what waves in an electron?

Question

in a sound wave it is molecules air
in a water wave it is drops of water
in an electron is is ?

Answer 1

De Broglie wave (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Broglie_hypothesis)
which means the material aspect of a particle or a body...basically all the material characteristics form a group which acts as a oscillating quantum...so the propagation of the material aspect is a wave. See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave-particle_duality
This is that wave of which phase velocity exceeds the speed of the light in some material mediums.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/relativ/einvel.html
...being sufficiently isolated every material object, (even you) has a de Broglie wavelength, so you can ask even: what waves in persons? The answer is the same.

Answer 2

Nothing is waving. You shouldn't think of an electron as a particle or as a wave. It's just this wierd thing that comes in chunks like a particle, but whose position obeys a wave function.

The wave-like behavior is because its probability density function is the square of the solution of a differential equation (the Schrodinger equation) that is very similar to a wave equation.

If you must say that something is waving, you could say the electron field is waving.

And if you know what's good for you, don't go asking what THAT is.

Answer 3

Er, a vacuum. In the same way that a light wave travels without the particles of it's medium oscillating, so does the electron wave. If there were particles oscillating then the wave particle duality would be hard to conceive, it would clearly be a wave.
The wave behavior comes as a solution to various equations in quantum mechanics, rather than an observation of particles oscillating.

Sorry if the answer seems unsatisfying

Answer 4

Here's the best way to see it:
Take a piece of paper and put a dot in the middle, now hold up a pen about 3 feet above the paper and drop it so that the pen hits the paper trying to hit the dot in the middle. Repeat 100 times. If you were to try it on the 101th time where would the pen hit?
You wouldn't know where it would hit, but you'd have a rough idea. The electron exists as a wave and hence you don't know where it exists, but you have a rough idea.

Answer 5

In quantum mechanic Shrodinger wave equation is used to describe electron. It's not something I would try visualizing.

Look up Shrodinger wave equation, wave/particle duality and quantum mechanics in general.

Answer 6

The electron's distribution of probability density is what waves.

Answer 7

What's the electron field?