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Cutnell - Quantum Summary of Concepts

1) Wave-particle duality refers to the fact that waves can behave like particles and particles can behave like waves. 2) Max Planck proposed that atomic oscillators can only have discrete energies given by E=hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the vibration frequency. 3) The Compton effect describes the scattering of photons by electrons, with the photon's wavelength increasing and energy decreasing by an amount related to the electron's mass.

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95 views1 page

Cutnell - Quantum Summary of Concepts

1) Wave-particle duality refers to the fact that waves can behave like particles and particles can behave like waves. 2) Max Planck proposed that atomic oscillators can only have discrete energies given by E=hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the vibration frequency. 3) The Compton effect describes the scattering of photons by electrons, with the photon's wavelength increasing and energy decreasing by an amount related to the electron's mass.

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kirei_glaiza
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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TOPIC

Wave - particle duality

DISCUSSION
THE WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY, BLACKBODY RADIATION AND PLANCKs CONSTANT The Wave-Particle duality refers to the fact that a wave can exhibit particle-like characteristics and a particle can exhibit wave-like characteristics. At a constant temperature, a perfect blackbody absorbs and reemits all the electromagnetic radiation that falls on it. Max Planck calculated the emitted radiation intensity per unit wavelength as a function of wavelength. In his theory, Planck assumed that a blackbody consists of atomic oscillators that can have only discrete, or quantized, energies. Plancks quantized energies are given by

Compton effect

The Compton effect is the scattering of a photon by an electron in a material, the scattered photon having a smaller frequency and, hence, a smaller energy than the incident photon. Part of the photons energy and momentum are transferred to the recoiling electron. The difference between the wavelength of the scattered photon and the wavelength of the incident photon is related to the scattering angle by

Perfect blackbody

Wavelength difference in the Compton effect Compton wavelength of the electron

where m is the mass of the electron. The quantity h/(mc) is known as the Compton wavelength of the electron. THE DE BROGLIE WAVELENGTH AND THE WAVE NATURE OF MATTER The de Broglie wavelength of a particle is

Energies of atomic oscillators where h is Plancks constant ( vibration frequency of an oscillator. ) and f is the

De Broglie wavelength where h is Plancks constant and p is the magnitude of the relativistic momentum of the particle. Because of its wavelength, a particle can exhibit wave-like characteristics. The wave associated with a particle is a wave of probability. THE HEISENBERG UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE The Heisenberg uncertainty principle places limits on our knowledge about the behavior of a particle. The uncertainty principle indicates that

PHOTONS AND THE PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT All electromagnetic radiation consists of photons, which are packets of energy. The energy of a photon is Energy of a photon where h is Plancks constant and f is the frequency of the photon. A photon has no mass and always travels at the speed of light c in a vacuum. Photoelectric effect Work function The photoelectric effect is the phenomenon in which light shining on a metal surface causes electrons to be ejected from the surface. The work function W0 of a metal is the minimum work that must be done to eject an electron from the metal. In accordance with the conservation of energy, the electrons ejected from a metal have a maximum kinetic energy KEmax that is related to the energy hf of the incident photon and the work function of the metal by

Uncertainty principle momentum and position

where

is the uncertainty in the particles position along the y

direction, and is the uncertainty in the y-component of the linear momentum of the particle. Uncertainty principle energy and time The uncertainty principle also states that

Conservation of energy and the photoelectric effect Magnitude of a photons momentum

THE MOMENTUM OF A PHOTON AND THE COMPTON EFFECT The magnitude p of a photons momentum is where h is Plancks constant and is the wavelength of the photon.

where is the uncertainty in the energy of a particle when it is in a certain state, and is the time interval during which the particle is in the state.

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