Dual Nature of Electrons
Bohr’s theory brought up important questions on how an electron actually does move on an orbit. De Broglie came up with a theory of the electron’s dual nature—it has wavelike properties while still qualifying as a particle much like the dual nature of light. He proposed that the electrons around the nucleus behave like a standing wave because they do not travel along the orbital, but rather in waves that intersect the orbital at nodes which are areas where the amplitude would equal zero. The relationship between the circumference of the orbital and the wavelength are given by:
2πr = n λ
r=radius
n=energy level
Since electrons move as waves along an orbital he believed waves and particles are related. De Broglie deduced that they are related by the equation:
λ=h/mu
λ =wavelength
m=mass
u=velocity
h (Planck’s constant) =6.63 X 10-34
The equation implies that a particle can be treated as a wave and vice-versa. The left side involves the wavelike property, while the right side references the mass, which is a property of a particle.
Not long after DeBroglie’s insightful discovery other scientists such as Clinton Davisson, Lester Germer, and GP Thompson demonstrated that electrons do possess wavelike properties. They directed a beam of electrons through a thin piece of gold foil and obtained a series of concentric rings resembling that kind when an X-ray was used.
