Physics

AS - Unit 1 - Particles, Quantum

Phenomena and Electricity - Revision Notes
Particle Physics
Inside the Atom

Electron (negatively charged) in shells and subshells around nucleus

Nucleus composing of protons (positively charged) and neutrons
Nucleons protons and neutrons
Coulomb (C) Unit of charge equal to the electrical charge transferred by a steady
current of 1 Ampere in 1 Second
Elementary Charge (e) - Electric charge carried by a proton or equivalently the
absolute value of the electric charge carried by a electron (as electron is negatively
charged)
e = 1.6021764871019

Particle

Relative Mass

Proton
Neutron
Electron

1
1
Negligible

Absolute
Mass (Kg)
1.67x10-27
1.67x10-27
9.11x10-31

Relative Charge
+1
0
-1

Absolute
Charge (C)
+1.60x10-19
0
-1.60x10-19

A
Z
A = Mass number/Nucleon Number
Z = Atomic Number (Number of protons)

Isotope - an atom with the same number of protons (Atomic number) but a different
number of neutrons (mass number).
Each different type of nucleus is known as a Nuclide

Specific Charge

Specific Charge Charge of a specific particle divided by its mass

1

Nucleus of 1 H has a charge of +1.60x1019 C and mass of 1.67x10-27 Kg hence its specific
charge = 9.58x107CKg-1

Fundamental Forces

Current theories suggest that there are only four types of interaction in the universe
between particles:
o Gravity This force acts between all particles in the universe and has an
infinite range (however reduces in strength according the inverse square law).
At an atomic scale it has negligible influence, as it is the weakest fundamental
force in the universe. Gravitation is mediated by the graviton (undiscovered)
o Electromagnetic Force This force acts between any charged particles. It can
either be repulsive (same charge) or attractive (different charges). The
electromagnetic force is responsible for keeping molecules together. The
electromagnetic force is mediated by virtual photons
o Weak Interaction This force acts on all known fermions or rather all particle
with a integer spin (quarks, leptons and baryons but not bosons- elemental
bosons and baryons). The weak interaction acts over a very short range
(roughly an atto-meter 1x10-18). Over this range it is many times stronger than
gravitation (roughly 1033). The weak interaction is responsible for

electromagnetic decay. The weak interaction is mediated by W and Z Bosons

(elemental particles)
Strong Interaction This force is observable in two areas. On the smaller scale
the strong interaction is responsible for holding quarks together in hadrons, on
the larger scale it binds protons and neutrons together inside the atomic
nucleolus (when talked about in terms of binding protons and neutrons
together it is referred to as the strong nuclear force or the residual strong force).
The strong force binding quarks together is mediated by gluons, while the
mediator responsible for binding protons and neutrons together is the
Pion or Pi Meson

Strong Nuclear Force (Residual Strong Force)

Overcomes the electrostatic repulsion

between
Keeps the nucleus stable
Attractive between 4-0.4fm (Femto-
Metre = 1x10-15 m) and repulsive below
0.5fm (otherwise the nucleus would
collapse and be point like)
Keep all nucleons together not just
protons
The mediators of the nuclear force are
0

Pions or Pi Mesons ( )
Also called the residual strong force (as the strong nuclear is related to the strong force),
the strong nuclear force is responsible for keeping nucleons together while the strong
force is responsible for keeping quarks together (mediator Gluons)

Radioactive decay
Alpha Decay
Release alpha particles (positively charged helium ions)

2+

4
2

Reduces mass number of a nucleus by 4 and atomic number by 2 hence:

A
Z

A4
X 24 2+ + Z2
X

Beta Decay

2 types of Beta Radiation: and

Decay (positron)
Proton decays into a neutron emitting an electron neutrino and a positron:

p n + ve + e+
-

Decay
Neutron decays into a proton emitting an electron and an electron anti-neutrino:

n p +V e + e
Note: bar above electron neutrino indicated that it is the anti-particle counterpart, the electron
does not follow this rule and instead the positron is shown by a change of charge
Gamma Radiation
When alpha or beta decay occurs the nucleus is usually left in an excited state it
subsequently releases a high energy photon (gamma particle) to reduce this energy

Photon

- no mass and no charge

Electromagnetic Waves - Photons

The speed of the wave is given by: c =

Frequency by:

Photons are emitted when:

o Fast moving electron
stopped
o Electron jumps from
higher quantum level
(shell) in an atom to a
lower one
The energy of a electron can be
given by:

c
= f

E = hf

Note: where h = Plancks constant 6.63x10-34

As c = f this can also can be shown as:

E=

hc

A laser beam consists of photons of the same frequency hence it can be shown that:

E = nhf

Particles and Anti-Particles

When a particle and its corresponding anti-particle meet they annihilate and are
converted completely into energy (found by E=mc2)
It is also possible for a photon of a high enough energy to spontaneously change to a
particle and its anti-particle counterpart; this is known as Pair production
Energy of a particle is usually measure in Mev (millions of electron volts) and is defined
as the energy required to accelerate an electron through the potential difference of 1
volt. 1 Mev = 1.60x10-13J
Anti-particles:
o Same rest mass as corresponding particle
o Same rest energy as corresponding particles
o Opposite charge (if the corresponding particle has charge)

Note: Antiparticles are usually denoted with a line above ( Ve is an electron anti-neutrino) with the
+

exception of the positron (anti-electron), which is denoted by e

Rest Energy (energy when stationary) of a particle can be found by E

is the mass of the particle when stationary and c is the speed of light

= mc 2 , where m

Pair production
This occurs when a photon with a high enough energy changes into a particle and its
corresponding anti-particle

As one photon turns into 2 particles, using E=mc2 ,
the photon must have at least the rest energy of the
2 particles that it turns into, hence:
2

0

E = mc

As 2 particles are produced

2E0 = 2(mc 2 )
Therefor the energy of the photon must be:

Pair Production Diagram (not Feynman

diagram)

E = 2E0
as E = hf

hf = 2E0

Annihilation
This occurs when a particle and its corresponding anti-particle meet and convert
themselves to energy in the form of 2 photons as seen in diagram.
As 2 photons are produced using the
equations above it can be shown:

2E = 2E0
Hence:

E = mc 2
hf = E0
Particle Interaction
Annihilation Diagram (not Feynman

diagram)
Electromagnetic Force
Occurs only between charged particles:
o Opposite charges attract
o Same charges repel
The Mediators of the force are virtual photons; they are called so as we cannot directly
detect them as if we did we would stop the force from occurring.

Weak Nuclear Force

Responsible for Beta decay (both types)
Weak interaction only occurs with leptons and hadrons, this explains why neutrinos are
so reluctant to react with anything
The Mediators of this force are bosons of which there are 3 types: W+ W- and Z, The W
bosons are each others respective anti-particle (opposite charges) while the Z boson is
its own and subsequently has no charge (Z bosons are not covered in the specification).
W Bosons:
o Non-zero rest mass
o Short range; Bosons are relatively massive and consequently are high in energy
which means they have a short lifetime which leads to them only being able to
act over small distances (typically 10-17m)

Feynman Diagrams

Particle interactions and decays can be represented visually by the means of a Feynman
diagram (names after Richard P. Feynman)
The interaction is represented on the diagram as followed:
o Following from the bottom to the top of the diagram
shows the interactions/decays change with time
o The other axis (left to right) shows the particles position
in space at any given time
Time

Space

Neutron-Neutrino Interaction

Beta Plus Decay

Note: Mediator (W Boson) is either
positively or negatively charged depending
upon on the charge change of the particles
involved
Proton-Anti-Neutrino Interaction

Note: the W+ boson decays into a + and a
Electron Neutrino

Beta Minus Decay

Note: the W- boson decays into a - and a
Electron Anti-Neutrino

Electron (K or L) Capture
This occurs when a proton rich nucleus turns a proton into a neutron by capturing an
electron from the K or L shell (1st and 2nd shell respectively)
This process can also occur when a proton and an electron collide however if the
electron has sufficient energy a different interaction will occur where a W- Boson is
exchanged from the electron to the proton



e

Classification of Particles

We can classify all types of particles according to their spin: (spin is a characteristic
property of elemental particles; just as charge is):
o Fermions
Have half-integer spin, i.e. a multiple of 1
2
Can be a elementary or composite particle (composite particles are
made up of a number of elementary particles)
All known fermions are Dirac fermions, that is for every particle there is
a distinct anti-particle (a particle with certain opposite properties such
as charge)
Fermions are the basic building blocks of matter they make up
protons and neutrons and include electrons which together is the
composition of atoms
12 types of fermions (ignoring anti-particles), 6 quarks and six leptons
o Bosons
Have integer spin
The fundamental forces of nature (electromagnetism, strong and weak
interaction and gravitation) are called gauge bosons
Can be a elementary or composite particle (composite particles are
made up of a number of elementary particles)

Matter and Anti-Matter

Is made up of:

Quarks
Classed as Fermions - Integer
Spin
When combined form Hadrons:

3 Quarks form
the hadron
group:

Baryons

Leptons
A Quark-Anti-
Quark Pair
forms the
hadron group:

Mesons

Classed as fermions - integer

spin

Classed as bosons - integer spin

Include protons, neutrons and their

antiparticles

Includes the Kaon and the Pion

(Mediator of the strong nuclear force)

Classed as a Fermion -
Integer Spin

There are 6 Leptons, 3 negatively

charged leptons each with their own
associated uncharged Neutrino

Elementary Particles
Elementary particles are fundamental particles that have no internal structure, they
are the building blocks of everything, just as we think of elements as building blocks
of molecules
Elementary particles can be separated into either bosons or mesons (depending upon
their spin) as we saw above mesons have half integer spin while bosons have whole
integer spin
We can their for split the elementary particles dependent upon if they are bosons or
mesons:
o Fermions 2 Separate types of Elemental Fermion:
Quarks (6 types and 6 corresponding anti-particles)
Leptons (6 types and 6 corresponding anti-particles)
o Bosons 1 type of Elemental Boson:
There are 6 elemental bosons and they are just referred to as bosons
The fundamental forces of nature (electromagnetism, strong and weak
interaction and gravitation) are mediated by a special group of
elemental bosons referred to as gauge bosons
Fermions

Made up of 6 leptons and 6 quarks (and their corresponding antiparticle)

Leptons

Leptons are fundamental particles with no internal structure

They are not effected by the strong interaction
Have half integer spin
The leptons respective antiparticles are the antileptons which are identical expect for
the fact they carry the opposite electrical charge and opposite lepton number
There are 6 leptons in total, the three charged leptons are called electron-like leptons
while the neutral leptons are called neutrinos
The leptons and some characteristic properties:
Particle

Symbol

Charge

Mass

(In terms of
elemental
charge)

(In terms
of the
electron)

Lepton
Number

Lepton
Electron
Number
+1
+1

Lepton
Muon
Number
0
0

Lepton
Tau
Number
0
0

e
Electron
-1
1
+1
Electron
0
Near
+1
Ve
Neutrino
Zero

Muon
-1
207
+1
0
+1
0
Muon
0
Near
+1
0
+1
0
V
Neutrino
Zero

Tau
-1
3500
+1
0
0
+1
Tau
0
Near
+1
0
0
+1
V
Neutrino
Zero
Note: All neutrinos have no charge, and all other leptons have charge of -1 (relative to e)
Although a table of lepton number will be given in the exam remember that all leptons
have a lepton number of +1 and all anti-leptons have a lepton number of -1, the electron
and the electron neutrino have an electron lepton number of +1 while their anti-particle
counter-parts have an electron number of -1 (this also applies in the same way the muon
and tau lepton number)

Quarks

The building blocks of all hadrons (composite particles ones made out of a combination
of fundamental)
Have half-integer spin
Quarks can never be found by themselves due to colour confinement (based upon
another characteristic property: colour)
The quarks and some characteristic properties:
Name

Symbol

Anti-
Particle

Charge
(In terms of
elemental
charge)

Up

+2

Down

Charm

+2

Strange

Top

+2

Bottom

Mass
Baryon
(MeV/c2) Number

Strangeness

1.5-3.3

+1

3.4-6.0

+1

1160-
1340
70-130

+1

+1

169100-
173330
4130-
4370

+1

+1

0
0
-1 (+1 for s )
0
0

All of the associated anti-quarks have opposite charge, baryon number and strangeness
Up and down quarks have the lowest masses and the other quarks rapidly change into
up and down quarks
Note: only up down and strange quark characteristics needed for exam

Bosons

Mediator particles (ones that are exchange particles for the fundamental forces of
nature) are called gauge bosons
The bosons and some characteristic properties:
Particle

Symbol

Anti-
Particle

Charge

Photon

Self

W Boson

+1

Z Boson

Self

Higgs
Boson
Gluon

H0
g

Graviton

(In terms of
elemental
charge)

Interaction
Mediated

Existence

Confirmed

Self

Electromagnetic
(Virtual Photon)
-1 ( W + +1) Weak
Interaction
0
Weak
Interactions
0
None

Self

Confirmed

Strong
Interaction
Self
0
Gravitation
Note: Only boson to have an antiparticle is the W boson

Confirmed
Confirmed
Unconfirmed

Unconfirmed

Composite Particles

Composite particles are particles that are made out of other elemental particles bound
together, protons and neutrons are composite particles as are atoms and even molecules

Hadrons
Hadrons are strong-interacting composite particles
Hadrons are either:
o Composite fermions (half integer spin), these are called baryons
o Composite bosons (integer spin), these are called mesons
All known hadrons are composed of quarks and antiquarks

Baryons (fermions)

Baryons have half integer spin

They are made up of three quarks (held together by the strong force)
Anti-Baryons are made up of the anti-particle partners of the respective quarks in the
normal baryon

As every quark has a baryon number of +

therefor an anti-baryon has a baryon number of -1 (as made up of 3 anti-quarks)

A Proton has 2 up quarks and a down quark shown by uud
A Neutron has 2 down quarks and an up quark udd

An Anti-Proton has 2 anti-up quarks and one anti-down quark udd

The proton is the only stable baryon, even a free neutron (outside an nucleus) decays

1
, any baryon has a baryon number of +1 (as
3
1
a baryon is made up of 3 quarks). Likewise an anti-quark has a baryon number of ,
3

into a proton releasing an electron and an electron anti-neutrino as in

Quarks and Beta Decay

In the exam may be expected to represent or

with regard to quark change apposed to baryon change

As stated before is a neutron decaying into a proton

with the emission of an electron and a anti-electron
neutrino, in this decay a down quark is turning into an
up quark which changes the quark composition from
udd (a neutron) to uud (a proton). This change in
quark composition can be represented in the Feynman
diagram to the right

+ decay is a proton decaying into a neutron

emitting a position and an electron neutrino. In

this decay an up quark changes into a down
quark. This changes the quark composition from
uud (a proton) to udd (a neutron). This change
in quark composition can be represented in the
Feynman diagram to the left

Evidence for Three-Quark Model

The first evidence for the three quark model (three quarks being combined to make a
normal composite fermion) was in the Stanford linear accelerator
The electrons collide at high speed with protons, the results showed that the electrons
were scattered by three scattering centres in each atom
Baryon Octet (Eightfold way)
The family of baryons with spin composed of the up, down and strange quarks can be
represented in a Octet:

The and particles differ only in

energy

Mesons (bosons)

Mesons have integer spin and are therefor bosons

There are made up of more than one elemental particles and are therefor composite
bosons
Mesons are made up of one
quark and one anti-quark

The family of mesons with

spin=0 can be represented in a
nonet seen to the right

The K series of mesons are

known as the Kaons

The of series are known as

the Pions

Notice that there 3 uncharged

mesons ( K

, K , 0 )

For the exam the pion and

kaon composition is needed to
be known

ds

us

uu, dd, ss

du

su

ud

sd

Conservation Rules

All particles obey certain conservation rules when they interact.

Conservation of Energy
As in all changes in science, not juts particle interactions and decays, the amount of
energy remains fixed in a system
This also applies to the rest energy of a particle (energy may be seen to have been lost
however this lost energy may have been converted into mass following the rule

E = mc 2
No exceptions have been found for this law

Conservation of Charge
In any interaction or decay the total of the charges of the particles before the interaction
or decay is the same as the total of the charges of the particles afterwards
No exceptions have been found to this law
Conservations of Lepton Number
In any change, the total lepton number for each lepton branch before the change is equal
to the total lepton number for that branch after the change
All leptons have lepton number +1
All anti-leptons have lepton number -1
Conservation of the branch of lepton also applies:
o Lepton electron, muon and tau number is always conserved
o This can be useful to find out which type of neutrinos are emitted during certain
decays
Conservation of Strangeness
In any strong interaction strangeness is always conserved
The total of all the strangeness of the particles before the change is equal to the total
strangeness of the particles after the change
It is not conserved however when the weak interaction is involved
Conservation of Baryon Number
In any change the baryon number before the change is equal to the lepton number after
the change
All baryons have baryon number +1
All anti-baryons have baryon number -1
All mesons or leptons have baryon number 0
This can be also thought of through quark change as each quark has baryon number
+1/3

Quantum Phenomena
Electromagnetic Waves

The electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular both to each other and the direction
of propagation of the particle
There is no need for a medium for an electromagnetic wave to travel through
Wavelength Defined as the distance between two adjacent points in phase in a wave
Period The period of a wave is defined as the time taken for one whole wave to pass a
point through space:

1
f

P=

Wave Speed Speed of the waves is equal to distance travelled by wave in one cycle
divided by time taken for one cycle

C=

1
f

Therefor c =

The Photoelectric Effect

The photoelectric effect is a type of quantum phenomena that shows that light can
behave as a particle as well as a wave (the photoelectric effect can only be explained
with regards to light acting as particles or Quanta of energy)

Experiments showed that when light was shone on a

metal electrons could be emitted from the surface of
metal however the emission of these electrons were
dependent on several factors:
o Photoelectric emission of electrons from a
metal surface does not take place if the
frequency of the incident electromagnetic
radiation is below a certain value known as
the threshold frequency. The threshold
frequency is dependent on the type of metal
used
Note: as c =
o
o

f the wavelength of that incident light has to below a maximum

value
The number of electrons emitted per second is proportional to the intensity of
the electromagnetic radiation as long as the frequency of that electromagnetic
radiation is above the threshold frequency as discussed before
Photoelectric emission occurs instantaneously provided the frequency of the
incident electromagnetic radiation is above the threshold frequency

Explanation of the Photoelectric Effect The Photon Model of Light

Electromagnetic radiation consists of packets (quanta) of energy, known as photons.
The energy of each photon can be found using the following formula:

E = hf

where h = Plancks constant 6.63x10

34 and f is the frequency of the electromagnetic radiation

When light is incident on a metal surface, an electron at the surface absorbs a single
photon from the incident light and therefore gains energy equal to hf, as calculated
using the formula above

An electron can leave the metal surface if the energy gained from the single photon

exceeds the work function, , of the metal. This is the minimum energy needed for an
electron to escape from the metals surface
Hence it can be seen that the maximum kinetic energy of an emitted electron follows:

Ek (Max ) = hf

Emission can take place at a surface at zero potential as long as the electron emitted has
some kinetic energy: Ek (Max ) > 0

The Work Function of a metal is related to the Threshold frequency:

fmin =

where h = Plancks constant 6.63x10

34

An emitted electron may have energy less than the maximum kinetic energy of
predicted by the formula. This happens when the electron is not removed from the
surface, but from deep within the metal. In order for the electron to escape from the
metal, it has to work its way up to the surface, doing work and losing energy in the
process. As a result, the energy it has on leaving the surface of the metal will be less than
the energy it absorbed from the photon minus the work function. (remember that one
photon hits one electron giving it all the energy it had)

The Photoelectric Effect Represented on a Graph

If the maximum kinetic energies of the emitted electrons at different frequencies are
known the work function and threshold frequency of that metal can be calculated by
means of a graphical method:

The vertical axis represents the maximum kinetic energy of the electron that has been emitted
o A positive energy represents the kinetic energy of the electron emitted
o A negative energy represents how much energy the electron (that absorbs a
photon) is lacking from being able to escape the metal

The horizontal axis represents the frequency of the light striking the metal
We can use the graph to find several things:
o The x-intercept of the graph represents the threshold frequency of the metal.
An emitted election will have zero kinetic energy if it has just absorbed a
photon of the threshold frequency.
o The y-intercept represents the negative value of the work function of that
material. Photons with zero frequency have no energy. The receiving electrons
would have gained no energy and therefore would need a certain amount of
energy to be emitted this is the work function

Looking at the graph the gradient represents the change in energy divided by
the change in frequency; that is how much the maximum kinetic energy would
increase if the frequency increased by 1 Hz.
Using the equation:
o

E = hf

Rearranging to find h:

h=
As

E
f

E
represents the gradient of the graph it can be seen that the gradient of the graph represents h
f

Planks Constant!

Collisions of Electrons with Atoms

The Electron Volt
The electron volt is a unit of energy, and is used especially in atomic and nuclear physics
where the energies that are used are very small
The electron volt is defined as the amount of energy gained by an electron as it is
accelerated through a potential difference of 1 volt

1eV = 1.6 10 19 J

Note how the electron volt is closely related to the elementary charge
Excitation and Ionisation
If a vaporised sample of an element has an electric current passed through it some of the
electrons of the atoms of that element may absorb some energy as a result of a
collision with the charge carriers passing through the vapour
When electrons are in their lowest energy states, they are said to be in the ground
state
Excitation is when an atomic electron gains energy and as a results moves to a higher
energy state (electronic orbit)
Ionisation is when an atomic electron gains so much energy that it can break free of the
atom and become totally dissociated from the atom
Ions are charged atoms, they can be formed when electrons are removed or added
A negative ion is formed where there are more electrons than protons
A positive ion is formed when there are more protons than electrons
Line Spectra
When electrons are excited by passing current though the vapour of an element, or by
other means such as heating; the excited electrons do not stay in the excited state for
long. They come down to lower energy states, giving off energy in the form of light.
The light emitted can be separated into individual lines of differing wavelengths by using
a diffraction grating (the angle a certain wavelength of light gets diffracted depends
upon on its wavelength and follows the formula d sin = n and is used in unit 2)
This produces a line spectra
The line spectra of hydrogen is shown below:

The specific lines of the line spectra can be very useful in finding out how the electrons
exist around the nucleus
We can use these spectra lines to look at the stationary states of the electrons around
the nucleus
The electron quantum states and their corresponding electron energies for the hydrogen
atom can be seen below:

Note: the equations above are needed for the exam, however it shows that electrons in the lowest
quantum state (n=1) have to gain the most energy to become free or ionised (the negative energy of
each quantum state can be thought of as the energy required to free that electron from the atom or
to ionises it)

As the electrons in the atoms are excited by the electric current they gain energy, this
consequently means they can occupy a higher stationary state or quantum level,
This however does not last very long and very soon the electron goes back to the energy
level it was excited from, as it drops down it emits a photon with energy equal to the
energy it gained to get to a higher quantum state (shown in picture to the right), this
emitted photon is what we see on the line spectra
Therefore we can look at the different spectra lines to understand more about these
different quantum states present in a atom

Photon Emission
As stated before when an electron is excited to a higher quantum state it does not stay
there long and soon moves back down emitting a photon with energy
equal the energy it gained to move up the higher state
We can therefore say the energy of the photon emitted when an electron
drops from one energy level E2 to a lower energy level E1 follows:

EPhoton = E2 E1
where E2 E1 is the positive electron energy difference between the two
quantum states

Florescence
An atom in an excited state can de-excite directly or indirectly to the ground state
regardless of how the excitation took place
An atom can absorb photons of certain energies and emit photons of the same or lesser
energy
For example a electron could be excited up 2 quantum states by one photon but
consequently drop to the state in-between emitting a photon and then drop again down
to its ground state again emitting another photon (both of these photons would have
energy less than the original photon and therefor would have a longer wavelength this
can be linked to the emission of longer wavelength visible light when certain substances
are excited by Ultra-Violet light)
This overall process explains why certain substances fluoresce or glow with visible light
when they absorb UV light

Fluorescent Tube
A fluorescent tube emits visible light when excited by means of an electric current
Inside the tube is mercury vapour at low pressure
The inside of the tube is coated with a fluorescent compound, typically phosphor
A very simplified explanation of how the tube works:
o When the tubew is switched on, the electrode
heats up and emits electrons
o Ionisation and excitation of the mercury atoms
occurs as the electrons emitted collide with the
mercurys atomic electrons
o The mercury atoms emit Ultraviolet photon as well
as visible photons and photons of much less energy
when they de-excite
o The ultraviolet photons are absorbed by the internal
phosphor coating causing excitation of their atomic
electrons
o The atomic electrons then de-excite emitting visible
photons

Fluorescent lamps are much more efficient than filament lamps due to the fact they lose
much less energy in the form of heat (a filament light bulb loses 90% of the energy
supplied to heat while fluorescent only a few percent)
Fluorescent tubes use mercury vapour at a low pressure in order to ensure the electrons
gain enough energy between collisions for the collisions to result in the required
excitation of the mercury atoms (in order to emit UV light), as the electrons move from
one side to another they are being accelerated therefore gaining energy

Wave Particle Duality

Light can behave as both particles and waves:

o The wave light nature is observed thought diffraction
o The particle like nature is observed through the photoelectric effect

Matter Waves
If light can behave as a wave, so can other forms of matter
Matter particles have a wave-particle nature
The wave-like behaviour of mater is characterised by its wavelength also known as the
De Broglie Wavelength, which is related to the momentum of the particle by the means
of the equation:

h
p

where is the De Broglie wavelength of the particle, h is Planks constant (6.67x10i 34) and p is
the momentum of the particle (momentum is found by the equation: p = mv )

Particles that have the same De Broglie wavelength have the same momentum!

Particles display behaviour of both particles and waves, examples are:

o Wave nature is shown in such experiments such as diffraction gratings
o Particle nature is shown in photoelectric effect (atomic collisions)

Electricity
Current and Charge

Electric current is defined as the rate at which electrically charged particles pass a point
in a circuit
1 coulomb Per second = 1 Ampere

I=

Q
t

Note: Where I is current, Q charge and T time

The coulomb is a measure of charge

In metallic conductors the charges particles and free electrons that travel from negative
to positive (cathode to anode)
Conventional current however and circuit diagrams regard current as traveling form
positive to negative
To make a current flow a potential difference must be present between 2 places in the
circuit
The magnitude of charge of 1 electron is 1.6x10-19 C

Energy and Potential Difference

Potential Difference or voltage is defined as the energy or work done per unit charge
It is measured in volts, 1 volt is defined as 1 joule of energy transferred to one coulomb
of charged particles

V=

W
Q

or

W = QV

Note: where v is voltage, w is the work done in moving the charged particles and q is the total
charge of the charged particles
The emf of a source of electricity is defined as the electrical energy produced per unit
charge passing through the source. The unit of emf is the volt
Electrical Power and Current
As Q = It (from definition of an amp) and W = QV we can see that:

W = ItV

Also because power is the rate of energy transfer (work done per unit time) or

p=

E
(where E is energy) we can see that:
t
p=

ItV
t

p = IV

Also using V

= IR we can sub V into p = IV to give:

p = I 2R

Using R =

V
we can again sub into to p = IV give:
I

V2
p=
R

Resistance

Resistance is a measure of the difficulty of passing a current2 through a certain

material, the larger the resistance the larger the voltage needed to produce a specific
current in that material

=

Ohms law states that the pd across a metallic conductor is proportional to the current
through it provided the physical conditions do not change (temperature etc.)

V
I
V = IR
R=

Resistivity
Two factors that effect the resistance if a conductor are its length and its cross sectional
area

RA
L

Where R is a given resistance value, A is the cross section area and L is the length of the wire
2
2

A=

d
= r
4

Note: When taking the diameter of the wire, take several reading and take the average to reduce
inaccuracies

1mm = 110 3 m
1mm 2 = 110 6 m 2
Superconductivity
A superconductive material is one that has zero resistivity when its temperature drops
below a critical value (also called transition temperature)
When a current passes through a
superconductor, there is no potential difference
across it as the resistance is zero
As resistance is zero there is no energy loss
Superconductors are used to make high-power
electromagnets that generate very strong
electromagnetic fields and to reduce energy loss
in energy transfer through wires
Superconductors are only really useful if the
energy saved is less than the energy required to maintain the superconductor at or
below the critical temperature
Temperature and Resistance in Conductors and Thermistors
In metallic conductors as the temperature increases the metals vibrating positive ions
gain energy and therefor vibrate more, the result of this is that the negative charge
carriers (electrons) collide more with these positive ions the more they vibrate. As the
temperature increases in a metallic conductor so does the resistance

In thermistors a small change in temperature results in a large change in resistance.

Thermistors have a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) if the thermistor is an
intrinsic semi-conductor such as silicon; as the temperature of the thermistor increases
the resistance decreases. At higher temperatures the ions of the semi-conductor vibrate
more and more, this would normally cause the resistance to rise however as the
thermal/kinetic energy of the ions increases it is enough to release more and more
charge carriers (electrons). Although collisions are more frequent the release of
conduction electrons is dominant effect therefor resistance actually decreases.

Measuring Resistivity of a Conductor

Using a variable resistor
We can vary the resistance of the variable resistor to vary the current and voltage
reaching the conductor, we can use this to obtain an average resistance for a set length of
the conductor (using V = IR )
We can vary the length of the conductor to give us different values for resistivity and
calculate an average (using = RA )
L
Using a Potential divider (Potentiometer)
We can do the same as before using the potentiometer to vary the current and voltage
reaching the conductor and also vary the length of the conductor
However the benefit of using a potential divider is we can set the voltage thorough the
conductor to zero while with a variable resistor we can just set it to the minimum

Components And Characteristics

An Ohmic component is one that obeys ohms law; the graph of voltage and current will
be a straight line as voltage is proportional to current in an Ohmic conductor

Common Components

Both L.E.Ds and diodes have there arrows following conventional current; forward
biased the arrow points from negative to positive terminals
Thermistors have a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) if the thermistor is an
intrinsic semi-conductor such as silicon; as the temperature of the thermistor increases
the resistance decreases.
The resistance of a light dependent resistor decreases with increasing light intensity
The larger line of the cell symbol represents the positive terminal with the shorter side
representing the negative end
All symbols are used with respect to conventional current: positive to negative

 Characteristics of a Wire or Resistor (Ohmic Conductor)

Voltage always proportional to current (therefor Ohmic Conductor)

Characteristics of a Semi-Conductor Diode (Non-Ohmic Conductor)

Semi-conductor diodes only allowed current to flow in one direction and will only
allow the current to flow above a certain voltage (typically 0.6V or 0.7V)
The curve produced of Voltage and Current of a semi-conductor diode will vary
depending on which way the current is sent through the diode

Forward Biased
This is where the current flowing is in the same direction as the diode the diode is
designed to allow, shown in the top right quadrant in the graph to below (conventional
current flow positive to negative)
Between 0V and 0.7V the diode has a very high
Forward Biased
resistance and subsequently very little current flows
through the diode
Between 0.7V and 1V the resistance of the diode
reduces massively and a large current is now able to
flow, this is shown by a steep rise in the graph
Reverse Biased
This is where the current flowing is in the opposite
Breakdown voltage
(50-500v)
direction as the diode the diode is designed to allow,
shown in the bottom left quadrant of the graph above
Reverse Biased
(conventional current flow positive to negative)
Note: Axes of graph are out of proportion (for exam breakdown
When reverse biased the diode offers high resistance
voltage is not needed to be shown)
hence very little current flows
At the breakdown voltage (typically 50-500v) the diodes
resistance reduces and subsequently a large current can flow however the diode is
usually damaged permanently if the breakdown voltage point is reached

Characteristics of a Filament Lamp (Non-Ohmic Conductor)

Initially obeys ohms law as voltage/current is a straight line showing proportionality
however becomes less and less steep as current
increases
This occurs because as the current increases the energy
transfer to the filament increases causing the filament to
heat up, this subsequently causes the resistance to
increases
As V = IR if the resistance increases more and more
voltage is required to increase the current hence the
curve become less steep
Filament bulbs more likely to fail when first turned on as
the current is greatest initially (low resistance which
increases with temp) therefore the heating effect is largest initially therefor filament
more likely to melt initially

Circuit Rules
Series Resistor Circuits
In series the same current flows thorough all components due to conservation of charge

I
R1

R2

R3

V1

V2

V3

Vtotal

We can therefor generalise that in series circuits:

Vtotal = V1 + V2 + V3 +... + Vn
Subbing into the equation V = IR (I is also constant due to conservation of charge) :

Rtotal = R1 + R2 + R3 +... + Rn
In series: Same Current through all components, different potential difference across
individual components
Parallel Resistor Circuits
In parallel circuits each component has the same potential difference

I1
R1

V1
Itotal

I2
R2

V2
I3
R1

V3
Vtotal

We can also generalise for resistors in series:

I total = I1 + I 2 + I 3 +... + I n
Subbing into the equation I = V (V is also constant):
R

1 1 1
1
1
= + + +... +
Rn
Rtotal R1 R2 R3
In parallel: Same potential difference through the branches, different current through
each branch

Kirchhoffs Circuit Laws

Kirchhoffs Current Law

States that the algebraic sum of currents flowing into a junction is equal to
zero
Current flowing into a junction is regarded as positive while current
travelling away is regarded as negative

I = 0
Using Kirchoffs First law we can see:
or

Kirchhoffs Voltage Law

In any closed loop the algebraic sum of the emf (electromotive

force) is equal to algebraic sum of the potential drops (voltage drops) in that loop. As the
voltage can by found by the product of Current and Resistance:

= V

Note: where is emf and V is the voltage drop

Care should be taken when summing the Emf as if cells are connected the wrong way
round to other cells there emf works against other cells and therefor thats cells emf is
negative

EMF/Electromotive Force and Internal Resistance

Internal resistance of a source of electricity is its opposition to the flow of charge

W
Q

is the symbol for emf and it is defined as the amount of energy the cell can provide per
unit of charge
Terminal Pd is defined as the electrical energy per unit charge that can be delivered to
the external components
If there is non-negligible internal resistance of a cell then:
Vterminal <
Lost Pd is talked about as the potential difference across the "internal resistor hence
as I = V
I

I=

R+r

= I(R + r)
Note: where is the emf, R is the total external resistance and r is the internal resistance

Power and EMF

The power supplied to the external components is equal to the power provided by the
cell minus the power lost to internal resistance

Using p = I 2 R and I

:
R+r
P=

2
R
(R + r)2

Although not needed in specification it can be seen that maximum power is

transferred to the load(external components) when the load/external resistance
is equal to the internal resistance

Cells in Series
If the 2 cells are connected the same way (positive to negative): t

= 1 + 2
If the 2 cells are connected opposite way (positive to positive): t = 1 2

Cells in Parallel

Circuit with n identical cells in parallel the current through each cell: i =

Lost pd in each cell or branch using V = IR : v =

Hence each cell can provide: V

Remember voltage in parallel to each branch is equal

I
n

I
r
n

I
= r
n

Potential Dividers/Potentiometers
2 or more resistors in series with a source of a fixed
potential difference (Voltage in). This fixed pd is
divided between the 2 (or more) resistors and a wire
can be placed in between 2 of the terminals of the
resistors to create a parallel branch with varying
potential (depending upon the terminals that have
been connected)
The potential divider has many uses:
o Supply a pd between 0 and the source pd
(voltage in) to a component
o Supply a variable pd to a component
o Supple variable pd depending upon physical
conditions
We can calculate the voltage out of a 2 resistor based
potential divider as follows:

V1 = Vin

R1
R1 + R2

Note: where V1 is the voltage out if we connected the branch to the terminals of the first resistor
in the potential divider

Notice that the equation is based upon the ratios of the parallel sections resistance
compared to the total resistance of the potential divider
Should be noted that this is not a perfect formula as adding a component to the circuit
will alter the total resistance of the external compounds and thus the current flowing
through the circuit at any given time

Alternating Currents

An Alternating current is a current that repeatedly reverses its direction

The frequency of an alternating
current is the number of cycles it
completes per second
The peak Value of an alternating
current is the maximum current or
voltage which is the same in either
direction (as maximum current occurs
with maximum voltage)

Heating Effect of an Alternating Current

If an alternating current of a low frequency is applied through a heating element the
heater would gradually heat up then cool down then heat up again then cool down again
and so on and so on
The heating effect of the current can be described as the power transferred to the
heating element which can be found using the following formula:
2

p=I R

Note: Where p is the power, I is the current through the heater and R is the resistance of the
heater
Notice though as we are using an alternating current that:
o At peak current the power supplied is equal to

I 02 R (where I 0 is the peak current)

o At zero current the power is zero

For a sinusoidal current the average power over a full cycle
is half the peak power
The direct current that would give the same power as an
alternating current is known as the root mean squared
value of the current
Root mean squared value of an alternating current is the value of a direct current that
would give the same heating effect as the alternating current in the same resistor
Therefor:
2
I rms
R=

Cancelling R:
2
I rms
=

Square-rooting each side

I rms =

1 2
I 0 R
2
1 2
I0
2

1
I0
2

The same can be said for voltage (this varies the same as current)

Vrms =

1
V0
2

Mains current is alternating and operates at a RMS Voltage of 230V and a frequency of
50Hz while countries such as the USA operate at 120V 60Hz

Using an Oscilloscope
An oscilloscope is a specifically made electron tube and associated control circuits
Reading an Oscilloscope
A common oscilloscope can be seen to the below:

An oscilloscopes display draws a graph of voltage against time of a specific inputs signal
On the horizontal axis is time
On the vertical axis is voltage

The Y-sensitivity is a setting the user can alter in order to change what each square of
division represents vertically in terms of voltage; for example if the y-sensitivity was set
to 4, this would mean every division vertically would represent 4 volts
The x-sensitivity or time base is another setting the user can change to alter what each
division horizontally represents in terms of time, for example a time base of 2 would
mean each division horizontally represents 2 seconds