Chemistry and

Modern Living
ABCT 1D01/ 1301
Dr. Wing-Leung Wong
Office: Y820 Tel: 3400-8871
Email: [email protected]

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Light and Color

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Colors of our Life

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Fall colors in the North Eastern United States
Why do the leaves change color?

• The color of an object depends on how the molecules of

the material interact with light.
• Molecules present within an object determine which colors
are absorbed and which colors are reflected.
• A substance that appears white reflects all colors of light.
• A substance that appears black absorbs all colors of light.
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 Dispersion of Light by a Prism
> Sir Isaac Newton separated and recombined white light and its
constituent colors.

Visible light spectrum

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What Causes Color?

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 Chlorophyll and Carotenes
> Chlorophylls are responsible for the greens in leaf
color.

> As chlorophylls are destroyed in the fall, the reds and

oranges of the carotenes dominate leaf color.
> Slight variations in molecular structure result in
ranges of color displayed.

Chlorophyll

Carotene
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8
Color in Objects

❖ A red shirt appears red because it reflects red light;

❖ The shirt absorbs all of the other colors of light
except the red light.
❖ Our eyes see only the reflected light, making the shirt
appear red.
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Color Sensation

• Rod cells and Cone cells are

photoreceptors present in the
retina.

• Three types of Cone cells each

sensitive to blue, green and red.

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Trichromacy theory
• Light with a mixture of wavelengths activate the cone cells that are sensitive
the red, green and blue.

• Depending on the relative intensities of the red, green and blue light, the brain
combines the signals from the receptors to create a color sensation.

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Light as a form of Electromagnetic Radiation
❖ Oscillating dipole / charge produced electromagnetic radiation
❖ Electromagnetic radiation is a self-propagating wave in space
composed of oscillating electric field and magnetic fields

Light is a type of energy that travels through space at a

constant speed of 3.0 x 108 m/s.
Light has properties of both waves and particles.
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Waves

When a water surface is disturbed, waves are created

that radiate outward from the site. The wave carries
energy as it moves through the water.
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 Light as Waves
▪ Wavelength: The wavelength of light, λ (lambda,
pronounced “lam-duh”), is defined as the distance
between adjacent wave crests.

• Speed of light (vacuum) = 2.998  108 m s-1

• Frequency (n) = speed of light (c) / wavelength (l)

• Energy, E = hn = h c / l (particle-like properties)

(h = Planck constant; n = frequency; c = speed of light; l = wavelength)
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 Light as Waves
▪ Frequency: The frequency of light, 
(nu, pronounced “noo”), is defined as the
number of cycles or crests that pass through
a stationary point in one second.

▪ Wavelength () and frequency are

inversely related—the shorter the
wavelength, the higher the frequency.

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Light as Particles (Photons)
▪ Light can be viewed as a stream of particles.
▪ A particle of light is called a photon.
▪ We can think of a photon as a single packet of light energy.
▪ The amount of energy carried in the packet depends on the
wavelength of the light—the shorter the wavelength, the greater
the energy.
▪ Light waves carry more energy if their crests are closer
together (higher frequency and shorter wavelength).
▪ Violet light (shorter wavelength) carries more energy per photon
than red light (longer wavelength).

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 Light: Electromagnetic Radiation
To summarize:
• Electromagnetic radiation is a form of energy that travels
through space at a constant speed of 3.0 x 108 m/s and can
exhibit wave-like or particle-like properties.

•The wavelength of electromagnetic radiation determines

the amount of energy carried by one of its photons. The
shorter the wavelength, the greater the energy of each
photon.

• The frequency and energy of electromagnetic radiation are

inversely related to its wavelength.

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Electromagnetic Spectrum

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Gamma rays
▪ The shortest wavelength and most energetic
photons are those of gamma rays.
▪ Gamma rays are produced by the sun, by stars,
and by certain unstable atomic nuclei on Earth.
▪ Excessive human exposure to gamma rays is
dangerous because the high energy of
gamma-ray photons can damage biological
molecules such as DNA.

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 X-rays
▪ In the electromagnetic spectrum, the regions (photons) with longer
wavelengths and lower energy than gamma rays are X-rays, familiar
to us from their medical use.
▪ X-rays pass through many substances that block visible light and are
used to image internal bones and organs.
▪ Like gamma-ray photons, X-ray photons carry enough energy to
damage biological molecules.
▪ While several yearly exposures to X-rays are relatively harmless,
excessive exposure to X-rays increases cancer risk.

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Chemistry and Health
Radiation Treatment for Cancer
▪ X-rays and gamma rays are sometimes called ionizing radiation
because the high energy in their photons can ionize atoms and
molecules.
▪ When ionizing radiation interacts with biological molecules, it can
permanently change or even destroy them.
▪ In radiation therapy, doctors aim X-ray or gamma-ray beams at
cancerous tumors.

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Chemistry and Health
Radiation Treatment for Cancer
• The ionizing radiation damages the molecules within the tumor’s cells that carry
genetic information (i.e., DNA), and the cell dies or stops dividing.

• Healthy cells often inadvertently sustain damage during treatments, resulting in

side effects such as fatigue, skin lesions, and hair loss.

• Doctors try to minimize the exposure of healthy cells by appropriate shielding

and by targeting the tumor from multiple directions, minimizing the exposure of
healthy cells while maximizing the exposure of cancerous cells.

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 DNA: Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid

▪ Polymer of nucleotides.
▪ Nucleotide composed of a ribose, phosphate and nitrogen base.
▪ Nitrogen bases: Adenine (A), Cytosine (C), Thymine (T), Guanine (G).
▪ Double helical structure (Watson-Crick model).
▪ The pairs are held together by hydrogen bonds. 23
 Ultraviolet Light
▪ Between X-rays and visible light in
the electromagnetic spectrum is
ultraviolet or UV light, familiar to
us as the component of sunlight that
produces a sunburn or suntan.
▪ The sun is by far the strongest
source of ultraviolet radiation in our
environment. Solar emissions
include visible light (~39%), heat
(~54%) and ultraviolet (UV)
radiation (~7%).
▪ While not as energetic as gamma-
ray or X-ray photos, ultraviolet
photons still carry enough energy to
damage biological molecules.
▪ Excessive exposure to ultraviolet
light increases the risk of skin
cancer and cataracts and causes
premature wrinkling of the skin. 24
 Visible Light
▪ In the spectrum, visible light is ranging from violet (shorter wavelength, higher
energy) to red (longer wavelength, lower energy).
▪ Photons of visible light do not damage biological molecules.
▪ Photons of visible light do cause molecules (rhodopsin) in our eyes to rearrange,
which sends a signal to our brains that results in vision.
▪ Photochemical events in vision involve the protein opsin and the cis/trans
isomers of retinal. The cis-retinal fits into a receptor site of opsin.
▪ Upon absorption of a photon of light in the visible range, cis-retinal can isomerize
to all-trans-retinal.
▪ In the cis-retinal, the hydrogens are on the same side of the double bond.

H
H

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Infrared Light
▪ Infrared light has much longer wavelengths than visible light.
▪ The heat you feel when you place your hand near a hot object is infrared light.
▪ All warm objects, including human bodies, emit infrared light.
▪ While infrared light is invisible to our eyes, infrared sensors can detect it and
are often used in night-vision technology to “see” in the dark.

▪ In the infrared region of the spectrum, warm objects—such as human

bodies— glow, much as a light bulb glows in the visible region of the spectrum.

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 Microwaves
▪ Beyond infrared light, at longer wavelengths still, are microwaves,
used for radar and in microwave ovens.
▪ Microwave light has longer wavelengths—and therefore lower energy
per photon—than visible or infrared light.
▪ Microwave light is efficiently absorbed by water and can heat
substances that contain water.
▪ Substances that contain Energy Transfer Comparison
water such as food are
warmed by the radiation
of a microwave oven, but
substances that do not
contain water such as a
plate are not.

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Radio Waves
The longest wavelengths of light are radio waves,
which are used to transmit the signals used by AM and
FM radio, cellular telephones, television, and other
forms of communication.

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Why do plants look green..?

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 Green Pigment: Chlorophyll

Chromatographic
separation of
chlorophyll
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• Spectrometer resolves light into individual wavelengths
(monochromatic light)
• It is utilized to measure the absorption of a sample at each individual
wavelengths

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UV-Visible Absorption Spectrum

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Spectral Property and π-Conjugation

Pentacene (max = 575 nm)

Coronene (max = 400 nm)

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Beta-Carotenes

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 Anthocyanins
▪ Anthocyanins are blue,
red, or purple pigments
found in plants, especially
flowers, fruits, and tubers.
▪ In acidic condition,
anthocyanin appears as
red pigment, while blue
pigment anthocyanin
exists in alkaline
conditions.

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Azo Dyes are synthetic compounds

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Different types of dyes and their applications in industry

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Diazotization and Coupling Reactions

Diazotization
diazonium ions

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Important Dyes and Pigments

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Inorganic Pigments

Iron oxides Carbon black

Mercury oxide TiO2, ZnO, CaCO3

Lead oxide Ultramarine blue:

Na6Al4Si6S4O20
S3- radical anion 40
41

Let’s have a 15 min break!

Why and How Light is Absorbed?
Energy Level

h
e-

when h = E energy gap = E

e- e- e-
Ground state Excited state

Electrons occupied the Electron is promoted to

lowest energy level a higher energy level

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 Each Element Has Its Own Atomic
Emission Spectrum of Light
▪ Atoms inside a glass tube
absorb electrical energy and
then re-emit the energy as
light.
▪ Light emitted from a mercury
lamp (left) appears blue.
▪ Light emitted from a hydrogen
lamp (right) appears pink.

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A white-light spectrum is continuous, with some radiation
emitted at every wavelength.

The emission spectrum of an individual element includes

only certain specific wavelengths.

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Identifying Molecules and Atoms
▪ The specific wavelengths of light
absorbed or emitted by a molecule or
atom are unique to that molecule or
atom.
▪ Virtually any element or compound
can be identified using the range of
light provided by the electromagnetic
spectrum.

▪ T he identification of substances
using their interaction with light is
called spectroscopy.
▪ Spectroscopic techniques are the
most versatile tools scientists have
for identification and quantification of
matter.

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Light emitted by hydrogen contains distinct
wavelengths that are specific to hydrogen.

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Niels Bohr developed a simple model
to explain these results.

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▪ The energy of each Bohr
orbit, specified by a quantum
number n = 1, 2, 3 is fixed,
or quantized.

▪ Bohr orbits are like steps of a

ladder, each at a specific distance
from the nucleus and each at a
specific energy. It is impossible for
an electron to exist between orbits
in the Bohr model.

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Excitation and Emission
▪ When a hydrogen
atom absorbs energy,
an electron is excited to
a higher-energy orbit.
▪ The electron then
relaxes back to a
lower-energy orbit,
emitting a photon of
light.

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Hydrogen emission lines
▪ Since the amount of energy in a photon is directly related to its
wavelength, the photon has a specific wavelength.
▪ The light emitted by excited atoms consists of specific lines at
specific wavelengths, each corresponding to a specific transition
between two orbits.

▪ For example, the line at 486 nm in the hydrogen emission spectrum

corresponds to an electron relaxing from the n = 4 orbit to the n = 2
orbit.
▪ I n the same way, the line at 657 nm (longer wavelength and
lower energy) corresponds to an electron relaxing from the n = 3
orbit to the n = 2 orbit.

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Hydrogen emission lines

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The Bohr Model: Atoms with Orbits
▪ The great success of the Bohr model of the atom was
that it predicted the lines of the hydrogen emission
spectrum.

▪ However, it failed to predict the emission spectra of other

elements that contained more than one electron.

▪ For this and other reasons, the Bohr model was

replaced with a more sophisticated model called the
quantum-mechanical or wave-mechanical model.

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The Quantum-Mechanical Model:
Atoms with Orbitals
▪ The quantum-mechanical model of the atom replaced
the Bohr model in the early twentieth century. In the
quantum-mechanical model Bohr orbits are replaced
with quantum-mechanical orbitals.
▪ Electrons have wave-like properties.
▪ W e cannot, in general, describe the exact paths (orbit)
of electrons in the atom.
▪ A n orbital is a probability map that shows where
the electron is likely to be found when the atom is
probed; it does not represent the exact path that an
electron takes as it travels through space.

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 Quantum-Mechanical Model
The number of subshells in a given principal
shell is equal to the value of n.
Energy

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Quantum-Mechanical Orbitals
▪ In the quantum-mechanical model, a number and a letter
specify an orbital (or orbitals).
▪ The lowest-energy orbital in the quantum-mechanical
model is called the 1s orbital.
▪ It is specified by the number 1 and the letter s.
▪ The number is called the principal quantum number
(n) and specifies the principal shell of the orbital.

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Quantum-Mechanical Orbitals
▪ The higher the principal quantum number, the higher the
energy of the orbital.
▪ The possible principal quantum numbers are n = 1, 2, 3,
… with energy increasing as n increases.
▪ Since the 1s orbital has the lowest possible principal
quantum number, it is in the lowest-energy shell and
has the lowest possible energy.
▪ The letter indicates the subshell of the orbital and
specifies its shape.
▪ The possible letters are s, p, d, and f, each with a different
shape.
▪ Orbitals within the s subshell have a spherical shape.

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Quantum-Mechanical Model
The shape of atomic orbitals

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Quantum-Mechanical Orbitals
▪ Orbitals can be represented as geometric shapes
that encompass most of the volume where the electron
is likely to be found.
▪ The 1s orbital can be represented as a sphere that
encompasses the volume within which the electron is
found 90% of the time.
▪ I f we superimpose the dot representation of the 1s
orbital on the shape representation, we can see that
most of the dots are within the sphere, meaning that
the electron is most likely to be found within the sphere
when it is in the 1s orbital.

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Dot density and shape representations of the 1s orbital:
The dot density is proportional to the probability of finding the electron.
The greater dot density near the middle represents a higher probability of
finding the electron near the nucleus.

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The 2s orbital is similar to the 1s orbital, but larger in size.

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The 2p orbitals:
This figure shows both the dot representation
(left) and shape representation (right) for each
p orbital.

Three p orbitals: px, py, pz

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The Atomic Orbitals, when n = 3
▪ T h e next principal shell, n = 3, contains three subshells specified by
s, p, and d.
▪ T h e s and p subshells contain the 3s and 3p orbitals, similar in
shape to the 2s and 2p orbitals, but slightly larger and higher in
energy.
▪ T h e d subshell contains five d orbitals: dxy, dxz, dyz, dx2-y2, dz2
▪ The 3d orbitals: The figure below shows both the dot representation
(left) and shape representation (right) for each d orbital.

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From Orbits to Orbitals
▪ The quantum-mechanical model predicts the bright-line spectrum of hydrogen as
well as the Bohr model does.
▪ The quantum-mechanical model can predict the bright-line spectra of other
elements; the Bohr model cannot predict spectra for atoms with more than
one electron.
▪ The Bohr model was replaced with a more sophisticated model called the
quantum-mechanical or wave-mechanical model.
▪ The Bohr model is still important because it provides a logical foundation to the
quantum-mechanical model and reveals the historical development of scientific
understanding.

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Artistic representation of four common spdf orbital sets

https://pages.swcp.com/~jmw-mcw/Parsing%20the%20spdf%20electron%20orbital%20model.htm
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Electron Configurations:
How Electrons Occupy Orbitals
▪ An electron configuration shows the occupation of
orbitals by electrons for a particular atom.
▪ The electron configuration for a ground-state
hydrogen atom is:

▪ The electron configuration tells us that hydrogen’s

single electron is in the 1s orbital.

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Ground States and Excited States
▪ The single electron of an undisturbed hydrogen
atom at room temperature is in the 1s orbital.
▪ This is called the ground state, or lowest energy
state, of the hydrogen atom.
▪ The absorption of energy by a hydrogen atom
can cause the electron to jump (or make a
transition) from the 1s orbital to a higher-energy
orbital. When the electron is in a higher-energy
orbital, the hydrogen atom is said to be in an
excited state.
▪ All the atoms of each element have one ground
state and many excited states.

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Electron Configurations: Orbital Diagrams
▪ Another way to represent this information is with an orbital diagram,
which gives similar information but shows the electrons as arrows in a
box representing the orbital.
▪ The orbital diagram for a ground-state hydrogen atom is shown below:

▪ The box represents the 1s orbital, and the arrow within the box
represents the electron in the 1s orbital.

▪ The orbital diagram for a ground-state and an excited state of helium

atom

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Energy State
▪ Ground state
• All electrons are in lowest-energy orbits possible.
▪ Excited state
• An electron has moved to a higher-energy orbit.
▪ Electronic transition
• Caused by light.
• The energy of this light determines which transition
will occur.
• Some molecules absorb many different wavelengths
of light; some absorb one, and some absorb none.

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Energy State
Excited state
• The excited state is
unstable.
• The energy of the absorbed
photon will dissipate in
several ways.
• Photodecomposition (a)
• Electronic relaxation (b)
• Fluorescence (c)
• Phosphorescence (c)

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Photo-decomposition
▪ The absorption of a photon with enough energy can break
chemical bonds.
▪ Of particular concern is human exposure to UV, X-rays,
and gamma rays.
▪ Dye molecules are susceptible; fabric colors fade with
exposure to sunlight.

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 Electronic Relaxation
❖ Excited electron returns to its original orbit.
❖ This movement produces either heat or light.
❖ Hot clothing: Upon absorption of light
• Dark colors emit heat, which warms our bodies (much
more than the heat from lighter-colored clothing).
❖ Phosphorescence
• Glow-in-the-dark toys (lasts a while)
❖ Fluorescence
• UV excitation of electrons on white clothing (ends
immediately with removal of UV source)

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 Electron Spin
In orbital diagrams, the direction of
the arrow (pointing up or pointing
down) represents electron spin, a
fundamental property of electrons.

The Pauli exclusion principle

states that orbitals may hold no
more than two electrons with
opposing spins.

We symbolize this as two arrows

pointing in opposite directions.

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 MRI: Spectroscopy of the Human Body
• Roentgen used X-rays to image the bones of the human body
without physically cutting through the skin.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows imaging of
biological tissues—anything containing hydrogen atoms.

• MRI is a form of NMR (for “nuclear magnetic resonance”)

used in medicine.
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 Concepts in MRI
▪ Hydrogen nuclei are imagined as tiny magnets that align
in an externally applied magnetic field (usually created by a
large electromagnet).
▪ Electromagnetic radiation “pushes” on the hydrogen
nuclei, causing an energy transition at a particular
frequency, the resonance frequency.

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 Resonance Frequency
▪ A sample is held in a
uniform magnetic field while
the radio frequency is varied.
▪ A t the resonance frequency,
changes in the magnetism
of the biological sample are
observed.
▪ A graph that shows the
intensity as a function of
frequency is called an
absorption spectrum.

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 Obtaining an Image
▪ Hydrogen nuclei in a varying magnetic field.
▪ Two peaks—different containers.
▪ The larger container gives the largest peak.

Sample: water

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 Relaxation Time
▪ Nuclei will return to their original
positions after being “pushed” by the
magnetic field.
▪ The time it takes for this to happen
is called relaxation time and it varies
with the biological environment.
▪ Result: An MRI can distinguish between
different types of tissue.
▪ A contrasting agent would improve the
image quality.
▪ ALL of this without the biological risks
associated with X-rays

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 Lasers
▪ LASER is an acronym for “light amplification by
stimulated emission of radiation.”
▪ Laser light contains light of only ONE wavelength.
▪ These waves are not randomly oriented, but are aligned,
or in phase.

▪ Laser light is pure, intense, and resists spreading in space.

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How is Laser amplified
▪ A laser cavity consists of two mirrors, one of which is only partially
reflecting.
▪ Fluorescence and reflection stimulate photon emission.
▪ Large numbers of photons are then circulating within the laser cavity and
stimulate the emission of even more photons of the same wavelength.
▪ A small fraction is allowed to leak out of the cavity, producing the laser
beam.
Laser Cavity

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How is the light from an incandescent light bulb
different from lights emitted from a laser?
▪ Light from an ordinary incandescent light bulb
contains many randomly oriented wavelengths of light.
▪ Laser light contains a single wavelength of light oriented
in a single phase, where the troughs and crests of the
light waves are aligned.

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Types of Lasers
▪ Solid-state lasers
• Lasing medium is a metal ion distributed in a solid
crystal.
▪ Gas lasers
• Lasing medium is a gas or mixture of gases.
▪ Dye lasers
• Lasing medium is an organic dye in a liquid solution
(tunability).
▪ Semiconductor lasers
• Lasing medium is two semiconducting materials
sandwiched together (inexpensive).

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Solid-State Lasers
▪ The lasing medium contains metal
ions distributed in a solid crystal
▪ Ruby laser used chromium ion
dispersed in a sapphire crystal for
lasing
▪ A more common solid-state laser
today is neodymium-yttrium-
aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser
▪ Produce laser at 1064 nm (infrared)
with moderate to high power
▪ Manufacturing, medicine and basic
research

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 Gas Laser
▪ Laser medium is a gas or a mixture contained in a
tube.
▪ Helium-neon laser emit a narrow beam of red
light at 632.7 nm with low intensity (milliwatts)
▪ Used in surveying, cutting guide in manufacturing,
alignment tool in optics.
▪ Argon ion laser with gaseous argon ion as
medium.
▪ Moderate to high power (several watts) of green
light at 514 nm or other wavelength at the visible
region.
▪ Argon ion laser propagate through a haze of
smoke or water vapor, commonly used in concert.
▪ Carbon dioxide (CO2) laser produce
infrared light at 10.6 micrometer.
▪ High power (1000 W) laser for cutting steel,
welding and drilling High precision laser cutting

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 Dye Laser
▪ The lasing medium is an organic dye in liquid solution
▪ Highly tunable depending on the type of organic dye used.
▪ Virtually any wavelength in the visible region can be produced.
▪ Used in basic research and medicine.
▪ Highly π-conjugated molecules.
▪ Highly toxic, and carcinogenic.

Tetracene

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Semiconductor (Diode) Laser
• Laser pointers, supermarket scanners,
CD players, and other electronic
devices
• The lasing medium consists of
twosemiconducting materials sandwiched
together
• Light-emitting diodes (LED) Blue LED

• InGaN (indium gallium nitride) for Blu-

Ray and HD-DVD drives
• AlGaInP (aluminum gallium indium
phosphide) for red laser pointer

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 Lasers in Medicine
▪ Can make precise cuts through
skin and tissue with minimal
damage to surrounding tissue
▪ Can be delivered through fiber-
optic cables to difficult-to-reach
places
▪ Can interact directly with internal
organs
▪ Dermatologists use lasers to
remove unsightly skin blemishes.

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Photochemical Reaction of Porphyrins

O2
Excited
state

singlet O2

highly reactive and

oxidizing
UV-vis absorption
spectrum

87
 Photodynamic Therapy of Cancers
Upon irradiation with visible light of a specific wavelength, the photosensitizer
is excited from a ground state to an excited state, which transfers its energy
to tissue ground state triplet oxygen producing singlet oxygen (1O2), a very
reactive chemical specie able to destroy tumor.

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Chapter Summary
Molecular Concept Societal Impact
❖ Light ❖ Sunlight helps sustain life
on Earth and is our ultimate
❖ Wavelength energy source.
❖ Color and molecular ❖ From CD players to
structures supermarket scanners,
lasers have changed the
❖ Radiation in its way we live.
different forms

❖ Advances in medicine

❖ Advances in atomic theory

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 ~End of Lecture~
Please let me know if you have questions.
Thank you for your attention!
Dr. WONG Wing-leung
Office: Y820
Email: [email protected]

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