7 Quantum Physics

7.1 Quantum Theory of Light

The electromagnetic spectrum is a continuous spectrum. This spectrum consists of ___________

types of waves with different ______________ and ________________ .

1 All objects emit ________________ radiation.

2 Cold objects emit waves with __________ frequencies, such as radio waves or microwave.
3 Hot objects emit waves with ____________frequency, such as visible light and ultraviolet
radiation.
4 Do humans also emit electromagnetic radiation?

5 A black body is an idealised body that is able to _____________ all electromagnetic radiation
that falls on it.
6 A black body can also emit __________________ radiation depending on its temperature.
7 Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation that includes ______________ and radiation that
cannot be seen by the human eye such as ____________ radiation.
8 The radiation emitted forms a continuous spectrum and is _______________ by the nature of
the black body surface. Thus, an object emitting electromagnetic radiation which is determined
by its temperature is known as a _________________________.
9 The rays of light that enter the ear cavity will undergo repeated _________________ on the
inner walls of the ear cavity. At each reflection, parts of the rays are ______________by the
 inner walls of the ear until all the rays are _______________. Thus, the ear cavity acts like a
________________.

10 As the temperature of an object _____________, the object acts as a black body radiator and emits

thermal radiation of all wavelengths.

11 Figure 7.2 shows a graph of radiation intensity against wavelengths of three types of black bodies at

different temperatures. Usually, every curved graph of the black body spectrum is ______________

on its left, which is an area with ___________ wavelengths and ____________ frequencies.

With increasing temperatures, the wavelength approaching maximum radiation intensity will also

get ______________.
Sketch the graph of radiation intensity against wavelength for the following black bodies :

P (3000 K) and Q ( 1500K)

Radiation intensity

Wavelength

Ideas that Sparked the Quantum Physics Theory

However, experimental results involving black-body radiation are inconsistent with classical physics
theory.

Based on the graph of radiation intensity against wavelength for black-body radiation, the light intensity
on the left side of the peak does not continue to increase with the increase of wave frequency as
predicted by classical theory. This controversy in the concept of light energy has sparked the theory of
quantum physics.
 Stephen Hawking(8 January 1942 – 14 March 2018)
English theoretical physicist
whose theory of exploding black holes drew upon both relativity theory and
quantum mechanics. He also worked with space-time singularities.
What did Hawking discover?

Dr. Hawking is best known for his discovery that black holes emit radiation which can be
detected by special instrumentation. His discovery has made the detailed study of black
holes possible. Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford, England on January 8, 1942.

Quantum of Energy
The electromagnetic spectrum may be a _______________ spectrum or a ___________ spectrum.

The dispersion of white light by a prism produces a continuous spectrum consisting of seven visible
colours. This spectrum has a wavelength range from 400 nm to 750 nm. The visible light spectrum is said
to be continuous because there is no separation gap between each colour in the spectrum
The line spectrum produced by an excited atom is a series of coloured lines with unique wavelengths
and frequencies. Each element produces a spectrum with a series of its own distinctive lines. Therefore,
the line spectrum can be used to identify the presence of an element.

Quantum of energy

1 Quantum of energy is discrete energy packet and not a continuous energy. The energy depends on

the ________________ of the waves.

2 According to Max Planck and Albert Einstein's quantum theory, light energy exists in the form of an

energy packet known as a __________________

3 Photons are _____________ energies transferred in _____________ of energy. The photon energy is

directly proportional to the _________________ of light waves. The ______________ the frequency

of light waves, the _____________the energy quantum of a photon.

where E is photon energy

f is frequency of light waves
Complete the table below :

Line spectrum colour Frequency, f/ 1014 Hz Wavelength, λ/ 10-7 m Photon energy, E / 10-19 J
Violet 7.41

Blue 4.56

Green 5.46

Yellow-orange 3.44

Wave-Particle Duality
1 Electromagnetic radiation such as light is said to have wave properties because it exhibits the

phenomena of _________________ and ____________________.

2 Objects like marbles are said to have particle properties because they possess _______________

and ______________ and can collide with each other.

3 In 1924, Louis de Broglie (‘de Broy’) (1892 – 1987), a quantum physicist, had put forward a

hypothesis stating that all particles can exhibit wave characteristics.

4 However, it is experimentally difficult to show the wave characteristics of particles with __________

masses. Louis de Broglie predicted that the wave characteristics can be exhibited by _____________

particles, for example electrons.

5 He stated that the relationship between the momentum of a particle, p and its wavelength, λ is as

follows:

where λ = wavelength
h = Planck’s constant (6.63 x 10-34 J s)
p = momentum of particle

6 The ____________ the momentum of the particle, the ______________ the wavelength.
7 Since the value of the momentum of particle can be determined by p = mv, the following formula

can also be obtained

where λ = wavelength
h = Planck’s constant (6.63 x 10-34 J s)
m = mass of particle
v = velocity of particle

8 Since the value of h is very small, particles of large masses will have de Broglie wavelengths which

are too short to be detected. Therefore, the wave characteristics cannot be observed.

9 In 1927, the presence of wave properties of electrons was confirmed through electron diffraction

experiments.

10 Photograph 7.2 shows the diffraction pattern of electrons through a thin layer of graphite.

This pattern resembles the light diffraction pattern through an aperture as shown in

Photograph 7.3. This confirmed de Broglie's hypothesis.

11 The de Broglie wavelength of an electron beam is approximately 1000 – 10 000 times shorter

compared to the wavelength of light. This property is very important for higher magnification of

electron microscope. A comparison between the images produced by an optical microscope and

an electron microscope is shown in Photograph 7.4

12 Electrons are said to have wave-particle duality because they exhibit the properties of both

particles and waves. Light also possesses both wave and particle properties. Therefore, light and

electrons are said to have wave-particle duality. This duality is also found in all kinds of radiation in

the electromagnetic wave spectrum as well as in subatomic particles like protons and neutrons.
 Light energy, E is transmitted in energy packets known as photons

Where h = planck’s constant (6.63 x 10-34 J s)

f = frequency of light waves.
For electromagnetic waves, the relationship between the wave speed, c
c
with the wavelength, λ is c = fλ, then f = λ .

Problem Solving for Photon Energy and Power

Energy for one photon, E = hf

If n photons are being emitted per second, then photons power, P which is
the total energy transfer per second is
Example 1

A 60 W lamp emits yellow light with a wavelength, λ = 5.8 × 10–7 m. What is the number of photons
emitted per second?

Example 2

A red light of wavelength of 700 nm emits number of photons of 1.68 × 10 20 per second, what is the
output power of the red light ?

Example 3

Assuming that 30% of the output power of a 120 W bulb is used to emit 3.69 × 10 19 photons per second,
what is the average wavelength of the light in nm?

Exercise 7.1
1. What is the frequency and energy of a photon with a wavelength of 10 nm?

2. How many photons are emitted per second by a 50 W green light lamp?
 [Frequency of green light, f = 5.49 × 10 14 Hz]

3. Given that the mass of an electron is 9.11 × 10 –31 kg:

(a) what is the de Broglie wavelength of an electron beam with 50 eV kinetic energy?

[1 eV = 1.60 × 10–19 J]

(b) name a phenomenon that shows the wave properties of electrons.

4 In the diagram below, fill in the spaces with

(a) High or low wavelength

(b) High or low frequency
(c) High or low energy

(a)

(b)

(c)
5

Properties of Electromagnetic Radiation

Wavelength (nm) Frequency (x 1014 s-1) Photon Energy (x 10-19J) Type of Radiation
300.0 10.00 6.626 Ultraviolet
428.6 7.00 4.641 Visible
1200 2.50 1.658 Infrared
(i) Based on the data in the above table , what is the relationship between

(a) wavelength and frequency ?

(b) frequency and photon energy ?
(c) wavelength and photon energy ?

Explain your reasoning.

(ii) If a red laser pointer emits light with a wavelength of 1.0x10 -6 m and a green laser pointer emits light

with a wavelength of 5.0x10 -7 m, which is composed of higher-energy photons ?

Explain your reasoning.