The Behavior of the Very Small object

• Electrons are incredibly small.

– A single speck of dust has more electrons than the
number of people who have ever lived on Earth.

• Electron behavior determines much of the

behavior of atoms.

• Directly observing electrons in the atom is

impossible; the electron is so small that observing
it changes its behavior.
– Even shining a light on the electron would affect it.
The Nature of Light: Its Wave Nature

• Light: a form of electromagnetic radiation

– Composed of perpendicular oscillating waves,
one for the electric field and one for the
magnetic field
• An electric field is a region where an electrically charged
particle experiences a force.
• A magnetic field is a region where a magnetized particle
experiences a force.
• All electromagnetic waves move through
space at the same, constant speed.
– 3.00 × 108 m/s = the speed of light
Electromagnetic Radiation
 Speed of Energy Transmission

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Wave Characteristics
 Wave Characteristics

• The frequency (ν) is the number of waves that

pass a point in a given period of time.
– The number of waves = the number of cycles.
– Units are hertz (Hz) or cycles/s = s−1 (1 Hz = 1 s−1).

• The total energy is proportional to the amplitude

of the waves and the frequency.
– The larger the amplitude, the more force it has.
– The more frequently the waves strike, the more total
force there is.
 Amplitude and Wavelength

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

• Visible light comprises only a small fraction of all

the wavelengths of light, called the
electromagnetic spectrum.

• Shorter wavelength (high-frequency) light has

higher energy.
– Radio wave light has the lowest energy.
– Gamma ray light has the highest energy.

• High-energy electromagnetic radiation can

potentially damage biological molecules.
– Ionizing radiation
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Diffraction
Photoelectric effect
 Photoelectric Effect (1887-1905)
discovered by Hertz in 1887 and explained in 1905 by Einstein.

Heinrich HERTZ Albert EINSTEIN

(1857-1894) (1879-1955)

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12
The Photoelectric Effect: Classical Prediction
• It was observed that many metals emit electrons
when a light shines on their surface.
– This is called the photoelectric effect.
• Classic wave theory attributed this effect to the
light energy being transferred to the electron.
• According to this theory, if the wavelength of light
is made shorter, or the light wave’s intensity made
brighter, more electrons should be ejected.
– Remember that the energy of a wave is directly
proportional to its amplitude and its frequency.
– This idea predicts if a dim light were used there would
be a lag time before electrons were emitted.
• To give the electrons time to absorb enough energy
 The Photoelectric Effect: Experimental
Observations

Photoelectric Current Maximum KE of photoelectron

 The Photoelectric Effect: Experimental Observations

Photoelectron current is proportional to light intensity for all

retarding voltages. The stopping potential V , which corresponds
0

to the maximum photoelectron energy, is the same for all

intensities of light of the same frequency.
The Photoelectric Effect: Experimental Observations

The stopping potential V0, and hence the maximum

photoelectron energy, depends on the frequency of the light.
When the retarding potential is V0, the photoelectron current is
the same for light of a given intensity regardless of its frequency.
The Photoelectric Effect: Experimental Observations

Maximum photoelectron kinetic energy KEmax versus

frequency of incident light for three metal surfaces.
Experimental Observations: Summary

• Within the limits of experimental accuracy (about 10-9 s),

there is no time interval between the arrival of light at a
metal surface and the emission of photoelectrons.
• A bright light yields more photoelectrons than a dim one of
the same frequency, but the electron energies remain the
same. For a fixed value of the wavelength or frequency of the
light source, the maximum kinetic energy of the emitted
photoelectrons (determined from the stopping potential) is
totally independent of the intensity of the light source.
• The higher the frequency of the light, the more energy the
photoelectrons have. Blue light results in faster electrons
than red light.
Problem:

A laser beam with an intensity of 120 W/m2 (roughly

that of a small helium-neon laser) is incident on a
surface of sodium. It takes a minimum energy of 2.3 eV
to release an electron from sodium (the work function
φ of sodium). Assuming the electron to be confined to
an area of radius equal to that of a sodium atom (0.10
nm), how long will it take for the surface to absorb
enough energy to release an electron?
The Quantum Theory of the Photoelectric Effect

• In 1905, Einstein proposed that the energy in light is not

spread out over wavefronts but is concentrated in small
packets, quanta (also known as photons).
• Each photon of light of frequency ν has the energy hν.
• Photon has zero mass, but carries linear momentum as
well as energy.
Problem-1:
(a)What are the energy and momentum of a photon of red light
of wavelength 650 nm?
(b)What is the wavelength of a photon of energy 2.40 eV?
Problem-2:
The work function for tungsten metal is 4.52 eV. (a) What is the
cutoff wavelength λc for tungsten? (b) What is the maximum
kinetic energy of the electrons when radiation of wavelength 198
nm is used? (c) What is the stopping potential in this case?
 COMPTON EFFECT:
Further confirmation of the photon model

An x-ray photon strikes an electron at rest and is scattered away from its original
direction of motion while the electron receives an impulse and begins to move.
 COMPTON EFFECT:
Further confirmation of the photon model

• The momentum of a massless particle:

• The total energy of a particle

 COMPTON EFFECT:
Further confirmation of the photon model
Momentum, unlike energy, is a vector quantity that incorporates
direction as well as magnitude, and in the collision momentum must be
conserved in each of two mutually perpendicular directions.

•In the original photon direction

•and perpendicular to this direction

By squaring each of these equations and adding the new ones together,
the angle is eliminated, leaving

Using

Dividing by 2h2c2,
Experimental demonstration of the Compton effect.
Experimental confirmation of Compton scattering. The
greater the scattering angle, the greater the wavelength
change
 Wave Properties of Particles
DE BROGLIE WAVES:
A moving body behaves in certain ways as though
it has a wave nature
Problem: Compute the de Broglie wavelength of the following:
(a) A 1000-kg car traveling at 100 m/s. (b) A 10-g bullet traveling
at 500 m/s. (c) A smoke particle of mass 10−9 g moving at 1 cm/s.
(d) An electron with a kinetic energy of 1 eV. (e) An electron with
a kinetic energy of 100 MeV.
PARTICLE DIFFRACTION
De Broglie’s hypothesis suggested that electron waves were being
diffracted by the target, much as x-rays are diffracted by planes of
atoms in a crystal.

The Bragg equation for maxima in the diffraction pattern is

PHYSICAL INTERPRETATION OF WAVE FUNCTION

The state of a quantum mechanical system can be completely understood

with the help of the wave function ψ. But wave function ψ can be real or
imaginary. Therefore no meaning can be assigned to wavefunction ψ as it is.

According to Max Born’s interpretation of the wavefunction, the only quantity that
has some meaning is

which is called as probability density.

Thus if ψ is the wavefunction of a particle within a small region of volume dv,
then

gives the probability of finding the particle within the region dv at the given
instant of time.

We know that electron is definitely found somewhere in the space. The

wavefunction ψ, which satisfies the above condition, is called normalized
wavefunction.

d
v
SCHRÖDINGER’S EQUATION
 PARTICLE IN A BOX

The solution of this equation

This solution is subject to the boundary conditions that Ψ = 0 for

x = 0 and for x = L.
Wave Functions:

Substituting value of En
Wave functions and probability densities of a particle confined to a box
with rigid walls.
 Finite Square-Well Potential

A square potential well with finite barriers. The energy E of the trapped
particle is less than the height U of the barriers.

In regions I and III Schrödinger’s steady-state equation is

We can rewrite in the more convenient form

 Finite Square-Well Potential

The solutions:

Hence we have

These wave functions decrease exponentially inside the

barriers at the sides of the well.
 Finite Square-Well Potential
Within the well ( in region II) Schrödinger’s equation is the same
as in the case of infinite potential well and its solution is again

The boundary conditions require that

and the wave function must be continuous where the

regions meet.
 Finite Square-Well Potential

Note that the wave function is nonzero outside of the box.

 TUNNEL EFFECT
A particle without the energy to pass over a potential barrier
may still tunnel through it.

When a particle of energy E<U approaches a potential barrier, according

to classical mechanics the particle must be reflected. In quantum
mechanics, the de Broglie waves that correspond to the particle are
partly reflected and partly transmitted, which means that the particle
has a finite chance of penetrating the barrier.
 Heisenberg realized that ...

• In the world of very small particles, one

cannot measure any property of a particle
without interacting with it in some way

• This introduces an unavoidable uncertainty

into the result

• One can never measure all the properties

exactly
 Measuring Position and Momentum
of an Electron
• Shine light on electron and detect
reflected light using a microscope
BEFORE
ELECTRON-PHOTON
• Minimum uncertainty in position COLLISION

is given by the wavelength of the

light
• So to determine the
Position accurately, it is incident
photon
necessary to use light
with a short wavelength electron
 Measuring Position and Momentum
of an Electron
• By Planck’s law E = hc/λ, a photon
with a short wavelength has a large
energy
AFTER
• Thus, it would impart a large kick’ ELECTRON-PHOTON
COLLISION
to the electron
• But to determine its momentum
accurately, electron must only be
given a small kick
• This means using light of long scattered
photon
wavelength!
recoiling
electron
 Heisenberg Uncertainty
• Heisenberg uncertainty principle

• This means you can’t simultaneously measure x and

px to an arbitrarily small precision
• This also means you can’t use classical physics
because you can’t specify (exactly) the initial
conditions