29.

3 The Relativity of Velocities Suppose we have a particle moving at some velocity u with respect to some reference frame S. What do we measure the particles velocity to be from another frame S`, moving at a velocity v with respect to S?

29.4 Relativistic Momentum and Energy So we now understand from the Lorentz transformations that time and space coordinates become mixed when observing moving inertial frames. Based on this we now need to revisit our understanding of momentum and energy:

29.4 Relativistic Momentum and Energy So we now understand from the Lorentz transformations that time and space coordinates become mixed when observing moving inertial frames. Based on this we now need to revisit our understanding of momentum and energy: Momentum:

p = mv E0 = mc 2 E = mc 2

Mass Energy: Total Energy:

Kinetic Energy:

K = mc 2 ( 1)

Example: The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is designed to collide (head on) two beams of protons, with each proton in the beams having 7 TeV of energy. What is their energy in joules? How fast are the protons travelling and what is their gamma factor?

30.1 Photons In 1905 Einstein proposed that electromagnetic radiation is quantized and exists in elementary amounts (quanta) that we now call photons. The energy of a photon depends on its frequency:

E = hf
Where h is the Plank constant:
-34

h = 6.63 x 10

J s = 4.14 x 10

-15

eV s

Einstein went on to further propose that when light is absorbed or emitted by a material, this occurs at the atomic level and consists of a photon absorption or photon emission event. That is to say, even when a large irradiance of light is involved (say a light bulb) the emission and absorption of that light is still governed by what is happening at the microscopic (quantum) level; we just have lots of events happening! This is not to say that all the work on waves you did is without use as we saw with special relativity, under many macroscopic circumstances the wave theory of light woks perfectly well to explain what we observe.

30.2 The Photoelectric Effect If you direct a beam of short wavelength light onto a metal surface, the light will cause electrons to be ejected from the surface.

Two experiments were performed: 1.The first showed that Kmax does not depend on the intensity of the light.

Two experiments were performed: 1.The first showed that Kmax does not depend on the intensity of the light. 2.The second showed that for a given metal there is a cut-off frequency below which the light, no matter how bright, could not cause any electrons to be ejected

Einstein summarized the results of these experiments in one short equation, the photoelectric equation:

hf = K max +
This is really a statement of the conservation of energy: hf is the energy of the incoming photon Kmax is the (unperturbed) energy of the outgoing photoelectron is the energy barrier the photoelectron must overcome to escape the metal surface the work function.

Example: Find the work function of sodium metal from the data below:

30.3 Photons have Momentum In 1916, Einstein extended his idea further and proposed that photons have (carry) linear momentum. That is, when a photon interacts with matter it will transfer both energy and momentum.

hf h p= = c

The fact that photons carry both energy and momentum was demonstrated in 1923 by Arthur Compton. He directed a beam of x-rays, wavelength , onto a target made of carbon. He then measured the spectrum of x-rays scattered from the carbon at different angles:

What he observed was the following:

We can understand Comptons results by: assuming that the x-ray photon is carrying linear momentum assuming that the x-ray photon is involved in a momentum conserving collision (saying it is scattered is more correct) with an electron in the target. calculating the outgoing energy of the x-ray, noting that this depends on angle because of momentum conservation.

31.1 Light as a Probability Wave An open and fundamental mystery in physics is how light can be a spreading wave in classical physics but be emitted and absorbed as individual photons in quantum physics. To see this in action we need not look further than a simple double slit experiment.

We can look at three versions of this experiment, starting with Youngs version carried out in 1801:

What we see in all three of these experiments (and in many many others) is that we must treat such cases by assuming: 1.The light is generated in the source as photons. 2.Light is absorbed in the detector as photons. 3.Light travels between source and detector as a probability wave.

31.2 Electrons and Matter Waves In 1924 Louis de Broglie proposed, in an appeal to symmetry in nature, that: A beam of light is a wave, but it transfers energy and momentum to matter only at points, via photons. Why can't a beam of particles have the same properties? In particular he asked if p=h/ for photons, does it apply also to electrons (or other massive particles for that matter)?

h = p
This wavelength is called the de Broglie wavelength and it applies to any matter that is moving (although as well see there are limits to its practical effects).

This effect can easily be seen for electrons:

X-ray diffraction

Electron diffraction

Example: What is the de Broglie wavelength of an electron with a kinetic energy of 120 eV?

32.1 Schrdingers Equation We have now seen that objects that we observe as particles (such as the electron) also have wave like properties at quantum length scales. How do express these matter waves mathematically, and how do we calculate what happens to a matter wave? We use a wave function:

( x , y , z , t ) = ( x , y , z )e

i t

This is a complex (as in a + ib) function that evolves in space and time.

What does the wave equation mean physically? The absolute value of the square of the wave function tells us the probability (per unit time) of finding the particle at a given location in space and time. How do we find/evolve the wave function? The wave function is a solution (function) of the Schrdinger Equation (this is the 1-D version):

d 8 m + 2 E U ( x) =0 2 dx h
2 2

32.2 Heisenbergs Uncertainty Principle We have now seen that seemingly point particles (such as the electron) have wave like properties at quantum length scales. Waves (or even wave packets) by their very nature have a finite size which would seem to contradict our notion of a particle? This contradiction is a fundamental part of quantum mechanics and is expressed mathematically as Heisenbergs uncertainty principle:

x px y p y z pz

h = 2

The important thing to remember here is that this is not a problem with our measurement technique, it is a fundamental limitation that is built into the structure of everything. Example: Assume that an electron is moving along an x axis and that you measure its speed to be 2.05 106 m/s, which can be known with a precision of 0.50%. What is the minimum uncertainty (as allowed by the uncertainty principle in quantum theory) with which you can simultaneously measure the position of the electron along the x axis?

32.3 The Bohr Model of the Hydrogen Atom In the 1800s, it was observed that the elements each emitted a characteristic set of spectral lines. One of the simplest in structure was the (mostly) visible emission spectrum from hydrogen:

In 1885 Balmer developed a formula that predicted the wavelengths of the emission lines from hydrogen:

1 1 = R 2 2 for n = 3, 4, 5,.... 2 n 1

Even though this formula predicted the wavelengths perfectly it was a mystery as to why it worked, even as modern atomic theory was developed in the early 1900s. As atomic theory developed (Rutherford etc) it became known that the atom consists of a positively charged, tiny but heavy nucleus with a cloud of light electrons around it. In 1913 Bohr noticed that if he made a few bold (essentially baseless at the time!) assumptions he could derive it from physical principles: 1. The electrons are in circular orbits around the nucleus. restricted to values:
r 2. The magnitude of the angular momentum L of these orbits is

L = n

These two assumptions lead to several results about the electrons in atoms: 1.The orbital radius is quantized:

h2 0 2 r= n , for n = 1, 2, 3,... 2 me
2.The orbital energy is quantized:

me4 1 En = 2 2 2 , for n = 1, 2, 3,... 8 0 h n

3.Electron energy changes are quantized:

hf = E = Ehigh Elow

me4 1 1 = 2 3 2 2 8 0 h c n n low high 1

Example: If the ground state energy of the electron in a hydrogen atom is -13.6 eV what does Heisenbergs uncertainty principle say about it location?

32.4 Energy Levels and Spectra of the Hydrogen Atom Although Bohrs model is based on classical ideas, the final result is essentially correct so long as we understand that the electrons are not in classical orbits but exist as 3-dimensional clouds around the nucleus, with their location specified by a probability distribution function.

His model explains the electronic structure and emission spectra of the atom very well: