Table of Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... i
Symbols & Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ii
FORCE & FIELDS ...................................................................................................................................... 1
Gravitation .................................................................................................................................................. 1
Electric Force & Field ................................................................................................................................ 2
ELECTROMAGNETISM ........................................................................................................................... 3
Basic of Electricity ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Current, Resistance & Circuits ................................................................................................................... 3
Magnetism .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Electromagnetic Induction ......................................................................................................................... 5
Alternating Current .................................................................................................................................... 5
NUCLEAR PHYSICS .................................................................................................................................. 7
Atomic Structure ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Radioactivity .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Nuclear Reactions....................................................................................................................................... 9
Photoelectric Effect .................................................................................................................................. 10
Quantum Theory ...................................................................................................................................... 11
Digital Technology ...................................................................................................................................... 14
Analogue versus Digital ........................................................................................................................... 14
Storing Devices ........................................................................................................................................ 15
Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) ............................................................................................................... 16

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium

IB Physics HL (May 2014 Session)

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

Introduction
This is part of my detailed series of IB physics HL notes that I took during my physics course at high school. Part 2
consists of

big topics: Force & Fields, Electromagnetism, Nuclear Physics, and Digital Technology. The study

guide covers the whole IB syllabus, and thus contains lots of derivations & explanations for different laws and
concepts that students need to master at the end of their IB physics HL course. In order to make the study guide
short, concise and understandable, the language of mathematics (i.e. symbols) is used intensively throughout the
study guide; thus students who are stronger at mathematics will clearly be more advantaged when using this study
guide.
Notice that there are things within this study guide that are totally not part of the syllabus, but are still put here for
the ones who are interested. These supplementary materials are put within the information boxes such as the one
presented below:

The texts that are emphasized throughout the guide can be divided into 4 types:
-

Bold: means that the phrase is either a headline or a key terminology

Bold & Italic: means important phrases

Bold, Italic, & Underlined: means vitally important key words

Mathematical formulas that are marked bold are the ones that appear within the IB physics formula booklet

It is necessary to understand that images/figures that are used here in the study guide are as equally important as the
texts themselves; and the text that is placed next to a figure always contains some contents that refer to the picture.
There are many common symbols and abbreviations used repeatedly throughout the study guide, and for that
reason, they are listed in the next section down below for easy referencing; however, note that all symbols that are
not commonly used are defined within the guide itself, so pay attention to these definitions when using the guide!
Finally, this guide is not for commercial use; hence, the information presented here (in which most are taken from
the internet, or from the Physics for the IB Diploma 5th Edition textbook, written by K. A. Tsokos) will not be
formally referenced.
Please feel free to contact me through email (my email address is [email protected]) if you have any
questions regarding this study guide. Thank you very much!

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

Symbols & Abbreviations

General Symbols & Abbreviations:
Electric Field Strength

LHS/RHS

Left- & Right-Hand Side

Energy

Photons

Delta (i.e. change)

Potential & Kinetic Energy

Electron

Perpendicular

Time

Temperature

Mass

Proportional

Electric Charge

Minimum & Maximum

Velocity of An Object/Particle

Electron Neutrino

An Electron Charge

Frequency

Positron

Speed of Light in Vacuum

Potential or Voltage (Difference)

Proton

Temp

Neutron

Electron Anti-Neutrino

Min/Max

All vector quantities will be denoted with a little arrow on top!

Symbols & Abbreviations used in Force & Fields
Work or Potential Energy

Distance from a Source

,&

Big, & Small Mass

Gravitational Constant

A Particular Distance from a Source

,&

Big, & Small Charge

Gravitational Field

Symbols & Abbreviations used in Electromagnetism

Current

Magnetic Field

Power

Resistance

Flux

Iron

AC

Alternate Current

Number (No.) of Loops

DC

Direct Current

Area of a Loop

Resistivity
(i.e. Electromotive Force)

Symbols & Abbreviations used in Nuclear Physics

Atomic Number (i.e. No. of Protons)

Amount of Substance Present

Mass Number (i.e. No. of Nucleons)

Original Amount of Substance

Work Function

No. of Neutrons

Activity of Decay

Planck Constant

Alpha Particles

Original Activity of Decay

De Broglies Wavelength

Beta Particles

Half-Life of Decay

Momentum

Gamma Particles

Decay Constant or Wavelength

Wave-Function

Binding Energy per Nucleon

Probability of Decay per Unit Time

Mass-Defects

ii

QM

Quantum Mechanics

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

FORCE & FIELDS

Relationships between force, field, potential, & potential energy:
-

Force (vector quantity) & potential energy (scalar quantity) are related by

Field (vector quantity) & potential (scalar quantity) are related by

Both force & field are vector quantities theyre related by

Both potential energy & potential are scalar theyre related by

(gravitation) &

(electricity)

(gravitation) &

(electricity)

Gravitation
Law of Gravitation:
-

) is force between 2 point masses (as total

is concentrated at centres

for a uniform spherical object radii do matter but can be ignored if theyre too small compared to )
-

However, to make the math right,

(where the negative sign indicates that gravity is a conservative

force (a force that points in the direction of decreasing ) gravitational field strength is

(only in free fall)

Work done in moving a mass from

to distance

conservative, minus sign must be added

-

As

As

; as

is stored as potential energy; to indicate that gravity is

, thus work needed to move an object in the field is

kinetic energy is

, & that

Graph of kinetic, potential, & total energy of

an object orbiting a mass under the influence
of gravity; note that total & potential energy
are both negative, hinting that the object is
gravitationally bounded
Weightlessness is a feeling when theres no reaction force ( ) free-falling or astronaut in a spacecraft orbiting
Earth in which

, but since

, thus

a free-fall represents weightlessness

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

By conservation of energy, then total energy is
field; RHS is the condition when
-

(LHS is the condition when

is in still in the

is at infinity):
will escapes and travel with

at infinity

is trapped within the field

at

escape velocity

, thus

this can be

used to compute Schwarzschild radius (black holes horizon) when

As

&

( is period of orbital motions) this is the basic derivation of Keplers law

from Newtons laws as Keplers 3rd Law suggests that

( is semi-major axis of ellipse or average distance)

Equipotential surface consists of points that have same potential (similar to the concept of contour lines):
-

As

, thus

for all points on equipotential surface; also the bigger

equipotential lines would be closer to each other when theyre nearer to a point mass, as
-

, the less

, thus

is bigger here

If field lines arent perpendicular to equipotential surface, then there would be a fields component parallel to the
surface; but since

on the surface field lines must always be perpendicular to equipotential surfaces

Electric Force & Field

Calculations & derivations for electric force, field, potential, & potential energy are very much the same as those of
gravitation however, while mass is always positive, charge can be both negative & positive!!!
Electric (Coulomb) force is
-

where

( is a small positive test charge, so that it doesnt disturb other charges) as

Field strength is
is positive, thus when

is negative, the field lines would be directed inward, & vice versa

(where

Potential

In electrostatic situations, net charge inside a conductor is zero (i.e.

not, then

is permittivity of vacuum)

is potential energy &

is potential difference)
), because if its

, giving rise to a current, which is not electrostatic but starting from the

surface of a spherical body of radius , then electric field decreases according to

-

LHS is

By energy conservation,

For parallel plates,

(where

at point , & RHS is

at point

is distance between the plates) uniform field lines; however,

near-the-edges effects appear at the end of the plates where field lines are curved (no longer uniform) these
effects are minimized when the length is long compared to the separation

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

ELECTROMAGNETISM

Basic of Electricity
-

however, quarks can carry or of

-

Electric charges ( ) are quantized (i.e. all charges are multiples of an electron charge

is energy to take one

across

(but theyre excluded because theyre not free particles)

Conservation of charges Total charge of universe is zero

basic methods of charging an object: charging by friction & charging by induction (the induced charge is
opposite to the charge of the charging body)
want to increase their potential (i.e to spread out as they repel each other) flow from low to high potential

Current, Resistance & Circuits

Current

); points to the direction of , thus opposite direction of flow of

(in ampere,

(in ohm ) Ohms law which states that

Resistance

is constant in a superconductor,

thus can flow without !!!; remember that Ohms law only works when
-

As

in the conductor gain

while the atoms gain

at higher , conductors atoms move around more, increasing

, leading to rise in

(where

is drift speed of

area of a wires cross-section) thus

ends being the plates),

is constant because :

due to , it also suffers inelastic collisions with conductors atoms, losing

Its possible to logically set up

is no. of

per unit volume; &

is

; as a wire is very similar to parallel plates (where

(where

is wires length)

( is resistivity)

Circuit in General:
-

is electro-motive force which is total work done in moving a unit charge completely around the
circuit

Power

Ideal ammeter has

Ideal voltmeter has

For

( is resistance inside the battery) is voltage provided by battery to other parts of the circuit
(by Ohms law)
it doesnt drop

connected in series

(in practice about 50000 )

bodies connecting in series,

is the same for both as

connected in parallel
, then for a circuit connecting in series,

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

For

is the same or both, but not (total current must be shared between them)

bodies connecting in parallel,

for a circuit connecting in parallel,

Potential Divider & Electrical Sensor:

-

Both potential divider & electrical sensor rely on the ability of a circuit to vary resistance

Potential divider, described in diagram (a), can vary resistance by sliding the Connector on the resistor

, thus

allowing us vary voltage across the electronic Equipment

o

Purpose of the Connector is to basically divide the resistor

diagram (b) here, we notice that resistor

into

separates resistors as described in

is in parallel with the Equipment while resistor

is in series

the closer the Connector (i.e. point ) is to , the higher the voltage is across the Equipment!

(a)
-

(b)

An electrical sensor (which measures light, temp, or even strain) can vary resistance by using a resistor that is
dependent on the feature that were measuring (e.g. light-dependent resistor, or temp-dependent resistor, etc.)
o

Resistance of a light-dependent resistor (LDR) decreases with increasing light intensity; while resistance of a
temp-dependent resistor (i.e. a thermistor) decreases with increasing temp both have inverse relationship!

Magnetism
Magnetism is caused by moving charges (iron shows magnetic properties due to motions of
magnetic field strength is

(measured in Tesla,

in atoms); thus

is distance from )

is permeability of vacuum;
) is clockwise if looking from direction of current

At the centre of a single wire loop,

solenoid,

is no. of loops,

is radius); however, for a

is length of solenoid) & is uniform

inside the solenoid with direction given by st Right-Hand Rule (see diagram)
Magnetic Force (which deflects the paths taken by a moving current/charge):
-

Moving current:

Moving charge: as

( is a chosen length of the wire;

( )

is angle between & )

(

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

In particle accelerators, is used to deflect as its always normal to (it isnt used to increase

done by ) let

, which can be

be radius of deflection path of a particle, then

nd Right-Hand Rule: for positive charges, thumb in direction of or , fingers in direction of , then the palm
; for negative charges, it is the back of the palm instead particles follow circular motion

is direction of

between 2 parallel wires is

right-hand rule,

&

are of wire ;

&

are of wire ); with nd

is repulsive if are in opposite direction & vice versa Ampere, in SI units, is defined this way!

Electromagnetic Induction
1. Induction by Changing Flux (applied to loops of conductors):
Magnetic flux

is the amount of

is area of loops;

in direction normal to a single loop that pass through that loop (

is angle between & the normal of loop) (unit of

Faradays Law induced

is Weber,

is no. of loops) to find direction

(where

of , we use Lenzs law which states that induced current will be in such a direction that the induced currents own
will oppose

as a result of the law of energy conservation

2. Induction by Magnetic Force (applied to straight conductors):

A wire moving perpendicularly to a magnetic field builds up charges on one end due to
current, which will stop only when
is the total induced

; as
as

&

can also be interpreted as induction by changing flux as

, inducing a

(in a wire), thus

represents change in area

Faradays Disc (conducting disc rotating in uniform ):

-

Due to

are pushed towards either the rim or the centre (depending on direction of & rotations),

creating potential difference ( ) between rim & centre of

is velocity of the disc,

is radius)

Alternating Current
Instantaneous
-

As
current is

, current, & power (induced by changing flux):

, by Faradays law, induced

induced

is

instantaneous power is

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

, current, & power deduced by root-mean-square (

Average

) method, which can get rid of the negative

signs by squaring all instantaneous values, while still giving equivalent answer:
-

As

cycle
Max

( )

); but

averages to

in a

( )

, current, & power (deduced from instantaneous values):

As

, thus

AC Generator is a coil rotating in a uniform ; as

,&
in the

changes with time, theres a

formula

which induces an alternating

-

, thus by trigonometric identity,

Split rings (made of

at typically

segments with gap in between)

keep current in same direction (i.e. a DC current), but

with varying magnitude
-

Slip ring (made of

rings) is a way of transferring AC

currents from an AC generator to the outside circuit

through

graphite brushes

(Adapted from: http://www.school-for-champions.com/

science/electrical_generation.htm#.U752LbEylTI)

External DC, flowing in a loop in , causes the loop to rotate due to

DC motor; however, due to

induction, a current opposite direction of external DC is induced lowering total current back-

effects

light gets dimmer when motor of a fridge is turned on

Transformers (can be used to change , but not frequency of the AC current):
-

Primary coil (subscript ) is fed with an alternating current (i.e. changes, thus created by the coil changes as
to change in both primary & secondary (subscript ) coils due to induction, a current is

well), causing

induced in secondary coil; by Faradays law,

-

Assuming no power losses, then

Laminated

Power loss through a cable is

as

&
but as

, thus
, thus

-core is to reduce energy lost to heat inside the core due to eddy currents (circular motions of

, & assuming

generator to high

stays constant,

to minimize

in transport of electricity, then must be small

must be high transformers can be used to change

for transporting, & back to low

for consuming!

in an AC

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

This figure shows the working of a standard

transformer, where the red arrows represent the
direction of the magnetic field (i.e. magnetic flux) at
a particular instant (Adapted from Transformers
by OpenStax College, licensed under CC-BY 3.0)

NUCLEAR PHYSICS

Atomic Structure
Rutherfords Model of Atoms (which is set up by shooting
-

Tell us that nucleus is confined in region of

repelling force between

at gold atoms):

explains large deflections of , which is in fact due to

& gold atom nucleus, as

is small enough to produce large deflection force

Difficulties with this model: electromagnetic induction states that an accelerated

change in ) induces electromagnetic waves, which radiate away thus this

, circling a nucleus (i.e. a

loses energy & would spiral

into the nucleus very quickly (i.e. atoms would be unstable), which is not true this model is WRONG!!!
Bohrs Model of Atoms:
-

To solve difficulties with Rutherfords model, Bohr proposed that

would be stable (as if its true that

could only radiate discrete energy, & thus

spirals into the nucleus, then they must radiate continuous energy!!!)

This model was later developed to the modern quantum mechanical model (i.e. cloud model)

Scattering Experiments:
-

is shot at a stationary nucleus at distance of closest approach

then

is stopped all

nucleus (

(which is approx. the radius of the nucleus),

is now transformed into electrical potential energy

is charge of ; &

is atomic no. of the nucleus) can be used to find

between

& the

(i.e. radius of the nucleus)

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

-

Scattering experiments give

volume of the nucleus) since

, all nuclei have same nuclear density, which is true as strong nuclear

force can only act in short range on a few nucleons (i.e. both

is radius of the nucleus), thus

&

is

) close-by

Mass spectrometer (to measured masses of ions):

-

Sample is first ionized so that we know the exact charge

Ions are accelerated to a certain velocity using electric field, i.e.

ions can also be shot into a velocity selector where

; or instead of acceleration,

, which can produce the same force such that ions of a

particular velocity can be chosen, i.e.

-

Ions then enter a region where

ions will get deflected with radius

Radioactivity
Penetrative power
Ionization (

Alpha

Beta

Gamma

Through air

Through metal

Through lead

ions per

particles)

Speed

of air

6% of

ions per

of air

ion per

of air

98% of

Alpha & Gamma decay:

-

-decay: e.g.

-decay: e.g.

( indicates atom in excited states)

(or simply ) is heliums nucleus

is a high-energy photons (i.e. high-

frequency, & short-wavelength electromagnetic radiations)

-

Both

carry discrete energies evidence for existence of nuclear energy level

&

Beta (Plus & Minus) decay:

-

Caused by weak nuclear force (i.e. weak interaction) which is basically a transfer of - &
spontaneous reaction

-decay general formula:

Beta-plus (

- bosons

non-spontaneous (but its possible because

) decay general formula:

binding energy inside the nucleus is used to make up for the difference in mass)
-

(i.e.

) during the decay carry continuous energy because total energy must be shared with as well

Law of Radioactive Decay states that rate of decay is

to no. of particles present (

), & that we cant

predict exactly when a particular nucleus will decay, but we can predict the probability that it will decay!
-

Half-Life formula:

Natural-Exponential formula

Activity (i.e. rate of reaction) is

is half-life, which is the amount of time for half of a substance to decay)

( is decay constant); as
unit is Becquerel (

, thus
)

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

(we ignore the negative sign), hence ( ) ( )

As

In experiment measuring the activity, background radiation must be taken into account!!!

Ways to detect & measure ionizing radiations (

is probability of decay per unit time!

& ) include:

Exposing them to electromagnetic field & observe the deflections (as they all have different charges)

Using photographic film in which strength of radiations is

Geiger-Mller (GM) tube: ions of gas molecules created by the radiations can create a current by measuring

to level of film destruction

the current, strength of the radiations can be figured out

Segre Plot is a plot of

-vs-

for stable nuclei (the dotted line represents nuclei with

), showing that stable nuclei have more

than

(because as no. of

increases,

electrostatic forces increase, but strong nuclear force doesnt grow proportionately since
its a short-range force, thus extra

must be added in bigger nuclei for them to be stable)

Nuclear Reactions
Mass ( )

Mass (

Unified Atomic Mass Unit ( )

Electron (
Proton (
Neutron (

mass of

atom

)
)
)

Alpha (

Types of Nuclear Reactions:

-

Fission: process of splitting a nuclide (i.e. a specific nucleus containing a particular no. of
nuclei of similar mass e.g.

&

) into other

(this is basically a chain reaction)

Fusion: process of combining small nuclei into a bigger one, requiring high temp to overcome electrostatic
repulsion to maintain temp & conditions for the plasma (ionized) form, fusion must be done within magnetic
fields (far away from any materials) inside tokamaks e.g.

is deuterium)

Transmutation: conversion of a nuclide into another similar-mass nuclide can either be natural (e.g. -, decays) or artificial (e.g. transmutation of nitrogen

(where

Electron Capture:

happen in neutron star as pressure here is strong to drive

into

Mass Defects, Binding Energy Curve, & Energy Transformation during Nuclear Reactions:
-

Mass Defect is defined as

(where

is mass; &

can be found

by subtracting the mass of electrons in an atom from the mass of that atom found on the periodic table)

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

-

From

, binding energy is

which is defined as the work required to completely separate the

nucleons from a nucleus (i.e. binding energy is the energy that is lost when a nucleus is formed from its
constituent parts)

of mass defects corresponds to

Binding Energy Curve

-

From the curve, we can see that

is more stable than other nuclei of roughly the same mass (thus -decay is

very favourable), & that most nuclei have

-

Fusion & fission often produce more stable nuclei, i.e.

nucleons stay the same during a reaction,
than

per nucleon (

(of products)

(of products)

, & fission happens for nuclei heavier than

) of approx.

(of reactants) fusion happens for nuclei lighter

(as the curve peaks at

By conservation of energy & momentum,

)
(of product) if

(of reactant)

, then energy is released in the form of

must be added in the form of

(of reactants); & since total no. of

(of product); if

, then energy

(of reactant) for the reaction to be initiated

Photoelectric Effect
Photoelectric effect is when

& leave the surface description of the experiment:

gain
-

from a photo-surface absorb

Voltage is variable such that it prevents the flow of

reducing the current ( ) when

, thus

, the corresponding

voltage is called the stopping voltage ( ) max kinetic

energy gained by one single

10

is

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

Extraordinary Results of Photoelectric Effect Experiment:
(a)

(of

); but classical theory (namely Maxwells) offers no explanations of why this should be so

(of

are emitted with no time delay

(b)

absorb energy in one go, not gradually as predicted by classical

theory (as classical theory claims that energy carried by light is continuous & should be absorbed gradually)
(c) Intensity (of light)

Current; however intensity of light has no effects on

of classical theory as it claims that Intensity (of light)

of

this is a violation

Energy (light carries)

To solve problems with the experiment, Einstein decided to re-define what we know about the nature of light we
visualize one single quantum (i.e.

) as a particle (or better, as a packet of waves!) with energy of

(where

is the Planks constant) this explains:

Result (a): As

Result (b): As energy carried by light is discrete

Result (c): According this new definition, intensity of light is dependent on no. of
(

(of

its obvious that

(of

(of

)!!!

are absorbed in one go!!!

, but not on the energy of

) explains why increasing intensity of light affects the current produced (because the more

are, the more

emitted, creating more current), but intensity has no effects on

there

of

Calculations Involving Photoelectric Effect:

-

thus total energy of a

isnt only used to increase

from the nucleus as well

-

from the nucleuss attraction,

Let the work function ( ) be the energy to free an

Let the critical frequency ( ) be when

means no

of

is -intercept

(i.e. when

are emitted), thus

, but also to free

, then

, which
is -intercept

Quantum Theory
The World of Discrete Energy:
-

Photoelectric effect can only be fully explained if we assign

only just the

with discrete amount of energy; however, not

, but all elementary particles (well mostly focus on

here) must have discrete energy as well!

This must be true because repeated measurements always give the same mass-to-charge ratio of

Discreteness in energy of

is also necessary to explain the discrete nature of the atomic line spectrum (i.e.

to explain the Bohrs atomic model)

Discreteness in energy leads us to think of everything as particles; however, note that physicists do not actually
claim that

&

are particles themselves, but only that they behave as if they are!!!

11

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

Wave Theory of Everything:
-

as particles doesnt mean that we can forget entirely about the wave nature of light; in fact, its

To think of

as a packet of waves, in which its frequency ( ) can determine how much energy

actually better to think of

that the
o
-

contains this is shown by the relation

Wave theory is very successful in explaining why light is diffracted & interfered when passing through a slit

By Einsteins relativity,

definition of momentum can be actually be applied to all matters (incl.

o

) based on De Broglie Hypothesis:

By rearranging the equation, De Broglie hypothesized that every particle has a De-Broglie wavelength of
associated with it (where

this

have no mass but do have momentum which is defined as

can be used to find )

De Broglie hypothesis of an electron wave is confirmed by Davisson-Germer experiment in which

(when passing through the space between crystal atoms) are scattered as a result of diffraction

Wave theory of everything continues to be confirmed by typical Young-typed double-slit experiments, in which
or

produce interference pattern after having been fired through the

Note that physicists do not actually claim that

&

slits in the experiment

are waves themselves, but only that they behave as if

they are (due to the ability of these elementary particles to diffract & interfere with themselves)
Electron-in-a-Box Model:
-

be
-

as a wave; as it cant lose energy & it cant escape the box, its amplitude at the boxs edges must

Consider

From

can now be treated as a standing wave with general formula

,

,&

, then

of

in a box is

(where

is the boxs length)

but since

, therefore

must be discrete now imagine that each box represents an atomic energy level (where indicates which
level it is), then its obvious that energy of each atomic level is discrete!
This model shows that even when we think of

as a wave, the discrete nature of atomic energy levels can still

be explained! However, the model is very oversimplified, thus only gives us an intuitive & classical picture of
the discreteness nature of the atomic energy levels
Duality of Particles & Matters:
-

As mentioned, everything can behave both as waves & as particles, thus giving rise to duality of matters an
object has wave-like properties whenever diffraction occurs (i.e. when the object passes through a slit of
comparable size to its

); in contrary, an object has particle-like properties when no diffraction occurs!

A common misconception is to treat

&

as waves & particles themselves because they can behave like

both; however, they are neither waves nor particles themselves:

o

We can only understand the nature of

therefore, its a much better way to treat

by using counter-intuitive & abstract mathematics

&
&

as quantum mechanical objects (or even better, as fields

as described in Quantum Field Theory, QFT), rather than just calling them as particles or waves!

12

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

This means that the duality paradox only appears when we use intuitive ideas of waves & particles; however,
in theory of QM, there is really no duality whatsoever!
Schrdinger Theory:
-

Schrdinger set up a model containing a complicated differential equation, in which

of an
o

at position & time ) is the solution to the differential equation:

At first, no one could explain what the wave-function stands for; then Max Born suggested that

is

, in which |

| can be used to find

The theory shows that its the probability that is waving this means that

are not smeared out in

basically another way to describe the probability-wave of an

probability of an

at position & time

really come from the waving of the probability!

some mysterious way, but the wave properties of

-

(the wave-function

Schrdinger theory also suggested that in a hydrogen atom,

has

(where is energy level; is the constant in Coulombs law; & are mass & charge of

; & is

the Plancks constant) each atomic energy level has the energy of
o

Not only giving energy for each level, the theory also predicts probability of electronic transitions between
particular energy levels, which is important to explain why some spectral lines are brighter than others

This model is a correct description the discrete atomic energy levels as the theory is supported by tonnes of
empirical evidence hence, Schrdinger theory has replaced our oversimplified electron-in-a-box model!

More on Double-Slit Experiment:

-

Schrdinger Theory tells us that its really the probability-waves of the

that diffract & superpose with

themselves to create the interference pattern in the double-slit experiment

-

Observers effects in QM:

o

Figure (a): When not observing, the firing of

the superposition of wave functions of the

through the

slits create interference pattern because of

as they go through the slits

goes through), no interference pattern appears this is

Figure (b): When observing (to see which slit an

because of the collapse of wave functions, which causes the superposition to disappear

Retrieved from http://www.blacklightpower.com

/theory-2/theory/double-slit/

(a)

(b)

13

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

An oversimplified way of explaining why the act of observation can determine the outcome of the
this interaction

experiment is: to observe the

, we must interact with the

by hitting it with a

changes something about the

, thus altering the results of the double-slit experiment

However, observers effects havent been universally explained as therere many interpretations of QM
Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle claims

(for position-momentum) &

(for energy-time);

i.e. one cant measure accurately position & momentum of an object at the same time hence, one cant determine
of an object at a specific moment in time (because
-

depends on momentum)

This is consistent with everything that has been mentioned it shows that when an
small size (i.e.

depends on position, &

Applying

is very small), then the

to an

passes through a slit of

must diffract due to high uncertainty in momentum (i.e. high

(which has typically

of energy) in an atom,

of

must be

this is basically the size of an atom!!!

Digital Technology

Analogue versus Digital

In binary-numbering system, a specific -bit number has digits, & thus can represent max

numbers; st digit

of a binary number is called most significant bit (MSB), while the last digit is called least significant bit (LSB)
Analogue Signals are continuous signals, varying between

extreme values (where relative size of the signals is

really what that matters) in a way that is proportional to the physical mechanism that created it
Digital Signal is a coded form of an analogue signal, & only takes discrete values of

or

(for representations of

binary codes) these signals are recorded by first sampling, & then coding:
-

Sampling Rate/Frequency ( ) is no. of times per second that the signal is sampled data lost always occurs
between each sampling times sampling gives rise to pulse amplitude modulated signals (PAM)

Coding involves splitting up the range (

) of voltages in the original analogue signals into

quantization

levels, & then assign each level with a specific -bit number use these numbers to code the original message!
o

Quantization Error (which shows how much data is lost due to coding) can be determined by

( is

basically the size of each quantization level) the higher , the more no. of levels, the less the size of
each level, thus the smaller the quantization error!!!

14

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

Storing Devices
Compact Disk (CD):
Distance between the spirals
Width of a pit
Length of a pit

Depth of a pit
-

Read-only CD is covered with optically transparent material (polycarbonate) to avoid the re-writing of data

Signals are stored on a CD by marking pits & lands (which are of different heights) on the CDs surface the
CD is designed such that the laser beams reflected at the edge between a pit & a land interfere with each other
destructively, in order to represent the binary number
o

(where is the depth of a pit)

Since laser beam reflected from the land has to travel an extra distance of

compared to the beam reflected from the pit destructive interference only occurs when
(i.e. when
-

) depth of the pit must be designed according to

of the laser beam that is used!

Processes of marking pits & lands are quite different for different kinds of CD:
o

For CD-ROM, a master disk can be used to stamp pits & lands on a molten CD

For CD-R, a colour dye can act as pits & lands as it reflects different light intensities when exposed to lasers

For CD-RW, lasers can melt the disks alloy, & thus change the reflectivity of different parts on the CDs
surface to help varying light intensities in order to represent pits & lands

Digital Versatile Disk (DVD): Similar to a CD; however, the pit length is much shorter & the data can be stored on
both sides or in double layers DVD thus has higher storage capacity than CD
Long Play (LP): A needle, connected to a diaphragm, is allowed to make marks (analogue signals) on a rotating
tinfoil-covered cylinder LP has limited capacity, & can easily get damaged (due to scratches or dust) Viny LP
works basically the same way but signals can be amplified electrically during playback
Cassettes: Using electro-magnetism to store magnetic fields on tape coated with Fe2O3; it is a sequential device
which means that data is stored in sequence of the tape
Floppy Disks: Storing data magnetically in a concentric ring direct-access device
Hard disks: Made of several disks of aluminium or glass covered with magnetized material (cobalt) data is stored
magnetically in tracks (concentric rings) & sectors (parts of the tracks)
Advantages of Digital Storage: Huge capacity; reliable; direct-access device; data is easily copied, erased,
encrypted, processed, & transported both physically & electronically

15

Sy Hai Dinh Kungsholmens Gymnasium (2014)

Charge-Coupled Device (CCD)

Any device consisting of

conductors (or plates) that are separated by a vacuum or an insulator is called a capacitor

through experiments, its found that

, where

(which is measured in farad ) is the capacitance that is

dependent on the surface areas of the plates, their distance apart, & material between the plates
Steps for CCD to Take a Picture:
-

We can think of the CCD as a collection of small capacitors (the pixels) each pixel can release

depending

on intensity ( ) of the light incident on it, due to the electron-hole production of semiconductors (this process is
very similar to photoelectric effects) no. of
o
-

Due to the relation

released determines the charge

produced by the pixels

, its obvious that

Now, information (incl. position & voltage) of each pixel is moved down row-to-row (hence the phrase
charged-coupled) in order to be recorded & then converted into digital forms

However, the process above can only be used to construct a black-&-white image; to produce coloured images:
o

Pixels are arranged in groups of

An algorithm (called Bayer-filter algorithm) will look for information of the missing colours in the nearby

(incl.

red,

blue, &

green filters as the eye is most sensitive to green)

pixels, interpolate it, to get the information for all the colours in each pixel
Description of CCD:
-

CCD is a silicon chip (size ranges from

) with pixels of linear size ranging from

typical CCD can contain millions of pixels (i.e. megapixels)

to
-

to

Quantum Efficiency of a CCD is the ratio of the no. of emitted

to the no. of incident

hence, this

decides the time the shutter needs to be opened in order for us to get a decent image
-

Magnification is the ratio of linear size of the physical image on the CCD to the size of the actual object

Resolution:

points must not fall the same pixel for them to be fully resolved thus, the closer the pixels are

to each other (i.e. the smaller the pixels are), the better the resolution!
Advantages of Using CCD:
-

Quantum efficiency is high (7080%) CCD can deal with very low brightness of stars, & take much shorter
time to take images (which is good for patients using X-rays)

Pictures & images taken by the CCD are all digital

CCD is small, & can thus easily to be used in endoscope

CCD often has high pixel density, meaning that it often has very good resolution

In astronomical imaging (e.g. Hubbles telescope): CCD must be cooled down to take very accurate images, because
can actually be ejected from the CCD at high temp, leading to inaccurate captures of images

16