Question

Davisson and Germer studied the diffraction from crystal of beams of

• A. Alpha particles
• B. Protons
• C. Electrons
• D. Photons

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

Electrons

Davisson and Germer's actual objective was to study the surface of a piece of nickel by directing a beam of electrons at the surface and observing how many electrons bounced off at various angles. They expected that because of the small size of electrons, even the smoothest crystal surface would be too rough and thus the electron beam would experience diffuse reflection.

During the experiment an accident occurred and air entered the chamber, producing an oxide film on the nickel surface. To remove the oxide, Davisson and Germer heated the specimen in a high temperature oven, not knowing that this affected the formerly polycrystalline structure of the nickel to form large single crystal areas with crystal planes continuous over the width of the electron beam.

When they started the experiment again and the electrons hit the surface, they were scattered by atoms which originated from crystal planes inside the nickel crystal.In 1925, they generated a diffraction pattern with unexpected peaks.

So, the answer is option (C).