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Electron Orbital Motion ;AL ANGULAR MOMENTUM FROM A CLASSICAL VIEWPOINT + a particle af mass m moving in an elliptical orbit under the influence of a central force, as gt. 12-1, The vector angular momentum about the force center, L, has magnitude med, where d Pendicular distance between the velocity direction and the force center, and vis the particle's direction of L is given by the usual right-hand rule, as shown in the figure. From Newton's the net torque + on the particle will be equal to the rate at which its angular momentum dL /de. owever, since the force on the particle is a central force, the torque exerted will be ¢ particle's angular momentum L will have a constant magnitude and direction at every point tical trajectory. that is. angular momentum is conserved with the central force. Fig. 1244 | motions, ranging from a circle to nearly a straight Line, all Major axis. 2a. It can be shown that the total energy E (kinetic and potential) depends only the major axis and hence will have the same value (c.g., E = —ke*/2a for the Coulomb: 11.15} for all these ellipses, The orbital angular momentum, however, will vary from ‘ranging continuously from a maximum value of a/—ZmE for the circle to nearly zero for straight line. (A straight-line ellipse has zero angular momentum because d = 0 long the trajectory.) 417 8 ELECTRON ORBITAL MOTION [CHAP 12 VN IN LS |__| Since L is constant, the component Z, = L.cos@ in any direction in space will also be a constant ical motion. In the classical picture there is no restriction on 0; it can take on any value 122 CLASSICAL MAGNETIC DIPOLE MOMENT. ‘An electron moving in a circular path will produce a current given by 1 = (charge on electron) x (numberof times per second electron passes a given point) = ef where f is the frequency of rotation of the electron. The circular current loop in turn will produce a ‘magnetic field very similar to the field produced by a small bar magnet, as shown in Fig. 12-3, Just as with the bar magnet, there will be a magnetic dipole moment x. associated with the orbiting electron, whose ‘magnitude 1s given by In| = 1A = (ef or") U2) arn “> \ i V 4 < >! 1 it / I / Lay / - (Cama oop Fig. 123 and whose direction is opposite to that of L (because the electron has a negative charge). Since 2m IL = mor = m(2mof r = 2mfar® = =|) CHAR. 12] ELECTRON ORBITAL MOTION 419 we have (12.2) 123 CLASSICAL ENERGY OF A MAGNETIC DIPOLE MOMENT IN AN EXTERNAL, MAGNETIC FIELD ‘Suppose that either the current loop or the small bar magnet is placed in an external magnetic field B. ‘The loop experiences a torque, 7 = BxXB (23) tending to align js with B. Thus the system has potential energy, Ep, the change in which gives the work done by the torque when the orientation of p. changes. By integration of the torque it ean be shown that Eq =—p-B 24) Choosing the direction of B as the z-direction and using (/2.2). we have for an orbiting electron: ey pee Fy= pL B= LB 2.5) 124 THE ZEEMAN EXPERIMENT ‘An experiment measuring the effects of the interaetion between an atoms intemal magnetic moment, and an external magnetic field was performed before the advent of quantum mechanics by the Dutch physicist Pieter Zeeman in 1896. In a Zeeman experiment an atom is placed in an external magnetic field and its excitation spectrum is measured and compared with the spectrum when there is no magnetic field present. This could be accomplished, for example, by measuring the wavelengths of the radiation emitted from a discharge tube when it is placed in a magnetic field. ‘When the experiment is performed, itis found that in the presence of the external field each spectral line is split into a number of discrete lines. Further, the observed change in frequency of the lines is directly proportional to the magnitude of the applied magnetic ficld. This observation of extra spectral lines means that an atom has additional discrete energy levels when it is placed in an external magnetic field, ‘The explanation of Zeeman splitting requires a wave-mechanical analysis that predicts that both the ‘magnitude and the direction of the orbital angular momentum are quantized. 12.8 QUANTIZATION OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THE ORBITAL ANGULAR MOMENTUM ‘A quantum-mechanical analysis shows that the magnitude of the oribital angular momentum of an electron in a one-clectron atom will nor have the single value nh (h — h/2n) as predicted by the Bohr theory. Instead, for a given principal quantum number n (i¢., for a given energy E,, = Ej/n?), there are possible values of I= VDA (12.6) where / is an integer, called the orbital angular momentum quantum number, with the range 1 O12 mad 27) In particular, for the lowest value of energy, corresponding to n= 1, the value for / is zero, and therefore the orbital angular moment is also zero, 120 ELECTRON ORBITAL MOLION {cHar 2 12.6 QUANTIZATION OF THE DIRECTION OF THE ORBITAL ANGULAR MOMENTUM ‘Suppose that a one-electron atom is placed in an external magnetic field, whose diteetion we take as the z-direction. A wave-mechanical analysis shows that the direction of the orbital angular momentum vector I cannot be arbitrary. Instead, L, will be oriented such that the component £., along th will be quantized, with discrete values L,= mh 2.7 where mis an integer, called the magnetic quantum number, with the range (=I (2.9 Uh) is less than the magnitude of L(= 1+ A). my SLE 1d = 2.00.0, ‘Note that for a given /, the maximum value of Z| 12.7. EXPLANATION OF THE ZEEMAN EFFECT Quantum mechanics states that the energy of a single-electron atom placed in an external magnetic, field is changed by the potential energy (/2.5). Now, however, L. is quantized according to (/2.8), so that the total energy is, Fa FotFy (2.10) where Ep is the quantized energy before the field B is turned! on. Thus, in the presence of a magnetic field, ceach energy level Ey will be split into 2/ + 1 equal-spaced sublevels, with the spacing proportional to B. “The factor eh /2m is called the Bohr magneton: its value is h S 5.19 x 10S eV/T = 1.27 10-4 /T Since there are more discrete energy levels available after a magnetic field is tured on, there will be additional discrete lines seen in the excitation spectrum of an atom when it is placed in an external magnetic field, as illustrated in Fig. 12-4 It is found that the more intense transitions in atoms obey the following selection rules Al= +l Amy = £1 or 0 2.1) For these electric dipole transitions, (12.10) gives AE = ABq (the zero-field spectral line) and ar=ary+ a m i.e. two new lines shifted in energy from the zero-field line by the absolute amount bfx. = 2 im 2.2) Other transitions may occur, but they result in much weaker spectral lines. In any case, the energy or frequency differences among the new lines will be proportional to the magnitude of the applied field, ‘The above predictions correspond exactly to what is observed in the “normal” Zeeman effect. The discrete splittings are clear experimental evidence of the phenomenon of orbital angular momentum quantization. If the orientation of the angular momentum were not quantized, then L_ could take on all possible values, as in the Bohr theory, and the lines would be broadened into a continuous band instead of the discrete values that are experimentally observed. The above analysis, however, does not explain ail the Fines observed in Zeeman experiments, There are additional transitions that fall into the category of the cnomatous Zeeman effect (Chapter 15), which involves the concept of electron spin (Chapter 13). ELECTRON ORBITAL MOTION 121 CHAP. 12] a(t) 7 t—a+(#)e t= 5 a ° e-(aye nt) 2 ino (b> Five transitions with an (a) Single transition without anplied external magnetic field an external magnetic field Fig. 124 Solved Problems 12.1. Determine the magnetic moment of an electron moving in a circular orbit of radius r about a proton, Ans, From (12.1), the magnetic moment is Ha 1A = (efor?) ‘The equation of motion of the electron is Fogg = Ming or = trom which Therefore, 1 fhe\ _@ fir 1 =ro(/E)= é fe 12.2. Calculate the frequency at which an electron’ orbital magnetic moment p. precesses in a magnetic field B. Ans. A magnetic rmoment in a magnetic field will experience a torque 7, given by (/2.3) as f LxB wxB = 122 ELECTRON ORBITAL MOTION [CHAP 12 ‘This torque will cause a change in the angular momentum given by =-LixB 3m ‘The change in 1, dL. is perpendicular to both Land B, as shown in Fig. 12-5, resulting in a ‘of L about the direction of B. From Fig 12-5 itis seen that from which i er eo dt Lsind This is known as the Larmor precession, and 1, normal Zeeman effet. ‘equal to the frequency difference observed in the Using the results of quantum mechanics, calculate the magnetic moments that are possible for an n= 3 level. Ans. Forn ~3 the possible values of J ore 2,1, 0; und L = MACE Tyne For i24p nt + va = 227 «10 ; CHAP 12] ELECTRON ORBITAL MOTION 123, ch fae oad = 2 are = (0927 > 10 7)0= nas 31x 1075 For 1 =0, Notice that none ofthese results grees with what the Bohr theory predicts. From the Bolo theory Ih, 50 eh ged (8) = 3(0927 » 1-4) — T 12.4, Show the possible orientations of the orbital angular moment vector L for Ans The possible values of Fa corresponding possible orent J 78 x 10-8 T 0, 1,2,3 and 4. if. with m, taking on all integer values between + and —I The ns for the orbital angular momentum vector are shown in Fig. 12-6. to tet ta? Jaa ina L=0 Las LaWeh LaVith La fn eee | i ms Fly. 12-0 S. Determine the normal Zeeman splitting of the cadmium red line of 64384 when the atoms are placed in a magnetic field of 0.009. ‘Ans. The change in wavelength is found by taking the differential of E = he/2: ‘The energy shift is found from (12.12): ch \dE| = AE ze |e a (0.0097) = 5.21 x 10 ev aiving PldE\ _ (6438 A'5.21 x 10 7ev) he ~ 12a 10 ev>R laa = 114 x 107A 124 ELECTRON ORBITAL MOTION [cHar 12 12.6. What magnetic flux density B is required to observe the normal Zeeman effect if a spectrometer can resolve spectral lines separated by 0.5 A at 5000 A? Ans, From Problem 12.5, [aaj _ME| _ (ch/2m)B z he] (a) = (Qa) (Bt) arn 12.7. In a normal Zeeman experiment the calcium 4226 A line splits into three lines separated by 0.25 A in a magnetic field of 3, Determine c/m for the electron from these data. Ans. From Problem 12.6 (fi = h/2n): iving =428T [dal _ (e/4nmB of Solving for e/m, one obtains £5 (S)me Fae neg | O28 «10m = 176 10" crag 12.8. Transitions occur in an atom between | = 2 and / = | states in a magnetic field of 0.6T. If the wavelength before the field was turned on was 5000A, determine the wavelengths that are observed. ns, The energy separation between adjacent levels is given by AE a, se . 3 $a= (s79 x10 Doon =347% wSev Therefore, as in Problem 12.5, PAE ze _ (5000A)°(3.47 x 10S eV) he 24x WV 1s must obey the selection rule Am, = +1, 0, ~1; they are shown in Fig. 12-7. Only three

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