de Broglie’s equation :
- de Broglie proposed (in 1924) that matter should exhibit a dual behaviour. That is, every object which possesses a mass and velocity behaves both as a particle and as a wave. An electron has mass and velocity. This means that an electron should have momentum (p), a property of particle as well as wavelength (λ), a property of wave.
- According to de Broglie, the wavelength λ of a particle of mass m moving with a velocity v is λ = \(\frac{h}{mv}\) where, h is Planck’s constant.
- The quantity mv gives the momentum of the particles. λ = \(\frac{h}{p}\) where, p represents the momentum of the particle.
- de Broglie’s prediction was confirmed by diffraction experiments (a wave property).
[Note : According to de Broglie’s equation, the wavelength of a moving particle is inversely proportional to its mass. Therefore, heavier particles have much smaller wavelength than lighter particles like electrons.]
