Chapter-1: Quantum Mechanics

Failure of Classical Mechanics

And Need of Quantum Mechanics

Dr. Aalu Boda

Assistant Professor
Room No: PHY416
Department of Physics
NIT Warangal, TS.
E-mail: [email protected]
Contact: 9494868704, 8309991440
 Failure of Classical Mechanics
• What is classical mechanics ?
• Classical mechanics is a physical theory describing the motion of macroscopic objects, from
projectiles to parts of machinery, and astronomical objects, such as spacecraft, planets, stars and
galaxies. ...

• In 1860 - 1930 very few experiments carried out

Experiments : Rutherford Scattering

Hydrogen Emission Spectrum

Black Body Radiation

Heat Capacity or Specific Heat

Photo Electric Effect

Rutherford Scattering
 Hydrogen Emission
Spectrum
HERE, RED HAS THE BIGGEST WAVELENGTH
HENCE WHY THE LEAST DEFLECTION
Hydrogen Emission
Spectrum

VIBGYOR
λ⋅ T = b
wien’s law , Black Body
b = wein’s constant=2.89x10^(-3) mK
Radiation
 When x axis is frequency then unit of spectral radiance is UNIT : W / sr· m²·Hz
When x axis is wavelength then unit of spectral radiance is UNIT : W / sr·m²·m
Black Body
Radiation

Spectral Radiance
Heat Capacity vs Temperature

UNIT IS : J/mole K

k≈1.38× J/K
 Need another Theory ?

• Problems remained from classical mechanics

• Attempts to apply the laws of classical physics to explain the behavior of matter on the atomic scale were
consistently unsuccessful.

 Quantum Mechanics
Revolution

• Between 1900 and 1930, another revolution took place in physics.

• A new theory called quantum mechanics was successful in explaining the behavior
of particles of microscopic size.
• The first explanation using quantum theory was introduced by Max Planck.
• Many other physicists were involved in other subsequent developments
  Blackbody
Radiation

• An object (Ordinary body) at any temperature is known to emit thermal radiation.

• Characteristics depend on the temperature and surface properties.
• The thermal radiation consists of a continuous distribution of wavelengths from all portions of the
E.M. spectrum.
• At room temperature, the wavelengths of the thermal radiation are mainly in the infrared region.
• As the surface temperature increases, the wavelength changes.
• It will glow red and eventually white.

• The basic problem was in understanding the observed distribution in the radiation emitted by a black body.

• Classical physics didn’t adequately describe the observed distribution.

• A black body is an ideal system that absorbs all radiation incident on it. The electromagnetic radiation
emitted by a black body is called blackbody radiation.
  Blackbody Approximation

• A good approximation of a black body is a small hole leading to the inside of a hollow object .
• The hole acts as a perfect absorber.
• The nature of the radiation leaving the cavity through the hole depends only on the temperature of the cavity.

 Blackbody Experiment Results

• The total power of the emitted radiation increases with temperature.
• Stefan’s law:
P = s A e T4 = σ A e T
• The emissivity, e, of a black body is 1, exactly
• The peak of the wavelength distribution shifts to shorter wavelengths as the temperature increases.
• Wien’s displacement law
• T = 2.898 x 10-3 m . K

 Intensity of Blackbody Radiation, Summary

• The intensity increases with increasing temperature.

• The amount of radiation emitted increases with increasing temperature. AREA α ()
• The area under the curve f (max) α (
• The peak wavelength decreases with increasing temperature.
 Rayleigh-Jeans
Law
• An early classical attempt to explain blackbody radiation was the Rayleigh-Jeans
law.
• At long wavelengths, the law matched experimental results fairly well.
• At short wavelengths, there was a major disagreement between the Rayleigh-Jeans
law and experiment.
• This mismatch became known as the ultraviolet catastrophe.
• You would have infinite energy as the wavelength approaches zero
 Max Planck

• German physicist
• Introduced the concept of “quantum of action”
• In 1918 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the quantized
nature of energy.

 Planck’s Theory of Blackbody

Radiation

• In 1900 Planck developed a theory of blackbody radiation that leads to an equation for the intensity of the

radiation.

• This equation is in complete agreement with experimental observations.

• He assumed the cavity radiation came from atomic oscillations in the cavity walls.

• Planck made two assumptions about the nature of the oscillators in the cavity walls.
 Planck’s Assumption, 1

• The energy of an oscillator can have only certain discrete values En.
• En = n h ƒ
• n is a positive integer called the quantum number
• ƒ is the frequency of oscillation
• h is Planck’s constant
• This says the energy is quantized.
• Each discrete energy value corresponds to a different quantum state.
• Each quantum state is represented by the quantum number, n.

 Planck’s Assumption, 2

• The oscillators emit or absorb energy when making a transition from one quantum state to another.
• The entire energy difference between the initial and final states in the transition is emitted or
absorbed as a single quantum of radiation.
• An oscillator emits or absorbs energy only when it changes quantum states.
• The energy carried by the quantum of radiation is E = h ƒ.
 Energy-Level Diagram

• An energy-level diagram shows the quantized energy

levels and allowed transitions.
• Energy is on the vertical axis.
• Horizontal lines represent the allowed energy levels.
• The double-headed arrows indicate allowed transitions.

 More About Planck’s

Model
• The average energy of a wave is the average energy difference between levels of the
oscillator, weighted according to the probability of the wave being emitted.
• This weighting is described by the Boltzmann distribution law and gives the
probability of a state being occupied as being proportional to
where E is the energy of the state.
 Planck’s Model,
Graph
 Planck’s Wavelength Distribution
Function
• Planck generated a theoretical expression for the wavelength distribution.
• h = 6.626 x 10-34 J.s
• h is a fundamental constant of nature.
• At long wavelengths, Planck’s equation reduces to the Rayleigh-Jeans expression.
• At short wavelengths, it predicts an exponential decrease in intensity with decreasing wavelength.
• This is in agreement with experimental results.

 Einstein and Planck’s Results

• Einstein rederived Planck’s results by assuming the oscillations of the

electromagnetic field were themselves quantized.
• In other words, Einstein proposed that quantization is a fundamental property of
light and other electromagnetic radiation.
• This led to the concept of photons.
 Louis de Broglie
• 1892 – 1987
• French physicist
• Originally studied history
• Was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1929 for his prediction of the wave
nature of electrons
 Wave Properties of Particles
• Louis de Broglie postulated that because photons have both wave and particle characteristics,
perhaps all forms of matter have both properties.
h h
• The de Broglie wavelength of a particle is λ  
p mu
 Frequency of a Particle
•In an analogy with photons, de Broglie postulated that a particle would also have a
frequency associated with it E
ƒ
h
•These equations present the dual nature of matter:
• Particle nature, p and E
• Wave nature, λ and ƒ
Complementarit
y
• The principle of complementarity states that the wave and particle models of either matter or
radiation complement each other.
• Neither model can be used exclusively to describe matter or radiation adequately.

Davisson-Germer
Experiment
• If particles have a wave nature, then under the correct conditions,
they should exhibit diffraction effects.
• Davisson and Germer measured the wavelength of electrons.
• This provided experimental confirmation of the matter waves
proposed by de Broglie.

Wave Properties of
Particles
• Mechanical waves have materials that are “waving” and can be described in terms of physical variables.
• A string may be vibrating.
• Sound waves are produced by molecules of a material vibrating.
• Electromagnetic waves are associated with electric and magnetic fields.
• Waves associated with particles cannot be associated with a physical variable.
 Werner Heisenberg
• 1901 – 1976
• German physicist
• Developed matrix mechanics
• Many contributions include:
• Uncertainty principle
• Received Nobel Prize in 1932
• Prediction of two forms of molecular hydrogen
• Theoretical models of the nucleus

 The Uncertainty Principle

• In classical mechanics, it is possible, in principle, to make measurements with arbitrarily small
uncertainty.
• Quantum theory predicts that it is fundamentally impossible to make simultaneous measurements of a
particle’s position and momentum with infinite accuracy.
• The Heisenberg uncertainty principle states: if a measurement of the position of a particle is made
with uncertainty and a simultaneous measurement of its x component of momentum is made with
uncertainty , the product of the two uncertainties can never be smaller than = .
 Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle,
Explained
• It is physically impossible to measure simultaneously the exact position and exact momentum of a
particle.
• The inescapable uncertainties do not arise from imperfections in practical measuring instruments.
• The uncertainties arise from the quantum structure of matter.
 Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, Another
Form
• Another form of the uncertainty principle can be expressed in terms of energy and time.
 = .
E t 
2
• This suggests that energy conservation can appear to be violated by an amount as long as it is
only for a short time interval
 Uncertainty Principle,
final
• The Uncertainty Principle cannot be interpreted as meaning that a measurement interferes with the system.
• The Uncertainty Principle is independent of the measurement process.
• It is based on the wave nature of matter.
 The uncertainty relation can be illustrated by single slit
experiment

1) = a 0r = or =

2) a = finding the electron position along y-

direction

3) ∆p

4) de Broglie