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Test Review
Modern Physics
5/9/2008
Overview
Basics
Photoelectric
Effect
Bohr Model of the atom
• Energy Transitions
Nuclear Physics
Basics
Quantization:
the idea that light and
matter come in discreet, indivisible
packets
• Wave-particle duality in light and matter
• Matter behaves both as a wave and as a
particle.
Energy of a photon
Blackbody radiation
• Ultraviolet catastrophe
• Planck came up with the idea that light is emitted by
certain discreet resonators that emit energy packets
called photons
• This energy is given by:
E = hν
Photoelectric Effect Schematic
When light strikes E,
photoelectrons are emitted
C is maintained at a positive
potential by the power supply
Photoelectric Current/Voltage
Graph
The current increases with
intensity, but reaches a
saturation level for large ΔV’s
No current flows for voltages
less than or equal to –ΔVs, the
stopping potential
• The stopping potential is
independent of the radiation
intensity
Features Not Explained by
Classical Physics/Wave Theory
No electrons are emitted if the incident light
frequency is below some cutoff frequency that is
characteristic of the material being illuminated
The maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons is
independent of the light intensity
The maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons
increases with increasing light frequency
Electrons are emitted from the surface almost
instantaneously, even at low intensities
Einstein’s Explanation
A tiny packet of light energy, called a photon, would
be emitted when a quantized oscillator jumped from
one energy level to the next lower one
• Extended Planck’s idea of quantization to
electromagnetic radiation
The photon’s energy would be E = hƒ
Each photon can give all its energy to an electron in
the metal
The maximum kinetic energy of the liberated
photoelectron is
KE = hƒ – Φ
Explanation of Classical
“Problems”
The effect is not observed below a certain cutoff
frequency since the photon energy must be greater
than or equal to the work function
• Without this, electrons are not emitted, regardless
of the intensity of the light
The maximum KE depends only on the frequency
and the work function, not on the intensity
The maximum KE increases with increasing
frequency
The effect is instantaneous since there is a one-to-
one interaction between the photon and the electron
Verification of Einstein’s Theory
Experimental
observations of a
linear relationship
between KE and
frequency confirm
Einstein’s theory
i H
t
Schrödinger’s wave equation is generally solved for
the wave function, Ψ
The Wave Function
The wave function depends on the
particle’s position and the time
Rutherford’s model
• Planetary model
• Based on results of
thin foil experiments
• Positive charge is
concentrated in the
center of the atom,
called the nucleus
• Electrons orbit the
nucleus like planets
orbit the sun
Experimental tests
Expect:
• Mostly small
angle scattering
• No backward
scattering events
Results:
• Mostly small
scattering events
• Several
backward
scatterings!!!
Difficulties with the Rutherford
Model
Atoms emit certain discrete characteristic
frequencies of electromagnetic radiation
• The Rutherford model is unable to explain this
phenomena
Rutherford’s electrons are undergoing a centripetal
acceleration and so should radiate electromagnetic
waves of the same frequency
• The radius should steadily decrease as this
radiation is given off
• The electron should eventually spiral into the
nucleus
28.2 Emission Spectra
1 1 1
= RH 2 − 2
λ 2 n
Ei E f hf h
me vr n , n 1, 2,3,...
2
The size of the allowed electron orbits is determined
by a condition imposed on the electron’s orbital
angular momentum
Results
The total energy of the atom
2
1 e
E KE PE me v 2 ke
• 2 r
e2 v2
F me a or ke 2 me
r r
Newton’s law
mv 2 e2
This can be KE to rewrite
used ke kinetic energy as
2 2r
k ee2
E=−
2r
Bohr Radius
The radii of the Bohr orbits are quantized
n2 2
rn = n = 1, 2, 3, h h
m ek e e 2 2
1 1 1
= RH 2 − 2
λ n f ni
Charge:
The electron has a single negative charge, -e (e = 1.60217733 x 10-19
C)
The proton has a single positive charge, +e
• 1 u = 1.660559 x 10-27 kg
Mass can also be expressed in MeV/c2
• 1 u = 931.494 MeV/c2
The Size of the Nucleus
First investigated by
Rutherford in scattering
experiments
The KE of the particle
must be completely
converted to PE
1 2
mv ke
q1q2
ke
2e Ze
d
4ke Ze 2
or
2 r d mv 2
Size of Nucleus
Since the time of
Rutherford, many
other experiments
have concluded the
following
• Most nuclei are
approximately
spherical
1
r = ro A 3
Density of Nuclei
The volume of the nucleus (assumed to be
spherical) is directly proportional to the total
number of nucleons
This suggests that all nuclei have nearly the
same density
Nucleons combine to form a nucleus as
though they were tightly packed spheres
Nuclear Stability
There are very large repulsive electrostatic forces
between protons
• These forces should cause the nucleus to fly apart
The nuclei are stable because of the presence of
another, short-range force, called the nuclear (or
strong) force
• This is an attractive force that acts between all nuclear
particles
• The nuclear attractive force is stronger than the Coulomb
repulsive force at the short ranges within the nucleus
Nuclear Stability chart
Light nuclei are most
stable if N = Z
Heavy nuclei are most
stable when N > Z
• As the number of protons
increase, the Coulomb force
increases and so more
nucleons are needed to keep
the nucleus stable
No nuclei are stable when
Z > 83
Isotopes
The nuclei of all atoms of a particular element must contain
the same number of protons
They may contain varying numbers of neutrons
• Isotopes of an element have the same Z but differing N
and A values
11 12 13 14
6 C 6 C 6 C 6 C
29.2 Binding Energy
The total energy of
the bound system
(the nucleus) is less
than the combined
energy of the
separated nucleons
• This difference in
energy is called the
binding energy of the
nucleus
Binding Energy per Nucleon
• It can be thought of as
the amount of energy
Binding Energy Notes
Except for light nuclei, the binding energy is
about 8 MeV per nucleon
The curve peaks in the vicinity of A = 60
• Nuclei with mass numbers greater than or less than 60
are not as strongly bound as those near the middle of
the periodic table
The curve is slowly varying at A > 40
• This suggests that the nuclear force saturates
• A particular nucleon can interact with only a limited
number of other nucleons
29.3 Radioactivity
Radioactivity is the spontaneous
emission of radiation
Experiments suggested that radioactivity
was the result of the decay, or
disintegration, of unstable nuclei
Three types of radiation can be emitted
• Alpha particles
• The particles are He nuclei
4
• Beta particles
• The particles are either electrons or positrons
Distinguishing Types of
Radiation
N N 0 e t
ln 2 0.693
T1 2 = =
λ λ
Units
The unit of activity, R, is the Curie, Ci
• 1 Ci = 3.7 x 10 10
decays/second
The SI unit of activity is the Becquerel,
Bq
• 1 Bq = 1 decay / second
• Therefore, 1 Ci = 3.7 x 10 10
Bq
The most commonly used units of
activity are the mCi and the µCi
Alpha Decay
When a nucleus emits an alpha particle it
loses two protons and two neutrons
• N decreases by 2
• Z decreases by 2 A
Z X→ A −4
Y + He
Z −2
4
2
• A decreases by 4
Beta Decay
During beta decay, the daughter nucleus has the
same number of nucleons as the parent, but the
atomic number is one less
In addition, an electron (positron) was observed
The emission of the electron is from the nucleus
• The nucleus contains protons and neutrons
• The process occurs when a neutron is
transformed into a proton and an electron
• Energy must be conserved
Beta Decay – Electron Energy
The energy released in the decay process
should almost all go to kinetic energy of the
electron
Experiments showed that few electrons had
this amount of kinetic energy
To account for this “missing” energy, in
1930 Pauli proposed the existence of
another particle
Enrico Fermi later named this particle the
neutrino
Properties of the neutrino
• Zero electrical charge
• Mass much smaller than the electron,
probably not zero
• Spin of ½
• Very weak interaction with matter
Gamma Decay
Gamma rays are given off when an excited nucleus “falls” to a lower
energy state
• Similar to the process of electron “jumps” to lower energy states and
giving off photons
The excited nuclear states result from “jumps” made by a proton or neutron
The excited nuclear states may be the result of violent collision or more
likely of an alpha or beta emission
Example of a decay sequence
• The first decay is a beta emission
• The second step is a gamma emission
−
12
5 B→ C * + e + ν
12
6
12
6 C*→126 C + γ
• The C* indicates the Carbon nucleus is in an excited state
• Gamma emission doesn’t change either A or Z