Question

Are matter waves the same as de Broglie waves?

Answer 1

Yes, matter waves and de Broglie waves are the same thing.

Louis deBroglie proposed that all matter has some properties of waves, and electromagnetic waves have some properties of matter. In other words, de Broglie introduced the concept of wave-particle duality . The relation that unifies matter and waves is

`lambda=h/p`

where `lambda` is the characteristic wavelength, `p` is the momentum, and `h` is Planck's constant (`6.626times10^(-34)J-s`).

Using this relation, one may calculate the characteristic wavelength of a particle with known momentum, `p`, or calculate the momentum of a light wave of known wavelength, `lambda`.