What is the name for the twofold property of electromagnetic radiation whereby light has properties of both particles and waves?
AThe Compton effect
BParticle-wave duality
CThe ultraviolet catastrophe
DThe photoelectric threshold
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. Particle-wave duality
1. Light can be modelled as a wave, capable of interference and diffraction, and also as particles, massless photons carrying discrete energy and momentum.
2. This twofold nature, having properties of both particles and waves, is called particle-wave duality.
3. The Compton effect and the ultraviolet catastrophe are specific phenomena that provided evidence for quantum ideas, not the name for this general duality itself.
_Source: OpenStax Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 21 "The Quantum Nature of Light", section 21.3 The Dual Nature of Light_
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