Question

Who won the Nobel prize in physics in the year 1929 for the discovery of the wave nature of electrons?
(A) Erwin Schrodinger
(B) R. A. Millikan
(C) Louis Victor De Broglie
(D) Albert Einstein

Answer 1

Hint: In earlier times, electrons along with other subatomic particles were assumed to be a particle and the dual nature (particle and wave ) was only associated with light. With the discovery of the wave nature of the electron, further observations proved that all matter has wave nature associated with them, which becomes prominent when the mass of the particle/ body is less.

Complete answer:
The Nobel prize in Physics in the year 1929 for the discovery of the wave nature of electrons was awarded to Louis Victor De Broglie.
He proposed that electrons have a dual nature. Which means that they can behave as a wave as well as a particle under different circumstances. He also said that all other subatomic particles like protons and neutrons have a wave nature associated with them. The wavelength of the wave associated with an electron (or any other particle) can be given as-
 $ \lambda = \dfrac{h}{{mv}} $
Where, $ \lambda $ is the wavelength of the wave associated with that particle,
 $ h $ is the Planck’s constant, which is equal to $ 6.626 \times {10^{ - 34}}J - s $
 $ m $ is the mass of a particle (or a body if bigger).
 $ v $ is the velocity with which it travels.
While the particle nature of electron is supported by the famous equation given by Einstein,
 $ E = m{c^2} $
Where, $ E $ is the energy,
 $ m $ is the mass of a particle,
And $ c $ is the speed of light.

Note:
An electron has both particle and wave nature associated with it. A phenomenon like interference and diffraction of an electron supports the wave theory, while an electron has a definite mass and a definite charge, and the collision with other particles demonstrates its particle nature.