Question

Describe the Davisson and Germer experiment?

Answer 1

Davisson and Germer experiment:
It demonstrated the wave nature of the electron. It confirms the de Broglie hypothesis for wave-particle duality.
In this experiment, the diffraction effect of the electron was studied in a crystal diffraction experiment.

Electron gun was used for the emission of an electron. The emitted electrons moved in an evacuated chamber and were accelerated by a battery. A movable detector and nickel target were used. A galvanometer measured small current.
The angle of scattering was ${50}^0$. At 55 V, a strong peak was detected.

The pattern of deflected electrons was similar to the diffraction pattern of waves. The wavelength corresponding to electron was 0.165 nm. It is in agreement with the wavelength calculated using de-Broglie equation as shown below.

$\lambda =\frac{h}{p}=\frac{1.223}{\sqrt{V}}$

$\lambda =\frac{1.223}{\sqrt{55}}=0.165nm$