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Lecture 2 2021 - Week 2

This document provides an overview of quantum mechanics concepts and experiments. It discusses how classical physics breaks down at small scales and experiments like the photoelectric effect that show light behaving like particles. It introduces key ideas from early pioneers like Planck, Einstein, de Broglie, Heisenberg, Schrodinger and others that helped develop quantum mechanics. These include energy quantization, wave-particle duality, matter waves, and uncertainty. Examples are given of wave-particle duality being shown in electron diffraction and scanning electron microscopes. The document directs the reader to specific sections and examples in the textbook for further information.

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Lenny Ndlovu
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55 views

Lecture 2 2021 - Week 2

This document provides an overview of quantum mechanics concepts and experiments. It discusses how classical physics breaks down at small scales and experiments like the photoelectric effect that show light behaving like particles. It introduces key ideas from early pioneers like Planck, Einstein, de Broglie, Heisenberg, Schrodinger and others that helped develop quantum mechanics. These include energy quantization, wave-particle duality, matter waves, and uncertainty. Examples are given of wave-particle duality being shown in electron diffraction and scanning electron microscopes. The document directs the reader to specific sections and examples in the textbook for further information.

Uploaded by

Lenny Ndlovu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lecture 2

Quantum Mechanics
Where are we going?

Electronic components

How they work


• Current & voltage
characteristics

What’s inside
• Arrangement of structures

How carriers move in the


lattice
• Electrons and holes

Properties of carriers
• Quantum mechanics
The Mechanics

The Solvay Conference, 1927


Schrodinger Heisenberg
Debye Bragg Dirac Pauli Bohr

Planck Lorentz de BroglieBorn


Einstein
Chapter 2 in book

 Some basic quantum


mechanics
 Develop the idea of energy
quantization, probability clouds
etc. to understand electron
behaviour
 Energy-band theory
 Fermi-Dirac distribution
 Quantum states
 Schrodinger
Newtonian Physics
Breaks down!
 Classical physics (e.g. Newton’s
laws) began to disagree with
experiments performed with light
and electrons
 It seems that on a very small
(quantum) scale, these laws/rules
no longer apply so strictly
 Waves behave as particles: Arthur
Comptom (1923) established that
x-rays (waves) behave like particles
sometimes with well-defined energy
packets called quanta. READ IT!
 Lots of youtude videos e.g.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
-09DCaDmMIs
 Quantum Mechanics can explain
and predict these results
So… quantum
mechanics

Energy quanta

Wave-particle Schrodingers
duality Wave Equation

Uncertainty
principle
Why?

 Because classical (Newtonian)


physics breaks down when we
get to the small scale of
electrons
 Experimental evidence
disagreed with theoretical
predictions, for e.g. the
photoelectric effect
Photoelectric effect

Classical physics says:


When monochromatic light is
incident on a surface electrons
may be ejected from the surface,
provided that the intensity is
great enough.

Note: Independent of frequency


Photoelectric effect

But this does not happen…

Electrons are ejected at


frequencies greater than a
certain threshold, and the
maximum kinetic energy of
theses ejected electrons varies
linearly with light frequency.
Photoelectric effect

Photoelectron,
Tmax

Incident light kinetic energy T

Material

ν0 ν

No emission below ν0,


regardless of intensity!
1900: Planck

Postulated that thermal radiation emitted in


discrete packets of energy called “quanta”.
The energy of the quanta is given by E=hν,
where ν is the frequency of the radiation,
and h has the value 6.625×10-34 Js, called
Planck’s constant.
1905: Einstein

Suggested the light is also quantised in


such a manner as thermal radiation, i.e.
also in packets of energy called photons.

Photons have energy also given by E=hν,


where ν is the frequency of the light, and h
again is Planck’s constant.

So a photon with enough energy (i.e.


greater than the work function) can knock
an electron from the surface of the
material.
Photoelectric effect

Energy balance:

Incident light Photoelectron

Tmax
E=hν

E=hν0≡Φ

Tmax = ½mv2 = hν-hν0


1905: Einstein

So light, an EM wave, travels in packets with


quantised energy… sounds a bit like a bunch of
particles, huh?
1924: de Broglie

Postulated the existence of matter waves:

• If waves can exhibit particle-like properties,


then particles can exhibit wave-like
properties.

Wave-particle duality!

The momentum, p, of a photon (wave) is given by p = h/λ


So then why not say the wavelength of a particle is given by:

λ = h/p

λ in the first equation is the wavelength of the light wave,


whilst in the second, λ is called the de Broglie wavelength
How is this useful?

 The momentum of a photon is


given by p=h/λ (E=hv=hc/λ and
E=cp for a photon)
 So then also λ= h/p
 de Broglie decided that
particles then also have a
wavelength described by
this equation!
 Homework: work out the de
Broglie wavelength of a tennis
ball rolling along the ground at
0.5m/s
The Dude!

De Broglie
Wikipedia!
Inconsistency of observation
with classical physics
The de Broglie hypothesis helped resolve
outstanding issues in atomic physics.
Classical physics was unable to explain
the observed behaviour of electrons in
atoms.

Specifically, accelerating electrons emit


electromagnetic radiation according to
the Larmor formula. Electrons orbiting a
nucleus should lose energy to radiation
and eventually spiral into the nucleus.
This is not observed. Atoms are stable on
timescales much longer than predicted by
the classical Larmor formula.

 The de Broglie hypothesis helped explain


the above phenomena by noting that the
only allowed states for an electron
orbiting an atom are those that allow for
standing waves associated with each
electron.
Matter waves!!?

 This is useful to us now


because electrons are
particles
 So now we can use this
information about their wave-
like nature to describe them
 Realistically, these equations
and effects are only observable
on a quantum scale. Like with
electrons!
 A “typical” electron has a
wavelength on the order of
Angstoms (see book example)
Jarvis
Diverges..(again!)
Cerenkov radiation
 Cherenkov radiation is
defined as the
electromagnetic radiation emit
-ted when a charged particle
moves through a dielectric
medium faster than the velocity
of light in the medium

Doctor Manhattan
Example 2.2 from
Neamen
Wave-particle duality
Experiments
 Particles Behave as waves
 In 1927 at Bell Labs, Clinton Davisson and
Lester Germer fired slow moving electrons at
a crystalline nickel target… they found an
interference pattern (see Figure 2.2 and 2.3)

Theoretical

Experimental

Wave nature of electron


http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/davger.html#c1
Screen clipping taken: 2009/02/22, 10:37 PM
An Aside

Bragg's Law
http://hyperphysics.phy-
astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/quantum/bragg.html#c1
Screen clipping taken: 2009/02/22, 10:42 PM
An Example of Wave –
Particle duality: Scanning
Electron Microscope
Human hair
SEM Picture of
Transistor
Jarvis Experiment
Graphite to Graphene
(step one)
Jarvis Experiment
Graphite to Graphene
(step one)
Tutorial 2

 2.5,2.6, 2.8
 2.10, 2.11,2.22

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