wave-particle duality

American  

[wayv-pahr-ti-kuhl-doo-al-i-tee] / ˈweɪvˈpɑr tɪ kəl duˈæl ɪ ti /

noun

1. Physics. in quantum mechanics, the principle that fundamental physical entities such as electrons and photons behave both as waves and as particles.

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wave-particle duality Scientific  

1. The exhibition of both wavelike and particlelike properties by a single entity. For example, electrons undergo diffraction and can interfere with each other as waves, but they also act as pointlike masses and electric charges. The theory of quantum mechanics is a attempt to explain these apparently contradictory properties exhibited by matter.

2. See also complementarity

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wave-particle duality Cultural  

1. In quantum mechanics, the condition that allows every quantum to appear like a wave in some experiments and like an elementary particle in others.

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Example Sentences

Despite the uncertainty about its interpretation, wave-particle duality lies at the core of quantum mechanics.

From Science Daily • Mar. 10, 2026

You don’t need a master’s in wave-particle duality to enjoy the cosmic playground of coincidence and fate that Kröger has in mind.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 11, 2024

And as Prescod-Weinstein notes, physicists may even misinterpret the wave-particle duality and confuse the rotating identities of neutrinos because they are too oriented toward binaries.

From Salon • Apr. 20, 2021

It clearly demonstrates the fundamental strangeness of quantum mechanics: that light, and matter as well, is in fact both a particle and a wave—a concept known as wave-particle duality.

From Scientific American • Jan. 8, 2020

In fact, they had encountered the same wave-particle duality of light that was confounding their elders in physics.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik