Instruction for lab exercises

Quantum Mechanics 1

January 11, 2024

Introduction
In this lab exercise we will be conducting two different experiments: Spectrometer measurements of a
hydrogen lamp and measurements of the photoelectric effect. For many of the assignments your answers
to the prelab exercises will come in handy. The lab instructors will discuss your prelab answers during
the lab classes.

The purpose of the exercise These lab exercises are constructed such that you learn about:
• Quantization of energy
• Determination of uncertainties
• Drawing conclusions based on experimental measurements

The outcome of the exercise: You must document your lab classes with a written report, which can
be written either individually or as a group. Note that a group can be at most 3 people.
Look in Absalon for the due date of the lab report. The report can be no longer than 15 pages with
font size 12. As we do not want long theory sections, please motivate and refer to either the book or the
lab instruction if you need an equation. The report must cover both experiments and we expect you to
utilize all your knowledge about writing reports which you have gathered in the previous courses, like EM2.

N.B. Some of the instruments are very sensitive – Be very careful with them!

The hydrogen lamp is particularly fragile and you must under no circumstances touch
the bulb directly. The lamp must not be on for longer than absolutely necessary, so pay
attention when you do the experiment.

Do not look directly into the LEDs – one of them is UV radiation and can harm your
eyes!

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Quantum Mechanics 1 Lab Instruction 1 SPECTROMETER

1 Spectrometer
The purpose of the first experiment is to investigate how the quantization of energy levels leads to light
emitted at discrete wavelengths. In this experiment we will gather spectrometer data from a hydrogen
lamp and from different LED lamps. The exercise is based on your calculations from the prelab assign-
ment, so you can use those concepts to describe your observations from the experiment.
The experimental focus is to optimize the spectrometer measurements and determine the uncertainties.
This experiment is the fastest of the two. Therefore use some time to explore various pos-
sibilities to see the most peaks and get the highest quality data.

Setup: The hydrogen lamp is to be connected to the power outlet while the LED lamp has an internal
battery. The spectrometer, which measures the intensity of light as a function of either wavelength or fre-
quency, is from Ocean Optics and must be connected with a USB cable to your computer (you will need a
USB-A port or adapter). You must use the program SpectraSuite to read the spectrometer data. The soft-
ware for Windows, MacOS, and Linux can be found on Absalon, under Files/Lab/SpectrometerSoftware/.
You can install it on your own laptop (password will be given by lab instructors) and de-install it once
the course is finished. Only one laptop with SpectraSuite is required. Other useful materials to optimize
the experiment can be found in the lab.

Tasks: For the report we expect you to do certain measurement series and consider the following ques-
tions. Remember to save1 your spectra – you will need them for the data analysis in the report. We
encourage you to use the terminology from the prelab exercise.

• Determine the wavelengths of the hydrogen lamp and the LED lamps and calculate their energies.
• What is the connection between Figure 1 in the prelab exercise, and the plot in SpectraSuite?

• What does integration time in SpectraSuite mean in connection with your data?
• Why do you see multiple peaks? Justify your choice of uncertainties in your data, both systematic
and statistical.
• How can you reduce the noise on the measurements? Consider if the possible improvements in the
measurements are related to systematic or statistical uncertainties.
• Is the electron in a free or bound state after it has jumped and produced a spectral line?
• Identify the bound states which the electron in the hydrogen lamp jumps from.
• Is the energy of the light from the LEDs and from the hydrogen lamp discrete or continuous?

1 To save a spectrum, pause the acquisition, then hit the Save icon in the Graph window and make sure you select the

option ”Tab Delimited” under File Type.

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Quantum Mechanics 1 Lab Instruction 2 PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

2 Photoelectric effect
The purpose of this experiment is to show that electrons in matter are bound by a potential energy and
that only light with a certain color can transfer energy to free the electrons. We will gather data using
the same LED lamps as in the spectrometer exercise and compare it to your sketched graph of assignment
10 in your prelab exercise. We will also find the binding energy of the cathode.
The experimental focus is to discuss what can make your experiment more or less statistically significant,
and design an experiment which determines the influence of light intensity.

Setup: The photoelectrical box has an internal 9 V battery in the marked circuit. An Ammeter and
Voltmeter is hooked up to the two indicated positions on the box and the measurements are done with
these. The anode and cathode are just visible in the open hole in the box and these are illuminated with
the different LED lamps.

Tasks: You must take multiple measurement series and include answers of the following questions in
your report. We expect you to base your arguments on equations, drawing, etc., and your knowledge
from the prelab exercise. You can follow the steps below. Please document all the steps in your report

• Start by familiarizing with the setup. Your instruments are a Voltmeter and an Ammeter. How
do you control the voltage reading in the Voltmeter? What does the Ammeter read? And in what
units?
• If there is no light on the cathode, do you expect any current to flow? Calibrate the Ammeter
accordingly and discuss what experimental measures you can take to ensure that no current flows
at all, so you can safely ”zero” your Ammeter.

• Place the LED lamp at a fixed distance from the cathode and obtain a data series of current vs
voltage. Make sure you pick a reasonable voltage range and sufficiently small steps in voltage.
Repeating the measurements a few time would be good to acquire enough statistical information.
• Repeat the step above for all LED lamps so you are able to plot the data and compare it to your
graphs in assignment 10 from the prelab exercise.
• Plot your data and discuss in groups: if the energy of the photons is doubled, what happens to the
current?
• Also discuss the following: if the intensity of the photons is doubled (or tripled, or quadrupled),
what happens to the current? Consider how the intensity influences the quality of your data. Note:
you will not directly measure the intensity of the LED lamps for this experiment, but you can still
use your data to support the relationship between intensity and current.
• How can you design an experiment which shows that the voltage where the current goes to zero is
independent of intensity? Test your hypothesis with a single LED lamp

• You should now be able to derive the binding energy from your data - is it the same for all the
lamps?
• If you have already performed the Spectrometer experiment, consider which effect the shape of the
spectrum of the LED lamps has on your data. Is it completely clear which wavelength to use in the
calculations? You can return to this question later, if you have not done the other experiment.

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Quantum Mechanics 1 Lab Instruction 2 PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

Value of relevant constants

Rydberg’s constant: R = 1.097 373 157 · 107 m−1

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