In his time, the wave and particle interpretations of light and matter were seen as being at odds with one another, but de Broglie suggested that these seemingly different characteristics were instead the same behavior observed from different perspectives — that particles can behave like waves, and waves (radiation) can behave like particles.
Pada masanya, interpretasi gelombang dan partikel dari cahaya dan materi dipandang saling bertentangan satu sama lain, namun de Broglie menyarankan bahwa karakteristik yang tampaknya berbeda ini justru merupakan perilaku yang sama jika diamati dari perspektif yang berbeda — bahwa partikel dapat berperilaku seperti gelombang, dan gelombang (radiasi) dapat berperilaku seperti partikel.