Thus, once he introduced his basic assumptions, Bohr was able to derive an equation that matched the relationship obtained from the analysis of the spectrum of the hydrogen atom. Solving for the wavelength of this light gives a value of 486.3 nm, which agrees with the experimental value of 486.1 nm for the blue line in the visible spectrum of the hydrogen atom. It also provided a basis for understanding why this model failed for more complex systems. Light acts as both a particle and a wave. In many ways light acts as a wave, with a characteristic frequency, wavelength, and amplitude.
Light carries energy as if it contains discrete photons or packets of energy.
By simultaneously assuming that an object can be both a particle and a wave, de Broglie set up the following equation. By rearranging this equation, he derived a relationship between one of the wave-like properties of matter and one of its properties as a particle. De Broglie concluded that most particles are too heavy to observe their wave properties. When the mass of an object is very small, however, the wave properties can be detected experimentally. De Broglie predicted that the mass of an electron was small enough to exhibit the properties of both particles and waves.