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Intro To Quantum Mechanics

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100% found this document useful (1 vote)
39 views48 pages

Intro To Quantum Mechanics

Uploaded by

kaisbarboura99
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Introduction to

Quantum Mechanics
Outline
 Black-body radiation
 Photoelectric effect
 Matter Waves
 Bohr’s model of atomic quantization
 Schrödinger wave equation
 The uncertainty principle
Intro
 It was once thought that the motion of atoms and subatomic particles could
be expressed using classical mechanics.
◦ The laws of motion introduced by Isaac Newton
 These laws were very successful at explaining the motion of everyday objects
and planets.
 However, experimental evidence showed that classical mechanics failed when
it was applied to particles as small as electrons.
 It took until the 1920s to discover the appropriate concepts and equations for
describing them.
 The concepts of this new mechanics are described in Quantum Mechanics.
Quantum Mechanics
Grew out of problems that seemed simple
 Black-body radiation
 Photoelectric Effect
 Atomic Spectra
Produces some very strange results…
What’s going on here?
Blackbody Radiation
• A blackbody is a material capable of emitting and
absorbing all wavelengths of radiations uniformly.
• The electromagnetic radiation emitted by the black body
is called blackbody radiation.
• A good approximation to a blackbody is a pinhole in an
empty container maintained at a constant temperature.
Any radiation leaking out of the hole has been absorbed
and re-emitted inside so many times as it reflected
around inside the container that it has come to thermal
equilibrium with the walls.
The spaces between lumps of hot charcoal emit
light that is very much like blackbody radiation.
Experimental Results
The wavelength distribution of radiation from cavities was studied
experimentally in the late 19th century, and two consistent
experimental findings were seen as especially significant:
1. The total power of the emitted radiation increases with
temperature:
Stefan’s Law
where P is the power in watts radiated at all wavelengths from the surface of an object, is
the Stefan–Boltzmann constant, A is the surface area of the object in square meters, e is
the emissivity of the surface ( for a black body), and T is the surface temperature in kelvins.

2. The peak of the wavelength distribution shifts to shorter wavelengths as the temperature increases.
This behavior is described by the following relationship, called Wien’s displacement law:

where is the wavelength at which the curve peaks and T is the absolute temperature of the surface of the object emitting the radiation.
Example: Star color
Suppose a star has a surface temperature of . What color would this star appear?

−𝟑
𝟐 . 𝟖𝟗𝟖 × 𝟏𝟎 𝒎∙ 𝑲
𝝀 𝒎𝒂𝒙 =
𝑻
−𝟑
𝟐 . 𝟖𝟗𝟖× 𝟏𝟎 𝒎∙ 𝑲
𝝀 𝒎𝒂𝒙 = 𝟒
𝟑 .𝟐𝟓 × 𝟏 𝟎 𝑲

𝝀 𝒎𝒂𝒙 =𝟖𝟗. 𝟐𝒏𝒎


Max Planck’s Hypothesis
Max Planck assumed the cavity radiation came from
atomic oscillators in the cavity walls. He proposed that
the electromagnetic field could take up energy only in
discrete amounts. This is called quantization of energy:

where n is a positive integer called a quantum number, f is the


oscillator’s frequency, and is called Planck’s constant.
Max Planck, 1900

Planck’s theory has led to an equation for that is in


complete agreement with experimental results at all
wavelengths:
𝟐
𝟐 𝝅 𝒉𝒄
𝑰 ( 𝝀 , 𝑻 )= 𝟓 𝒉𝒄 / 𝝀𝒌 𝑻
𝝀 (𝒆 − 𝟏)
𝑩
Example: The Quantized Oscillator
A 2.00-kg block is attached to a massless spring that has a force constant of . The spring is
stretched from its equilibrium position and released from rest.
A. Find the total energy of the system and the frequency of oscillation according to classical
calculations.
B. Assuming the energy of the oscillator is quantized, find the quantum number n for the
system oscillating with this amplitude.
C. Suppose the oscillator makes a transition from the state to the state corresponding to . By
how much does the energy of the oscillator change in this one-quantum change?
Photoelectric Effect
Heinrich Hertz, 1887
Photoelectric effect: Experiment

The photoelectric current as a


function of the light frequency f
for light of constant intensity. The photoelectric current as a
function of the battery potential.
Dependence of ejection of electrons on light frequency
Classical prediction: Electrons should be ejected
from the metal at any incident light frequency, as
long as the light intensity is high enough, because
energy is transferred to the metal regardless of
the incident light frequency.
Experimental result: No electrons are emitted if
the incident light frequency falls below some
cutoff frequency f0, whose value is characteristic
of the material being illuminated. No electrons are
ejected below this cutoff frequency regardless of
the light intensity.
Dependence of photoelectron kinetic energy on light intensity
Classical prediction: Electrons should absorb energy
continuously from the electromagnetic waves. As the
light intensity incident on a metal is increased, energy
should be transferred into the metal at a higher rate
and the electrons should be ejected with more kinetic
energy.
Experimental result: The maximum kinetic energy of
photoelectrons is independent of light intensity. The
maximum kinetic energy is proportional to the
stopping potential:
Dependence of photoelectron kinetic energy on light frequency
Classical prediction: There should be no relationship
between the frequency of the light and the electron
kinetic energy. The kinetic energy should be related to
the intensity of the light.
Experimental result: The maximum kinetic energy of
the photoelectrons increases with increasing light
frequency.
Time interval between incidence of light and ejection of photoelectrons
Classical prediction: At low light intensities, a measurable time interval should
pass between the instant the light is turned on and the time an electron is
ejected from the metal. This time interval is required for the electron to absorb
the incident radiation before it acquires enough energy to escape from the
metal.
Experimental result: Electrons are emitted from the surface of the metal almost
instantaneously (less than 10-9 s after the surface is illuminated), even at very
low light intensities.
Einstein’s explanation
Einstein, 1905
Added onto Planck’s Theory…
Called the electron’s emitted, PHOTONS (the little
energy packets Planck called quanta)
Now…
Planck paved the way for the explanation behind
Einstein in 1921 Nobel the mystery.
Prize portrait Cited for
PE Effect But some one else came into the picture…
PE explained!
1) Number of electrons depends on intensity
Higher intensity  More quanta
2) Energy of electrons DOES NOT depend on intensity
Only one photon to eject
3) Cut-off frequency: minimum frequency to get any emission
, where , called the work function, represents the minimum energy with which an electron is
bound in the metal
4) Above cut-off, energy increases linearly with frequency
The photon model of light
The photon model of light consists of three basic
postulates:
1. Light consists of discrete, massless units called
photons. A photon travels in vacuum at the
speed of light.
2. Each photon has energy where f is the frequency
of the light and is Planck’s constant.
3. The superposition of a sufficiently large number
of photons has the characteristics of a classical
light wave.
Matter Waves
In 1924, Louis de Broglie postulated that because photons
have wave and particle characteristics, perhaps all forms of
matter have both properties.
The de Broglie wavelength of a particle is

where h is Planck’s constant.


Experimental evidence: the double-slit experiment with
electrons (one at a time), atoms, and even molecules!
Example: Why don’t we see the particle-wave nature in heavy
objects?
de Broglie Waves h

p
Planck’s Constant is tiny 87
Rb, 200 m/s
h = 6.626  10 –34 J-s l = 0.02 nm
Still small, but can start to see effects
145 g baseball, 40 m/s More significant for single atoms
l = 1.1  10 –34 m
Insignificant for macroscopic objects
Electron diffraction
Send electrons at two slits in a barrier:

Image and video from Hitachi: http://www.hitachi.com/rd/research/em/doubleslit.html


Fullerene diffraction

Fig. 7 in the paper, "Quantum interference experiments with


large molecules,“ by Nairz, Arndt, and Zeilinger (Am. J. Phys 71,
319 (2003)).
Big Molecules

430 ATOMS
Atomic Quantization
Atomic spectra

Atoms emit light at discrete,


characteristic frequencies.

Observed in 1860’s, unexplained


until 1913!

Spectroscopy of Stars - Wonders of the Universe


Emission spectra of sodium, top,
compared to the emission spectrum
of the sun, bottom.

The Visible Spectrum of Sunlight. The


characteristic dark lines are mostly due to
the absorption of light by elements that are
present in the cooler outer part of the sun’s
atmosphere; specific elements are indicated
by the labels. The lines at 628 and 687 nm,
however, are due to the absorption of light
by oxygen molecules in Earth’s atmosphere.
Bohr’s model of atomic quantization

1913: Neils Bohr comes up


with “solar system” model
Implications of Bohr’s model
1. Matter is stable. An atom in its ground state has no states of any lower
energy to which it can jump. It can remain in the ground state forever.
2. Atoms emit and absorb a discrete spectrum. Only those photons whose
frequencies match the energy intervals between the stationary states can be
emitted or absorbed (energy conservation: ).
3. Each element in the periodic table has a unique spectrum. The energies of
the stationary states are the energies of the orbiting electrons. Different
elements, with different numbers of electrons, have different stable orbits
and thus different stationary states. States with different energies emit and
absorb photons of different wavelengths.
Energy level diagram

An energy-level diagram is a useful


pictorial representation of the
stationary-state energies.
Energy-level diagrams are especially
useful for showing transitions, or
quantum jumps, in which a photon of
light is emitted or absorbed.

The possible values of the particle’s


energy are called energy levels, and the
integer n that characterizes the energy
levels is called the quantum number.
Binding energy and ionization energy
Line spectrum of atomic hydrogen

Each series fits the formula ,


where is called the Rydberg
constant,
for the Lyman series, for the
Balmer series, for the Paschen
series, and so on; n can take on
all integer values from up to
infinity. The only lines in the
visible region of the
electromagnetic spectrum are
part of the Balmer series.
The Bohr Model
Bohr quickly found that his theory would be in
accord with the Balmer formula if he assumed
that the electron’s angular momentum is
quantized and equal to: An electron in a circular orbit of radius would
have a centripetal acceleration produced by
the electrical force of attraction between the
Angular momentum is given by , where is the negative electron and the positive nucleus.
moment of inertia and is the angular velocity. This force is given by Coulomb’s law:
For a single particle of mass moving in a circle
of radius with speed , and .
Newton’s second law: The potential energy of the electron is given by:

where is the potential due to a point charge as


given by:

The total energy for an electron in the nth orbit of


radius is:

The total energy equals the sum of the


kinetic and potential energies:
−34 −12 2 2 −31 −19
h=6.626 × 10 𝐽 ∙ 𝑠 𝜖 0=8.85 × 10 𝐶 / 𝑁 ∙𝑚 𝑚=9.11 ×10 𝑘𝑔 𝑒=1.602× 10 𝐶
Stationary states of the hydrogen atom
The hydrogen energy-level diagram
Absorption and emission

1
𝜆 (1 1
=𝑅 2 − 2
𝑖 𝑗 )
Line spectrum for hydrogen
Example: Emission and absorption
An atom has stationary states , , and . What wavelengths are observed in the absorption
spectrum and in the emission spectrum of this atom?
Photons are emitted when an atom undergoes a quantum jump from a higher energy level to a
lower energy level. Photons are absorbed in a quantum jump from a lower energy level to a
higher energy level. But most of the atoms are in the n = 1 ground state, so the only quantum
jumps seen in the absorption spectrum start from the n = 1 state.
Example: The wavelength of an emitted photon
An atom has stationary states with energies and . What is the wavelength of a photon emitted in
a quantum jump from state k to state j?

To conserve energy, the emitted photon must have exactly the energy lost by the atom in the
quantum jump.
The atom can jump from the higher energy state k to the lower energy state j by emitting a
photon. The atom’s change in energy is .
The photon frequency is
The wavelength of this photon is (visible-light wavelength)
The Wave Function
In 1926 Schrödinger proposed a wave equation that describes the manner in which matter
waves change in space and time.
Schrödinger’s wave equation is a key element in quantum mechanics.


i  H
t
The wave function depends on the particle’s position and time.
The value of |Ψ|2 at some location at a given time is proportional to the probability of finding
the particle at that location at that time.
The Schrodinger Equation (starting 2:50 min)
The Uncertainty Principle
When measurements are made, the experimenter is always faced with experimental uncertainties in the
measurements.
Quantum mechanics predicts that a barrier to measurements with ultimately small uncertainties does
exist.
In 1927 Heisenberg introduced the uncertainty principle: If a measurement of position of a particle is
made with precision Δx and a simultaneous measurement of linear momentum is made with precision
Δp, then h
xp x 
4
It is physically impossible to measure simultaneously the exact position and the exact linear momentum
of a particle.

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle


Cool videos
The Quantum Experiment that Broke Reality | Space Time | PBS Digital Studios
Dr Quantum - Double Slit Experiment
What can Schrödinger's cat teach us about quantum mechanics? - Josh Samani
The Secret Law Of Attraction FULL MOVIE
The Solvay Conference, probably the most intelligent picture ever taken,
1927
Back to front, left to right:
Back: Auguste Piccard, Émile Henriot,
Paul Ehrenfest, Édouard Herzen,
Théophile de Donder, Erwin
Schrödinger, JE Verschaffelt, Wolfgang
Pauli, Werner Heisenberg, Ralph
Fowler, Léon Brillouin.
Middle: Peter Debye, Martin
Knudsen, William Lawrence Bragg,
Hendrik Anthony Kramers, Paul Dirac,
Arthur Compton, Louis de Broglie,
Max Born, Niels Bohr.
Front: Irving Langmuir, Max Planck,
Marie Curie, Hendrik Lorentz, Albert
Einstein, Paul Langevin, Charles-
Eugène Guye, CTR Wilson, Owen
Richardson.

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