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QUANTUM PHYSICS I

Photon: packet or quantum of energy

Photon Energy: E = hf = hc/. E is dependent on f or
E is independent on light intensity.

Light intensity No. of photons per unit time per unit area

Photoelectric effect:
A phenomenon that results in the liberation of electrons from a metal surface when electromagnetic
radiation of high enough frequency falls on the metal.

Work Function, :
The minimum amount of work or energy necessary to take a free electron out of a metal against
attractive forces of surrounding positive ions.

Einstein's Photoelectric Equation
hf = + E
max


Threshold frequency, f
o
: minimum frequency for photoelectric emission to occur

Threshold wavelength,
o
:
wavelength above which no photoelectric emission can occur.

Stopping potential, V
s
: W = eV
s
= m
max
v
2
= hf -

Learn the graphs of current vs pd., current vs intensity of radiation, V
s
vs f.

De Broglie Relation: = h/p = h/mv (p is momentum of particle)

In the Bohr's atomic model, electrons revolve round nucleus only in certain allowed orbits associated
with certain energy levels. No radiation is emitted in these allowed orbits.
Electrons can pass from one energy level to another.

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Excited state: when atom absorbs energy and causes electrons in the ground state E
1
(or lowest
energy level when atom is in a stable state) to jump to higher energy level E
2
.

EM radiation or a photon of a particular frequency or wavelength equivalent to energy difference of
the energy levels (E
2
- E
1
) is emitted when electron falls back to E
1
from E
2.


Distinguish between emission and absorption line spectra.


Graphical representations of the Photoelectric results
Graphical Representation Observations
A metal is illuminated by
monochromatic light of a
given wavelength which is
below the threshold
wavelength for the metal.


When the retarding potential V is increased negatively,
the stopping potential V
S
is the same for a beam of low
intensity P and one of high intensity Q.
When V is positive all the photoelectrons are collected so
that the current is constant.
A beam of high intensity Q produces more electrons than
one of low intensity P. If Q is twice the intensity of P, the
current I is twice as much.
Variation of current I with
intensity for a given
wavelength below the
threshold value



The number of electrons emitted per unit time is
proportional to the intensity and a straight line graph is
obtained
Stopping potential V
S
plotted
against frequency f for three
different metals.


The respective threshold frequencies are different
because the metals have different work functions. But,
the slope of the three lines is the same since the slope is
given by
e
h
.
(Recall that V
S
=
e
f
e
h
.)

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Summary Photoelectric Effect Equations
hf = + KE
max

=


=


=

hc


0
hf
2
max
2
1
mv

=


=


max

hc


S
eV

Evidences of Photoelectric effect for Particulate Nature of EM Radiation

1. Photoelectric effect shows that only radiation of frequency above a minimum threshold frequency
of the metal can cause photoemission whereas classical wave theory predicts that photoemission
should have occurred for any frequency of light provided its intensity is sufficiently strong.

2. Photoelectric effect shows that the photons maximum kinetic energy is dependent on the
radiations frequency but independent of its intensity, whereas classical wave theory predicts that the
photons maximum kinetic energy should have depended on intensity since intensity is proportional
to power and energy.

3. Photoelectric effect shows that there is no noticeable time delay between the arrival of the photons
and the emission of the photoelectrons, whereas classical wave theory predicts that there should
have been a time lag for the electron to acquire enough energy.

Emission Spectrum



















Emission Line spectrum

Line spectra consist of quite separated lines of definite wavelengths and are given by gases and
vapours at low pressure.

The atoms in a gas are sufficiently far apart and they behave as individual atoms, free of each
others influence, as in the case of low pressure gas or vapour discharge tube.

The gas atoms become excited by the collisions with the electrons passing through the tube, from
the cathode to the anode, of the discharge tube when a high voltage of a few kV is applied across
them.

Balmer Series: A series of emission lines in the visible part of the
hydrogen spectrum that is due to transitions between the first
excited state (n=2) and higher energy states of the hydrogen atom.
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When the atom returns to a lower energy level, the energy change is emitted as a photon of
radiation of a specific frequency. Each line in the spectrum is produced by an electronic transition
from one energy level to another.

Because are only certain energy level transitions are possible, only certain frequencies are present.

Absorption Spectrum



An absorption spectrum is produced when light from a hot source (itself producing a continuous
spectrum) passes through a cooler gas.

A material's absorption spectrum shows the fraction of incident electromagnetic radiation absorbed
by the material over a range of frequencies. An absorption spectrum is, in a sense, the opposite of
an emission spectrum.

Every element has absorption lines at several particular wavelengths corresponding to the
differences between the energy levels of its atomic orbitals. For example, an object that absorbs
blue, green and yellow light will appear red when viewed under white light. Absorption spectra can
therefore be used to identify elements present in a gas or liquid. This method is used in deducing
the presence of elements in stars and other gaseous objects which cannot be measured directly.

How an absorption spectrum is formed

Atoms may change states when they absorb specific amounts of energy. Atomic states are defined
by the arrangement of electrons in atomic orbitals. An electron in some orbital may be excited to a
more energetic orbital by absorbing exactly one photon which has energy equal to the energy
difference of the two orbitals.

The excited states in the atom do not persist: after some random amount of time, the atoms revert
back to their original, lower energy state. In atoms, the excited electron returns to a lower orbital,
emitting a photon.

When this decay occurs, the photon produced is equally likely to be re-emitted in all directions
and not emitted in the same direction as the original photon. Hence, these re-emitted photons
cannot be captured on the screen and the observer will see dark gaps in the spectrum of the light
corresponding to the wavelengths of the photons which were absorbed. The absorption spectrum
will look like a continuous spectrum with dark lines which corresponds to the photons absorbed by
the cold gas.

* Both the emission and absorption line spectra are experimental evidence that the atoms of
particular gas can only have fixed values of energy.