Wave-particle duality is a fundamental concept in quantum mechanics that plays a significant role in Junger’s exploration of reality and consciousness in In My Time of Dying. This principle describes the phenomenon in which quantum entities, such as electrons and photons, exhibit both wave-like and particle-like properties depending on how they are observed or measured.

The concept emerged in the early twentieth century as physicists grappled with experimental results that defied explanation through the principles of classical physics. Thomas Young’s double-slit experiment in 1801 initially demonstrated that light is a wave, showing interference patterns characteristic of waves. However, Einstein’s explanation of the photoelectric effect in 1905 revealed that light also behaves as if it were made up of discrete particles (photons) in certain circumstances.

Louis de Broglie extended this duality to matter in 1924, proposing that all matter has wave-like properties. This idea was experimentally confirmed when electrons were shown to produce interference patterns like those observed with light waves.

In In My Time of Dying, Junger uses wave-particle duality as a cornerstone in his discussion of the counterintuitive nature of quantum reality. He explains how this concept challenges the everyday understanding of the world, in which objects are expected to be either particles or waves, but not both simultaneously.