De-Broglie Hypothesis And Its Testing

De-Broglie hypothesis

Definition

In quantum mechanics, matter can bahave both like wave and particle at sub-microscopic level.
De-Broglie hypothesis was the next step in quantum theory after Plank,Einstein and Bohr.
Explanation

In quantum mechanics, matter is believed to behave both like a particle and a wave at the sub- m
icroscopic level. The particle behavior of matter is obvious. When you look at a table, you think
of it like a solid, stationary piece of matter with a fixed location. At this macroscopic scale, this h
olds true. But when we zoom into the subatomic level, things begin to get more complicated, and
matter doesn't always exhibit the particle behavior that we expect.

This non-particle behavior of matter was first proposed in 1923, by Louis de Broglie, a French
physicist. In his PhD thesis, he proposed that particles also have wave-like properties. Although
he did not have the ability to test this hypothesis at the time, he derived an equation to prove it
using Einstein's famous mass-energy relation and the Planck equation.

Driving De-Broglie Equation

De Broglie derived his equation using well established theories through the following series of sub
stitutions:
1. De Broglie first used Einstein's famous equation relating mass and energy:
E=mc2

E= energy, m = mass, c = speed of light

2. Using Planck's theory which states every quantum of a wave has a discrete amount of en
ergy given by Planck's equation:
E=hυ

E = energy, h = Plank's constant(6.62607 x 10-34 J s), υ = frequency

3. Since de Broglie believes particles and wave have the same traits, the two energies woul
d be the same:
mc2=hυ
 4. Because real particles do not travel at the speed of light, De Broglie subsituted v, velocit
y, for c, the speed of light.
mv2=hυ

5. Through the equation λ, de Broglie substituted υ/λ for v and arrived at the final expressi
on that relates wavelength and particle with speed.
mv2=hv/λ

Hence: λ=hv/mv2
λ=h/mv
In this equation,λ explain wave nature of matter and at the same time mv(momentum) explain its
particle nature.

TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS
Although De Broglie was credited for his hypothesis, he had no actual experimental evidence for
his conjecture. In 1927, Clinton J. Davisson and Lester H. Germer shot electron particles onto on
to a nickel crystal. What they see is the diffraction of the electron similar to waves diffractions ag
ainst crystals(x-rays). In the same year, an English physicist, George P. Thomson fired electrons t
owards thin metal foil providing him with the same results as Davisson and Germer.
Davisson and Germer Experiment

A convincing evidence of the wave nature of electrons was provided by Clinton J. Davisson and
Laster H. Germer.They showed that electrons are diffracted from matel crystals in exactly the sa
me manner as X-ray or any other wave.
Experimental Setup
The experimental setup for the Davisson and Germer experiment is enclosed within a
vacuum chamber. Thus the deflection and scattering of electrons by the medium are prevented. The m
ain parts of the experimental setup are as follows:

 Electron gun: An electron gun is a Tungsten filament that emits electrons

via thermionic emission i.e. it emits electrons when heated to a particular temperature.

 Electrostatic particle accelerator: Two opposite charged plates (positive and negative plat
e) are used to accelerate the electrons at a known potential.

 Collimator: The accelerator is enclosed within a cylinder that has a narrow passage for th
e electrons along its axis. Its function is to render a narrow and straight (collimated) beam
of electrons ready for acceleration.

 Target: The target is a Nickel crystal. The electron beam is fired normally on the Nicke
l crystal. The crystal is placed such that it can be rotated about a fixed axis.

 Detector: A detector is used to capture the scattered electrons from the Ni crystal. Th
e detector can be moved in a semicircular arc as shown in the diagram above.
Principle

The electrons from heated filament are accelerated by an adjustable applied voltage V. The electr
on beam of energy Ve is made incident on a Nickel Crystal.The beam diffracted from crystal surf
ace enters a detector and is recorded as a current I.The basic thought behind the Davisson and Ger
mer experiment was that the waves reflected from two different atomic layers of a Ni crystal will ha
ve a fixed phase difference. After reflection, these waves will interfere either constructively or destru
ctively. Hence producing a diffraction pattern.

Mathematical Calculations

The gain in K.E of electron as it is accelerated by a potential V in the electron gun is given by:

1/2mv2=Ve
Or mv2=2Ve

m2v2=2mVe
mv=√2���
From De-Broglie equation

λ= ℎ
��

Putting the value of "mv"

................(1)
ℎ
λ=
√2���

In the experiment,the accelerating voltage V was 54 volts,hence putting values in equation (1)

6.63×10−34
λ=
√2×9.1×10−31×54×1.6×10−19

λ=1.66×10-10m

The beam of electrons diffracted from crystal surface was obtained for a glancing angle of 65º.
According to Bragg's equation
2dsinθ=mλ

For 1st order diffraction m=1

For Nickel d=0.91×10 -10m

Thus λ= 2×0.91×10-10×sin 65
º λ=1.65×10-10m
 Thus the experimentally observed wavelength is in excellent agreement with theoretically predict
ed wavelength.

Diffraction patterns have also been observed with protons,neutrons,hydrogen atoms and helium a
toms thereby giving substantial evidence for the wave nature of particles.

For his work on the dual nature of particles,Prince Louis Victor De-Broglie received the 1929 No
ble Prize in Physics.Clinton Joseph Davisson and George Paget Thomson shared the Nobel Prize
in 1937 for their experimental confirmation of the wave nature of particles.
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Wave behavior of particle

Definition

The wave behavior of particle is defined as the property of particle to behave as wave.
In 1924, a French physicist Louis de Broglie made a remarkable proposal about the nature of matt
er. He said nature loves symmetry. Light is dual in nature, in some situations it behaves as a wav
es and in some situations it behaves as a particle. If nature is symmetric then, this duality should als
o hold for matter. Electrons which we usually we thinks them as a particle, may be behave like wa
ves.
If particle act like a wave it should have a wavelength and frequency.Debroglie said that a free parti
cle with rest mass m, moving with non-relativistic speed v, should have a wavelength lambda relate
d to minimum p=mv in in exactly same way as of photon .De-Broglie wavelength of particle is the
n
h h
ℷ= =
p mv
Frequency and energy are related to each other then energy is given by E=hf

Observing the wave nature of Electrons

As electromagnetic waves shows their wave nature in majority cases and particle nature in some cas
es similarly particles show their particle nature in majority cases and wave nature in some cases. Wa
ve type behavior of waves is shown by the process of interference and diffraction, so wave type beh
avior of particles is only verified if they show the process of interference and diffraction.
Figure (1-a) shows beam of electrons are incident on a double slit. The electrons are accelerated to a
chosen energy by applying potential difference v and after passing through double slit they strike th
e fluorescent screen. We observe interference pattern on the screen which show wave like behavior
of electron beam.
INTERFERENCE

The combination of two or more electromagnetic waves to form a resultant wave in which displace
ment is either double or cancelled

Diffraction

The process by which beam of light is spread out as a result of passing through a narrow apprecture
or across an edge typically accompanied by interference between the waveform produced

Wave function

The quantity whose variation in space and time (position) represents wave nature of a moving partic
le is called wave function

Representation

The wave function is represented by Greek letter psi, the symbol used for this is ψ .

Mathematical form
Explanation

The value of wave function associated with a moving body at a particular point (x,y,z) in space at t
he time t is related to the finding the body there at the time

Probability Density

 The square of absolute value of wave function is known as probability density.

 The probability of experimentally finding the body described by the wave function psi ψ
2
at the point x, y,z at the time t is proportionally in the value of ¿ ψ∨¿ there at t.
¿
 A large value of probability density the strong possibility of body’s presences.
2 2
 Small value of ¿ ψ∨¿ means the slight possibility of its presence.as long as ¿ ψ∨¿ is
¿ ¿
not actually zero somewhere however there is a definite chance however samall of detecting
it there

Normalization

 If we consider all the space thenthe probability of finding somewhere ∈space becomes
Equals to unity
v
 ∫ Ψ 2 dv=1 … … Normalization condition … . ( 1 )
0
 Particle will not exist in the volume
v

 If ∫ Ψ 2 dv=¿ 0…….(2)
0
 Particle will be present everywhere simultaneously
v

 If ∫ Ψ 2 dv = ∞
0

Group members
 Hina Aqeel
 Usman Masood
 Muhammad Adeel
 Shakeel Hussain
 Muhammad Usman
 Luqman Ali

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