Oxford University Press eBooks

The Duality of Particles and Waves: The Split Personality of Electrons

Christopher C. Gerry, Kimberley M. Bruno

Published Feb 21, 2013• 0 citations

Abstract

This chapter discusses the dual nature of small particles, focusing on electrons. It begins by describing how the classical laws of physics, which were mostly established by the start of the twentieth century, did not work very well when applied on the atomic scale. In order to explain the atomic-scale phenomena, a new kind of physics was invented in the 1920s. This new physics was called quantum physics, or quantum mechanics. It applied to the world on the scale of the atom—the microscopic world, or microworld. The discussions then turn to an experiment involving ‘quantum’ coins; the difference between superposition state and mixed state; light, waves, and interference; and interference with electrons.

DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199666560.003.0002

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