De Broglie theory says, every matter has duality nature (wave and particle).But we don't see any wave nature in any matter. Why?
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asked Apr 5, 2018 at 20:16
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1$\begingroup$ See electron diffraction: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_diffraction $\endgroup$– enumarisCommented Apr 5, 2018 at 20:22
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$\begingroup$ You've never seen ripples over water? Take a glass of water, shake it a tiny bit and you should see "wave in matter". $\endgroup$– untreated_paramediensis_karnikCommented Apr 5, 2018 at 20:55
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$\begingroup$ Possible duplicate of What's the boundary of microscopic world and macroscopic world? $\endgroup$– sammy gerbilCommented Apr 7, 2018 at 15:55
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4 Answers
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The problem here is that the de Broglie wavelength for us and the objects surrounding us is so insignificant (i.e., small) that the wave can't be detected or noticed.
To be precise, if you calculate de Broglie wavelength for an object having a mass of 1 kg and moving with a speed of 1 m/s, you'll get that:
$$\lambda = \dfrac{h}{p} = \dfrac{6.6 \cdot 10^{-34}}{1\cdot 1} = 6.6 \cdot10^{-34}~m$$
Particle is a discrete thing, wave is not. Wave is continuous, waves can diffract and interfere, for example. Again, we can't actually diffract and interfere, since our wavelength is miserably small and our wave properties are nothing compared to our "particle" properties.
An electron can be a particle when it comes to the photoelectric effect (in which electrons are "separate" things) and appears to be a wave when it comes to diffraction (electrons are somewhat continuous in this case, that's what a wave is).
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$\begingroup$ I know what you are saying.But I am seeking about ”What did Broglie mean by wave in respect of every matter?” $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 5, 2018 at 22:33
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$\begingroup$ @Mohammad ok, gonna edit my post, please wait :3 $\endgroup$– nicaelCommented Apr 5, 2018 at 22:35
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$\begingroup$ @Mohammad haven't pinged you; is my answer any more clear than it was? $\endgroup$– nicaelCommented Apr 6, 2018 at 20:27
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But we don't see any wave nature in any matter.
Sure you do. You just don’t notice it.
For example, every hydrogen atom is exactly the same. Every oxygen is exactly the same as every other oxygen. Without that property, the chemistry that your entire world depends on is not possible.
But if an atom is one or more electrons “orbiting” around a nucleus, like little planetary systems, why are they all the same? Atoms bounce into each other all the time. Why don’t their orbits get disturbed so that the electrons in different hydrogen atoms are at slightly different radii? If they were particles, they would!
The answer: they’re not particles. Electrons in atoms behave as waves, and only certain waves “fit” into the atom. Those are the ones that make the hydrogen, oxygen, etc we know and love. Atoms with slightly-unique properties can’t happen for wave-like electrons, and we never see them.
De Broglie waves make chemistry, hence life, possible.
answered Apr 5, 2018 at 22:27
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Basically it depends at which scale you want to look at the problem. If you do the Young double slit experiment with electrons (which are matter) you'll see the interference pattern.
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$\begingroup$ Yess, but those are probability waves, not matter waves, as the one electron at a time experiment demonstrates. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/… $\endgroup$– anna vCommented Apr 6, 2018 at 13:10
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In addition to the good answers already up I just want to point out that
Matter waves have been observed.
A fundamental property of waves is interference.
Have a look at this paper (which can be viewed from anywhere) about matter waves and interference.
