Chapter 6

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Visible light is a more accurate term for what we usually refer to simply as light The light that our eyes can detect comprises only a small portion of the possible electromagnetic spectrum and accounts for a small portion of the emission of most bulbs.

Other familiar forms of electromagnetic radiation include radio waves, microwaves and x- rays.
The origin of the word electromagnetic lies in the nature of light. Historically, light has been described as a wave travelling through space. One component is an electric field, and another is a magnetic field.

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

The Wave Nature of Light

Many features of light what we encounter can be explained as properties of waves. The central characteristics of a wave can be defined by four variables:
Wavelength of any wave is the distance between corresponding points of adjacent waves; designated as and measured in units of length; distance between peaks. Amplitude is the size or height of the wave Frequency is the number of complete cycles of the wave passing a given point per second; usually designated as and measured in unit of 1/s or hertz (Hz). Frequency and wavelength are not independent of one another.

The Wave Nature of Light

The Wave Nature of Light

The speed of light in a vacuum (designated by c and measured in units of distance/time) is a constant of nature that has been measured within impressive precision (c=2.99792458x10 8 m/s) Because the speed of light is a constant, the number of waves that will pass a certain point in time will be inversely related to the wavelength. Speed, wavelength, frequency and amplitude are characteristics than can describe any wave. The wave nature of light also helps to explain many of the phenomena we experience with light. Refraction is the bending of a wave when it passes from one medium to another.

When white light passes through a prism, it separated into its constituents color by refraction

The Wave Nature of Light

Because wave-like phenomena such as refraction, it is common to categorize electromagnetic radiation in terms of its wavelength or frequency. In addition to visible light, the spectrum includes Xray, ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), microwave, and radio wave radiation, the visible falls between UV and IR. This order lists the regions of the spectrum in increasing length.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

The Particulate Nature of Light

The context in which we normally think of light as particle is when it is imparting energy to another object. Albert Einstein proposed that light could behave as a collection of packets of energy called photons, when it has energetic consequences.

Bright light has many photons, where as dim light has few.
The energy of a photon of light has been shown to be proportional to its frequency, leading to a simple equation: E=hv; where E represents the photon energy, and v is the frequency of light; h is a constant called Plancks constant (h=6.6262x10-34 Js)

Atomic Spectra
When an atom emits light, it is releasing energy to the surround world. So we think about this situation in terms of the conservation of energy.

When light is emitted, the atoms goes from a higher energy state to a lower energy state, and the emitted photon carries away the energy lost by the atom.

The Bohr Atom

Bohrs Atomic Structure

The Quantum Mechanical Models

Quantum Mechanics
According to quantum mechanics, only certain orbits are allowed (thus, the idea of a mini planetary system is not correct). The orbits are identified by a principal quantum number n, which can be related to the size, n = 0 is the smallest; n = 1, 2 .. are larger. (They are "quantized" or discrete, being specified by integers). The angular momentum l is quantized, and so is the projection in a specific direction m. The structure of the atom is determined by the Pauli exclusion principle , only two electrons can be placed in an orbit with a given n, l, m one for each spin.

Discussion of Quantum Mechanical Model

Wave Mechanical Model

Discussion of the Atomic Structure and Periodict Table

Atomic Size
The size of the atom is determined largely by its valence electrons because they occupy the outermost orbitals. Two factors are important:
1. The shell in which the valence electrons are found 2. The strength of the interaction between the nucleus and the valence electrons

The Periodic Tends in Atomic Properties

Ionization Energy
Another property of atoms that plays a role in the way they interact in forming chemical bonds is the ease with which they lose electrons. Insight into its periodicity and atomic structure can be gleaned by looking at the way ionization energy varies across the periods and within groups of the table. As we move down the group, the valence electrons occupy larger and larger orbitals. As the valence electrons move further from the nucleus, they become easier to remove. So ionization energy decreases as we move down the a column in the periodic table.

Ionization Energy

Ionization Energy

Electron Affinity
Ionization energy is defined as the energy required to remove an electron from an atom, forming a positive ly charged cation. But we also know that some atoms will routinely pick up an electron to form a negatively charged anion.

We can define a property called electron affinity as the amount of energy we would have to supply to induce this reaction.
Electron affinity values display periodic trends based on electron configuration, much like the other properties weve been considering.

Electronegativity

Individual Assignment due on Thursday

Summarize the following insight in the chapter: Incandescent and Fluorescent Lights and Modern Light Sources: LED and Lasers Answer the following questions from pages 242 up to 244: 6.3, 6.16,6.20,6.38,6.56,6.60,6.68 and 6.76.