The important differences between electromagnetic waves and matter waves are given below:
| Electromagnetic waves | Matter waves |
|---|---|
| Electromagnetic are associated with electric and magnetic fields perpendicular to each other and to the direction of propagation of radiation | Matter waves may not be associated with electric and magnetic fields |
| Electromagnetic waves can be radiated into space or emitted | Matter waves are neither radiated into space nor emitted by the particles. These are simply associated with the particles |
| They do not require any medium for propagation; in other words, these waves can pass through vacuum | They require medium for propagation i.e. these waves cannot pass through vacuum |
| All electromagnetic waves travel with the same velocity | Matter waves travel with different velocities |
| The velocity of all electromagnetic waves is equal to that of light (3 x 108 m/sec) | The velocity of matter waves is generally less than that of light |
| The wavelengths of electromagnetic radiations are much large and are given by the relation)λ= c/ν is where 'ν' is the frequency | The matter waves have shorter wavelengths given by de-Broglie equation, λ = h/mν |
