An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A method of producing → interference of light.
Two beams of → coherent light are produced by passing light through a very small circular aperture in one screen, then through two small circular apertures very close together in a second screen. On a third screen, behind the second screen, there will be
two overlapping sets of waves and, if the light is monochromatic, → interference fringes will appear on the third screen. The experiment can also be performed with a beam of electrons or atoms, showing similar interference patterns. Young’s experiment provides an evidence of the → wave-particle duality, as explained by → quantum mechanics. Same as → double-slit experiment.

See also: Named after the English scientist Thomas Young (1773-1829), who originally performed the experiment some time around 1801 in an attempt to resolve the question of whether light was composed of particles (the → corpuscular theory of light); or rather consisted of waves travelling through some → ether. The experiment proved the wave nature of light; → experiment.