Few concepts in Physics generate wonder quite like Quantum Theory. You only need to look at the shelves in the Popular Science section of a bookstore for evidence. Yet (once again) in schools we play down this sense of wonder. I used to think this wasn’t done deliberately but now I’m beginning to learn that there was once a school of thought that believed in doing exactly that, particularly for Science (more on that later).

Anyways, one of the most incredible ideas in Quantum Theory concerns the nature of matter itself – is it a particle or is it a wave?
For light, we can prove that it’s both (ridiculous though that may sound) and indeed students are expected to know the demonstrations which verify both. There is however no suggestion anywhere in either the textbooks (that I have come across) or in the syllabus that there is anything slightly disturbing in this. There was a single question on the exam paper once which asked why was Quantum Theory considered revolutionary, but that was it. No other reference to what is one of the greatest mysteries of science; how can something be both a particle and a wave. Why do I seem to be the only one who feels so frustrated by this?

So in an attempt to pass on some of this sense of wonder for the microscopic world, I put together the following set of demonstrations for my sixth years on the last day of term. It’s about 22 minutes long so is in two parts. Forgive its amateur appearance.