Matter Waves — Chapter Summary
ICSE · Class 12 · Physics
Summary of Matter Waves for ICSE Class 12 Physics. Key concepts: Radiation behaves as a wave, A photon is a packet and In photon.
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Overview
Matter waves express the wave nature of moving material particles. Radiation shows dual nature, behaving as a wave in interference, diffraction and polarisation, and as a particle in photoelectric effect and Compton effect. The same idea of duality is extended to matter, so moving particles such as
Key Concepts
Radiation behaves as a wave
Radiation behaves as a wave in interference, diffraction and polarisation, but shows particle nature in photoelectric effect and Compton effect. No si
A photon is a packet
A photon is a packet of energy. Each photon has energy E = h v, momentum p = h v / c, kinetic mass h v / c^2, speed c and zero rest mass. Photons are
In photon
In photon-particle collisions, total energy and momentum remain conserved, but the number of photons may not be conserved. A photon may be absorbed by
All moving material particles have wave
All moving material particles have wave nature also. The associated waves are called de-Broglie waves or matter waves.
The wavelength associated with a moving
The wavelength associated with a moving particle is λ = h/p. For non-relativistic motion, p = m v, so λ = h/(m v). Also, λ = h/√(2mK) and for a charge
Learning Objectives
- Understand wave-particle duality of radiation and matter
- Explain the photon picture of light and its properties
- State de-Broglie’s hypothesis for moving particles
- Use de-Broglie relations to calculate wavelength from momentum, kinetic energy and accelerating potential
- Relate de-Broglie wavelength to mass, velocity and kinetic energy
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