Final answer:
The wave nature of light is evidenced by phenomena such as interference and diffraction, where light behaves in ways that are characteristic of waves, like creating patterns when passing through a double slit. The concept of wave-particle duality encompasses this idea, as light can show wave-like behavior while also demonstrating particle-like properties in other contexts.
Step-by-step explanation:
Wave Nature of Light
The wave nature of light is supported by various experimental phenomena such as diffraction, interference, and polarization. For example, when light passes through a double slit, it creates an interference pattern of bright and dark bands on a screen. This pattern can only be explained by the wave nature of light, as waves from each slit interfere with each other constructively and destructively. Another example is diffraction, where light bends around obstacles or spreads as it passes through small apertures, creating a pattern that resembles ripples on water. These behaviors are characteristic of waves and cannot be explained if light were simply a stream of particles.
The concept of wave-particle duality is central to modern physics and suggests that light behaves as both a wave and a particle. This duality was a groundbreaking discovery, revealing that light can exhibit wave-like behavior in some experiments while acting like a particle in others, such as the photoelectric effect, which necessitated the introduction of the photon concept by Albert Einstein.