Readings
Chapter 15 & 16, of Spears and Zollman
Activity 3, Waves of Matter, VQM Activities

Approximately 200 years ago, scientists argued about the fundamental nature of light. In his book Optiks, Isaac Newton assumed that light consisted of a collection of minute particles. With this model, he explained most of the known optical experiments. Others thought that light must take the form of a wave. In 1801, Thomas Young completed an experiment that seemed to end this controversy.