Which type of wave does de Broglie's theory suggest for matter?

[kay]

De broglie had proposed that matter had wave character.
Which wave does he mean? Transverse or longitudinal?

 

[bhobba]

Its an outmoded idea, replaced by the transformation theory of Dirac about 1927, and is generally what goes under the name of quantum mechanics today.

The following is a better place to start understanding QM:
http://www.scottaaronson.com/democritus/lec9.html

Thanks
Bill

 

[PhilDSP]

Both. Moving charges generate traveling waves propagating in transverse directions. But they also generate evanescent waves in a longitudinal direction.

Since electron diffraction experiments can be explained both according to de Broglie's formula and classical EM when considering measurements in a macroscopic setting, and since both are linear (superposition applies), we can assume a basic compatibility exists between the two.

But I would want to be careful about saying "matter had a wave character". I don't recall anything of that flavor said by de Broglie. He said that there is a wave associated with an electron or particle. The wave arises from movement of the particle and disappears if there is no motion.