a beachball interfering with another beachball. However, if you get to a small enough scale, matter acts like a wave. For example, the electron is a form of matter which behaves like a wave, demonstrating constructive interference, destructive interference, and diffraction.

(idea) by DrSeudo (1.6 mon) (print)   ?   I like it! Wed Jun 06 2001 at 1:27:34

On the contrary, finding the wavelength of a large object is quite simple:

wavelength = h/momentum

, where h is Planck's constant. The wavelength of a .5kg beach ball going at 1 m/s, for example, would be 1.32x10-33 m-- less than a million million million millionth of the diameter of a hydrogen atom. A wavelength found in this way is called the de Broglie wavelength, named after Louis de Broglie, the French physicist who derived this formula and won the Nobel Prize for physics for his efforts.


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