High School Are electromagnetic wavelength and quantum wavelength the same thing?

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion confirms that electromagnetic wavelength and quantum wavelength, specifically the de Broglie wavelength of photons, are not the same. While electromagnetic waves exhibit electric and magnetic field oscillations, quantum wavelengths, such as matter waves, lack these fields and are inferred rather than directly measured. The conversation highlights the distinction between classical electromagnetic waves and quantum wave functions, emphasizing that the wave function serves as a probability amplitude without a direct physical manifestation in the case of matter waves.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of electromagnetic wave theory
  • Familiarity with quantum mechanics concepts, particularly wave functions
  • Knowledge of de Broglie wavelength
  • Basic principles of wave-particle duality
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the implications of de Broglie wavelength in quantum mechanics
  • Study the differences between classical and quantum wave functions
  • Explore the measurement techniques for electromagnetic waves
  • Investigate the concept of wave-particle duality in greater depth
USEFUL FOR

Students and professionals in physics, particularly those studying quantum mechanics and electromagnetic theory, will benefit from this discussion.

Jehannum
Messages
102
Reaction score
26
TL;DR
A simple enough question not to need a summary - I hope
The classical picture of the electromagnetic wave has electric and magnetic field oscillations which give the wavelength of the light. In the quantum picture, is the wavelength of the (de Broglie) wave function of the photon the same thing?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Yes.
 
Is it suprising that something normally taken to be non physical (the wavefunction regarded as a probability amplitude) has a physical manifestation (electric / magnetic field oscillations)? What's the deeper reason behind this? Are there any other instances where classical and quantum are the same in this way?
 
Matter waves have no magnetic and electric fields so no. They are not the same thing as electromagnetic waves.
Matter waves are inferred whereas electromagnetic waves can be and are measured directly.
 
I think you are reading too much into this. Are electromagnetic wavelength and water wavelength the same thing?
 
  • Like
Likes hutchphd

Thread 'Two equivalent statements of time reversal symmetric Hamiltonian'

Time reversal invariant Hamiltonians must satisfy ##[H,\Theta]=0## where ##\Theta## is time reversal operator. However, in some texts (for example see Many-body Quantum Theory in Condensed Matter Physics an introduction, HENRIK BRUUS and KARSTEN FLENSBERG, Corrected version: 14 January 2016, section 7.1.4) the time reversal invariant condition is introduced as ##H=H^*##. How these two conditions are identical?
View full post »

Similar threads

High School Frequency of an EM wave in Classical and Quantum Physics
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
Undergrad Polarization of photons quantum mechanically
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Undergrad How Do Radio Antennas Function in Quantum Mechanics?
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
Undergrad Are electromagnetic waves sine waves?
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
High School Project on pulsars/electromagnetic quantum field
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
Undergrad Are electro-magnetic waves the same as the wave function?
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Undergrad Schrödinger equation and classical wave equation
  • · Replies 39 ·
2
Replies
39
Views
2K
Undergrad Does quantum theory describe light as a wave?
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
Undergrad Is the photon field a vector field and a gauge field?
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
Undergrad Frequency of EM waves in classical and quantum physics
  • · Replies 26 ·
Replies
26
Views
3K