A musical analogy which helps to explain the wave-particle duality of the electron

• Autores: John Baker
• Localización: School Science Review, ISSN 0036-6811, Vol. 97, Nº. 361, 2016, págs. 37-42
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • In 1924, Louis de Broglie showed that if electrons in atoms could behave like waves, this would account for quantisation of energy and angular momentum, which was such a puzzling feature of the then current theory of the atom, proposed by Niels Bohr. De Broglie explained later that his idea of electrons as waves was partly inspired by the fact that familiar waves, such as waves in a vibrating string producing sound, were also quantised: quantisation was a necessary feature of waves in a confined space. As Bohr's theory also proposed that electrons rotated around the nucleus in confined, circular orbits, I suggest that the circular Himalayan singing bowl would be a much better musical analogy and, possibly, was what actually gave de Broglie his "eureka moment".