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In support of all the students who are displaced from school due to the Corona virus. Access to physics zone and chemistry zone lessons are now available free of charge. This will be maintained at least through August 1st 2020. Learn and be well.

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deBroglie Waves - Matter Waves

Based on an intuitive feeling that nature is symmetrical, Louis deBroglie (de-broy-lee) made an argument in 1924 that if waves have a particle nature, then particles must have a wave nature.

He began with the formula for momentum of a photon, solved it for wavelength, then replaced momentum with mv (particle momentum).

For any particle with even a small amount of mass, the wavelength is very small.  Even the electron has a very small wavelength.   Protons or Neutrons have even smaller wavelengths.  Theoretically, any moving matter has wave characteristics.  However, the wavelength of any life size particle, like a golf ball, is so small that it is immeasurable.