Disciplines of Particles

Abstract

Louis de Broglie wrote a paper in 1924 for his doctoral thesis in which he hypothesized the concept of wave nature of matter. His 1924 PhD thesis evolved the concept of de Broglie wavelength associated with particles like photons and electrons. His central idea was that, the matter particles are associated with dualistic nature wave and particle. Albert Einstein explained the mechanism of photoelectric effect by applying the Planck’s quantum theory in which light behaves as a particle. Physicists faced a problem in early 20^th century to explain the observable phenomena like interference, diffraction and polarization etc, then physicists concluded that matter and radiation behaves both as a particle and a wave, this simply explains that matter and radiation holds both characteristics a wave form and a particle form. This new concept and its mathematical disciplines are collectively named as quantum physics that studies the mathematical concept of motion of particles, energy and their interaction. In 1927 major advance came in quantum mechanics when Werner Karl Heisenberg published a paper in which he postulated his principle which today we know as a principle of uncertainty which describes the limitation of how particles behave in a subatomic level. The uncertainty principle can simply be stated as follows, it is impossible to determine the position and momentum (or velocity) of the particle (say electron) at the same instant or simultaneously. This simply means that if one measures the position of an electron with extremely high degree accuracy then it is impossible to determine the momentum or velocity of an electron at that instant and the vice-vice. For his outstanding contribution in quantum physics Werner K Heisenberg was been awarded by Nobel Prize in physics in 1932. However Einstein raised questions about this newly postulated uncertainty principle. De Broglie’s work led to invention of electron microscope. Broglie’s 1924 PhD papers predictions and the correctness of its mathematical equations was confirmed experimentally in 1927 by Davisson and Germer working at Bell Telephone laboratory. Their electron diffraction experiment shows the wavelength of accelerated electron beam is almost equivalent to what estimated by Prince Louis de Broglie equation. De Broglie was awarded by Nobel Prize in physics in 1929, two years after the experimental confirmation of wave nature of electrons. Broglie’s wave equation was hypothesized by assuming two criteria of photons.