Matter is a Wave

1
Matter is a Wave

• Does not apply to very large objects
• I.e. - things bigger than an atom
• A baseball has a wavelength of about 10-32 m
  when moving 30 m/s
• An electron moving at 30 m/s has a wavelength of
  10-3 cm
• It is big enough to measure for tiny particles

2
de Broglie equation

• Describes wave characteristics of particles
• momentum massvelocity
• m v

Plancks constant
?
momentum
h
h 6.626 x10-34 Js
?
Jkgm2/s2
m v
mass in kilograms!!!
3
Example problem
Calculate the wavelength (? ) of an electron (e-)
traveling with a velocity of 5.97 x106
m/s.
Angstrom 10-10 m
me- 9.11 x10-28 g