Historical Reconstruction of Wave-Particle Duality

The historical reconstruction presented here has been adapted from Niaz (2009, Chap. 12). 

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The need for a historical reconstruction of wave-particle duality, the photoelectric effect and quantum theory for students has been recognized in cogent terms by Noyes (1984), a practicing physicist ... 

Formulation of six criteria for evaluating general chemistry textbooks based on the historical reconstruction of wave-particle duality (aspects a, b, c, d, and e, in 1 above). 

It is plausible to suggest that historical reconstruction of wave-particle duality can become an integral part of textbook presentations, based on the following aspects ... 

An important implication of this study (and similar textbook analyses) is that it not only provides a critical appraisal of textbooks based on a historical reconstruction of wave-particle duality but also guidelines for classroom teachers as to how textbook presentations can be complemented and revised. Furthermore, such studies show clearly how history of science forms an integral part of science and thus can play an important role in the science curriculum. It is plausible to suggest that the inclusion of the following activities and discussions in the textbooks can facilitate students understanding and even motivation for exploring other topics of the curriculum ... 

It is plausible to suggest that evaluations of textbooks based on a historical reconstruction, constitute a stepping-stone for further classroom studies to evaluate the effect of including criteria presented here to improve students understanding of wave-particle duality. Besides the criteria, this study provides science teachers with 26 Satisfactory (S) presentations (with extensive excerpts) based on 128 general chemistry textbooks. In their textbook. Physics, the Human Adventure, Holton and Bmsh (2001) have endorsed such strategies in unequivocal terms ... 

The presentation by McMurry and Fay (2001) ignores the role played by the experiments conducted by Davisson, Germer, Thomson and Reid. On the other hand, the presentation by Umland and Bellama (1999) ignores the importance of Einstein s contribution which helped de Broglie to postulate wave-particle duality. This clearly shows that a historical reconstruction must emphasize at least the contributions of Einstein, de Broglie, Davisson and Germer. 

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