--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But, in 1927, Clinton Davisson and Lester…" description: "\"“But, in 1927, Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer in the US and George Thomson in Scotland demonstrated that electrons could interfere with each other,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/marcus-chown-29774_electron_but-in-1927-clinton-davisson-and-lester_2574906.jpg" --- # But, in 1927, Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer in the US… ![“But, in 1927, Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer in the US and George Thomson in Scotland demonstrated that electrons could interfere with each other, their quantum waves reinforcing and cancelling each other out just like ripples overlapping on a pond. The irony is that George Thomson’s father…” quote by Marcus Chown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/marcus-chown-29774_electron_but-in-1927-clinton-davisson-and-lester_2574906.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/marcus-chown-29774_electron_but-in-1927-clinton-davisson-and-lester_2574906.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/marcus-chown-29774_electron_but-in-1927-clinton-davisson-and-lester_2574906.jpg) > ““But, in 1927, Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer in the US and George Thomson in Scotland demonstrated that electrons could interfere with each other, their quantum waves reinforcing and cancelling each other out just like ripples overlapping on a pond. The irony is that George Thomson’s father was ‘J. J.’ Thomson, who had discovered the electron. The father won the Nobel Prize for proving that the electron is a particle; the son won the Nobel Prize for showing that it isn’t.”” [Marcus Chown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-chown/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early quantum experiments showed electrons behave as waves, contradicting the particle-only view and highlighting the dual nature of matter. **In simple terms:** Electrons can act like waves, challenging simple particle ideas. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity in scientific models. Themes science quantum mechanics duality history of physics Mood wonder inquisitive Type educational historical When to use this quote - education - science communication - research methodology Key Concepts wave‑particle duality experimental proof scientific paradigm shift Questions to Reflect On - What does wave‑particle duality teach about scientific assumptions? - How can this insight influence modern technology? A Different Perspective The particle view is incomplete; both models are needed for full understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discovered Electron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovered-electron-1725088/) [Electron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electron/) [Electron Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electron-father-1725089/) [Electrons Interfere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electrons-interfere-1725090/) [Nobel prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobel-prize/) [Proving Electron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proving-electron-1725091/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) ## Related quotes > [It is a fascinating fact that father and son have given the most striking evidence for the apparently contradictory properties of the electron: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/it-is-a-fascinating-fact-that-father-and-son-have-given-the-most/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [The electron: may it never be of any use to anybody!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-john-thomson/the-electron-may-it-never-be-of-any-use-to-anybody/) [Joseph John Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-john-thomson/) > [It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/it-s-good-to-meet-you-dr-banner-your-work-on-anti-electron-collisions/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [“We create models to explain nature, but the models wind u gate-crashing nature and driving away the original inhabitants. In my lecturing days most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/we-create-models-to-explain-nature-but-the-models-wind-u-gate/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [I wanna be your girlfriend more than an electron wants to attach to a proton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-stone/i-wanna-be-your-girlfriend-more-than-an-electron-wants-to-attach-to-a/) [Emma Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-stone/) > [“an electron accelerated to .9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 9999999999999 times the speed of light would hit you with the same impact as a Mack truck traveling at normal speed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/an-electron-accelerated-to/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [“Werner feels he is gazing down into the circuitry of an enormous radio, each soldier down there an electron flowing single file down his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/werner-feels-he-is-gazing-down-into-the-circuitry-of-an-enormous/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [This is our world now The world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loyd-blankenship/this-is-our-world-now-the-world-of-the-electron-and-the-switch-the/) [Loyd Blankenship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loyd-blankenship/) > [“Take this neat little equation here. It tells me all the ways an electron can make itself comfortable in or around an atom. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-feynman/take-this-neat-little-equation-here-it-tells-me-all-the-ways-an/) [Richard Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-feynman/) > [There was a time when we wanted to be told what an electron is. The question was never answered. No familiar conceptions can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-eddington/there-was-a-time-when-we-wanted-to-be-told-what-an-electron-is-the/) [Arthur Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-eddington/) > [“The existence of both ( electron and pebble ) depends upon the context created by our thoughts, our language, our theories, and our interaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-alba-juez/the-existence-of-both-electron-and-pebble-depends-upon-the-context/) [Felix Alba-Juez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-alba-juez/) > [The electron can no longer be conceived as a single, small granule of electricity; it must be associated with a wave, and this wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/the-electron-can-no-longer-be-conceived-as-a-single-small-granule-of/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [An electron is real; a probability is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-von-baeyer/an-electron-is-real-a-probability-is-not/) [Hans Christian von Baeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-von-baeyer/) > [I always imagined myself somehow as an electron around some atom, and you're just, like, bouncing around and spinning. There was a never-ending supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-freston/i-always-imagined-myself-somehow-as-an-electron-around-some-atom-and/) [Tom Freston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-freston/) > [I'm positive I lost an electron, I better keep an ion that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-positive-i-lost-an-electron-i-better-keep-an-ion-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Marcus Chown > [“Muži jsou výsledkem produkce testosteronu. Jsou v podstatě ženami s jedním genem navíc. A každý muž na Zemi – i ten nejmužnější chlap –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-chown/mu-i-jsou-v-sledkem-produkce-testosteronu-jsou-v-podstat-enami-s-jedn/) [Marcus Chown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-chown/) > [“I am constantly amazed by how much stranger science is than science fiction”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-chown/i-am-constantly-amazed-by-how-much-stranger-science-is-than-science/) [Marcus Chown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-chown/) > [“Now, at the outset of the twenty-first century, we stand on the verge of a new revolution. The search for a deeper theory than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-chown/now-at-the-outset-of-the-twenty-first-century-we-stand-on-the-verge/) [Marcus Chown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-chown/) > [“Co mají společného letadla, televize a pouliční lampy s žábami, velrybami a lidmi? Ve všech těchto případech jde o vysoce nepravděpodobná uspořádání hmoty a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-chown/co-maj-spole-n-ho-letadla-televize-a-pouli-n-lampy-s-bami-velrybami-a/) [Marcus Chown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-chown/) > [“Now, why should the universe be constructed in such a way that atoms acquire the ability to be curious about themselves? That, surely, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-chown/now-why-should-the-universe-be-constructed-in-such-a-way-that-atoms/) [Marcus Chown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-chown/) > [“It was like bouncing tennis balls off a mystery piece of furniture and deducing, from the direction in which the balls ricocheted, whether it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-chown/it-was-like-bouncing-tennis-balls-off-a-mystery-piece-of-furniture/) [Marcus Chown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-chown/) > [“In a galaxy far, far away, at a time when the Earth hosted nothing bigger than a simple bacterium, two monster black holes, locked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-chown/in-a-galaxy-far-far-away-at-a-time-when-the-earth-hosted-nothing/) [Marcus Chown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-chown/) [Explore all 8 Marcus Chown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-chown/) ## More Electron quotes > [I'm positive I lost an electron, I better keep an ion that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-positive-i-lost-an-electron-i-better-keep-an-ion-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always imagined myself somehow as an electron around some atom, and you're just, like, bouncing around and spinning. There was a never-ending supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-freston/i-always-imagined-myself-somehow-as-an-electron-around-some-atom-and/) [Tom Freston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-freston/) > [An electron is real; a probability is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-von-baeyer/an-electron-is-real-a-probability-is-not/) [Hans Christian von Baeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-von-baeyer/) > [The electron can no longer be conceived as a single, small granule of electricity; it must be associated with a wave, and this wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/the-electron-can-no-longer-be-conceived-as-a-single-small-granule-of/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [“The existence of both ( electron and pebble ) depends upon the context created by our thoughts, our language, our theories, and our interaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-alba-juez/the-existence-of-both-electron-and-pebble-depends-upon-the-context/) [Felix Alba-Juez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-alba-juez/) > [There was a time when we wanted to be told what an electron is. The question was never answered. No familiar conceptions can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-eddington/there-was-a-time-when-we-wanted-to-be-told-what-an-electron-is-the/) [Arthur Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-eddington/) > [“Take this neat little equation here. It tells me all the ways an electron can make itself comfortable in or around an atom. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-feynman/take-this-neat-little-equation-here-it-tells-me-all-the-ways-an/) [Richard Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-feynman/) > [This is our world now The world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loyd-blankenship/this-is-our-world-now-the-world-of-the-electron-and-the-switch-the/) [Loyd Blankenship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loyd-blankenship/) > [“Werner feels he is gazing down into the circuitry of an enormous radio, each soldier down there an electron flowing single file down his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/werner-feels-he-is-gazing-down-into-the-circuitry-of-an-enormous/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“an electron accelerated to .9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 9999999999999 times the speed of light would hit you with the same impact as a Mack truck traveling at normal speed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/an-electron-accelerated-to/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [I wanna be your girlfriend more than an electron wants to attach to a proton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-stone/i-wanna-be-your-girlfriend-more-than-an-electron-wants-to-attach-to-a/) [Emma Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-stone/) > [“We create models to explain nature, but the models wind u gate-crashing nature and driving away the original inhabitants. In my lecturing days most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/we-create-models-to-explain-nature-but-the-models-wind-u-gate/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/it-s-good-to-meet-you-dr-banner-your-work-on-anti-electron-collisions/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [The electron: may it never be of any use to anybody!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-john-thomson/the-electron-may-it-never-be-of-any-use-to-anybody/) [Joseph John Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-john-thomson/) > [“The bridge between the electron and the other elementary particles is provided by the fine structure constant. ... An expanded form of the constant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-h-mac-gregor/the-bridge-between-the-electron-and-the-other-elementary-particles-is/) [Malcolm H. Mac Gregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-h-mac-gregor/) [Browse all 48 Electron quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electron/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But, in 1927, Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer in the US and George Thomson in Scotland demonstrated that electrons could interfere with each other, their quantum waves reinforcing and cancelling each other out just like ripples overlapping on a pond. The irony is that George Thomson’s father was ‘J. J.’ Thomson, who had discovered the electron. 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