The Quantum Material Revolution

The wave-particle duality of matter was first proposed by Louis de Broglie in 1924. He argued that, just as light can behave like a particle (a photon) or a wave (an electromagnetic wave), so too can matter behave like a particle (an electron) or a wave (a matter wave).

The wave-particle duality of matter has been confirmed by a number of experiments, including the Davisson-Germer experiment and the double-slit experiment. In the Davisson-Germer experiment, electrons were scattered off of a crystal, and the resulting diffraction pattern was consistent with the predictions of wave theory. In the double-slit experiment, electrons were fired at a double slit, and the resulting interference pattern was also consistent with the predictions of wave theory.

The wave-particle duality of matter can lead to some strange and counterintuitive effects. For example, in the double-slit experiment, the electrons seem to behave like waves when they are not being observed, but like particles when they are being observed. This is known as the 'wave-particle duality of matter'.

The wave-particle duality of matter is one of the most fundamental concepts of quantum mechanics, and it has played a major role in the development of the theory. It is a reminder that the world of quantum mechanics is very different from the world of classical physics, and that it is impossible to understand quantum mechanics without taking into account the wave-particle duality of matter.