de Broglie wavelength

De Broglie wavelength

The wavelength γ = h/p associated with a beam of particles (or with a single particle) of momentum p; h = 6.626 × 10³⁴ joule-second is Planck's constant. The same formula gives the momentum of an individual photon associated with a light wave of wavelength γ. This formula, along with the profound proposition that all matter has wavelike properties, was first put forth by Louis de Broglie in 1924, and is fundamental to the modern theory of matter and its interaction with electromagnetic radiation. See Quantum mechanics

McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Physics. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

de Broglie wavelength

[də¦brō¦glē ′wāv‚leŋkth]

(quantum mechanics)

The wavelength of the wave associated with a particle as given by the de Broglie relation.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.