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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Phys.org [phys.org]:

IMDEA Nanoscience and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid has found for the first time experimental evidence that one-dimensional lattices with nanoscale periodicity can interact with the electrons from a bidimensional gas by spatially separating their different wavelengths by means of a physical phenomenon known as Bragg diffraction. This phenomenon is well-known for wave propagation in general and is responsible for the iridescent color observed upon illumination of a CD surface. Due to the wave-particle duality proposed by De Broglie in 1924, electrons also present a wave-like behavior and, thus, diffraction phenomena. Actually, the observation that low-energy free electrons undergo diffraction processes upon interaction with well-ordered atomic lattices on solid surfaces was the first experimental confirmation of the wave-particle duality. Bidimensional electrons bonded to solid surfaces, of course, also present wave-like behavior which could be directly visualized in the 90s by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy. However, the observation of Bragg diffraction in such systems had remained hitherto elusive.

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