One hundred years ago, physicist Arthur Holly Compton made his Nobel Prize-winning discovery related to X-rays at Washington University in St. Louis.
At that time, X-rays were largely understood to be a wave-like phenomenon. Compton鈥檚 experiments showed that X-rays have duality: .
鈥淚t was really huge; this was an unexpected discovery,鈥� said Erik Henriksen, an associate professor of physics at Washington University. 鈥淭o say that something could behave both like a wave and a particle in somehow the same object was confounding then 鈥� and honestly, it's quite confounding now, but it underlies our entire understanding of the universe through quantum mechanics.鈥�
Henriksen joined Friday鈥檚 St. Louis on the Air to discuss how Compton鈥檚 discovery paved the way for quantum mechanics and modern-day astrophysics.
Related Event
What:
When: "Compton and WWII: the Manhattan Project" on Oct. 22, "Arthur Holly Compton鈥檚 influence on WashU Chemistry" on Oct. 29 and "Compton Forever" on Nov. 5
Where: Crow Hall ()
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