A Theory of Electron Waves

In 1900, M. Planck’s study of black-body radiation spectra had led him to propose the idea that the interaction between the electromagnetic field and matter involved the emission or absorption of discrete energy packets called quanta. A. Einstein's 1905 heuristic model of the photoelectric effect had suggested that light was composed of these quanta. Consequently, a dual nature of light phenomena had emerged: undulatory, according to J. Clerck Maxwell, and corpuscular, according to Einstein. The study of the nature and properties of X-rays, contributed to L. de Broglie’s development of his own theory of quanta by means of the extraordinary hypothesis of attributing a wave-like aspect not only to the quanta of light but also to other massive particles, which laid the foundation for the creation of wave mechanics. In this chapter, we will deal with it.