Physics › Section U · Quantum and atomic physics › Topic U.3
Wave-particle duality and uncertainty
Light interferes like a wave yet arrives in lumps like particles, and electrons turn out to do exactly the same. This double nature sets a hard limit on what can be known about any particle, a limit that has nothing to do with how good our instruments are.
In this topic
- Light: wave or particle?
- De Broglie's matter waves
- Worked example: a baseball and an electron
- Electrons diffract
- Waves of probability
- Heisenberg's uncertainty principle
- Worked example: an electron and a dust grain
- Energy and time
- Duality reviewed
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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