Illustrate wave particles duality of light with observable phenomena.
One observable phenomenon that demonstrates wave-particle duality of light is the double-slit experiment. In this experiment, a beam of light is passed through a barrier with two small parallel slits. When the light passes through the slits and hits a screen behind the barrier, an interference pattern is observed. This pattern is characteristic of waves, suggesting that light behaves like a wave in this scenario.
However, when the experiment is conducted with individual photons instead of a continuous beam of light, the pattern on the screen still shows interference, even though the photons are thought of as individual particles. This demonstrates the particle-like behavior of light as well.
Another phenomenon that illustrates the wave-particle duality of light is the photoelectric effect. When light of a certain frequency (and therefore energy) is shone on a metal surface, electrons are ejected from the surface. This can be explained by thinking of light as particles (photons) transferring their energy to the electrons, causing them to be ejected. This particle-like behavior of light is in contrast to the wave-like interference patterns observed in the double-slit experiment.
Overall, these observable phenomena highlight the wave-particle duality of light, where light can exhibit both wave-like and particle-like behaviors depending on the experimental setup.