The Davisson-Germer experiments in low-voltage electron diffraction established the wave nature of the electron and confirmed the de Broglie theory upon which wave mechanics is based. For this discovery, Davisson, jointly with G. P. Thomson who at the same time discovered electron diffraction using much higher-voltage electrons, was awarded the Nobel Prize.
The discovery that an index of refraction that varied in voltage must be assigned to the bombarding electrons confirmed the Fermi theory of electrons in metals. The anomalies observed in the index led to the initial development of the dynamical theory of electron diffraction.
The occurrence of diffraction beams due to ordered adsorption of gas atoms on the crystal surface is now leading to a new understanding of the physics of surfaces.
