Photons and electrons are two fundamental particles in quantum mechanics, yet they possess entirely distinct properties. A photon is an elementary particle acting as an energy carrier, while an electron is a subatomic particlecontained within all atoms. This article elaborates on the definitions, concepts and differences between electrons and photons.An atom consists of three types of particles: electrons, protons and neutrons. The electron is a negatively charged subatomic particle. Electrons are bound to the atomic nucleus within subshells, while free electrons exist unbound to any atom. Electrons are denoted by the symbol e or β, and their electric charge is quantified in coulombs.

Among the three constituent particles of an atom, the electron has the smallest mass, approximately 1/1800 the mass of a proton, with a precise rest mass of 9.10938356×10⁻³¹ kilograms.Louis de Broglie first derived the wavelength of electrons by combining Einstein’s equations and Planck’s constant. The formula for the electron’s wavelength is as follows: