QUANTUM THEORY - Among the basic discoveries was

the realization that matter and

Quantum Physics energy can be thought of as
- Study of matter and energy at the discrete packets, or quanta, that
most fundamental level have a minimum value associated
- Aims to uncover the properties and with them
behaviors of the very building Milestones of Quantum Physics
blocks of nature ● J.J Thomson
- While many quantum experiments - Established electron as
examine very small objects, such as fundamental particle of
electrons and photons, quantum nature
phenomena are all around us, - He measured its charge to
acting on every scale mass ratio using a Crooke’s
- Quantum discoveries have been Tube
incorporated into our foundational - Electric current = flow of
understanding of materials, electrons
chemistry, biology, and astronomy; - Animation of electrons
These discoveries are a valuable moving and being deflected
resource for innovation, giving rise by an electric of magnetic
to devices such as lasers and field
transistors, and enabling real - Crooke’s Tube: evacuated
progress on technologies once tube visualization of electron
considered purely speculative, such beam
as quantum computers

- Knowledge of quantum
principles transformed our
conceptualization of the
atom, which consists of a
nucleus surrounded by
electrons
- Early models depicted
The Origins of Quantum Physics
electrons as particles that
- The word “quantum” has Latin
orbited the nucleus, much like
roots and means “how much”
the way satellites orbit Earth
- The field of quantum physics arose
- Modern quantum physics
in the late 1800s and early 1900s
instead understands electrons
from a series of experimental
as being distributed within
observations of atoms that didn’t
orbitals, mathematical
make intuitive sense in the context
descriptions that represent
of classical physics
the probability of the
electrons existence in more
 than one location within a Quantum Mechanics
given range at any given time - The other great theory of modern
- Electrons can jump from one physics
orbital to another as they gain - Deals with very small objects
or lose energy, but they (electrons, atoms, molecules)
cannot be found between - Grew out of problems that seemed
orbitals simple (black-body radiation,
Other Central Concepts Helped to photoelectric effect, atomic spectra)
Establish the Foundations of Quantum - Produces some very strange results
Physics: Our Quantum World
1. Wave-particle Duality - In the 20th century, study of atomic
- This principle dates back to system required a fundamental
the earliest days of quantum revision of these classical ideas
science about physical objects
- Describes the outcome of 1. Light waves exhibited particle like
experiments that showed that properties – phenomena called
light and matter had the Photoelectric effect: light
properties of particles or impinging on certain metals cause
waves, depending on how instantaneous emission of electrons
they were measured in a billiard ball like impact – the
2. Superposition basis of automatic door openers in
- A term used to describe an grocery stores
object as a combination of 2. Electrons (particles) exhibit wave
multiple possible states at the like properties – they can pass
same time through each other, Phenomenon
- A superposed object is of Electron Interference – basis of
analogous to a ripple on the electron microscopes
surface of a pond that is a The Quantum of Light of the Photon
combination of two waves - Particle nature of light was
overlapping proposed by Einstein in 1905 to
3. Uncertainty Principle explain the Photo-electric effect
- A mathematical concept that - Photo-electric effect: automatic
represent a trade-off between doors openers in grocery stores
complementary points of - Particles of light are called quanta
view or photons
4. Entanglement - Energy of a Photon = h (frequency
- A phenomenon that occurs of light)
when two or more objects are - h is a fundamental constant of
connected in such a way that nature and it is very small in size
they can be thought of as a The Bohr Atom
single system, even if they are - Bohr proposed a revolutionary
very far apart model: an atom with discrete
(Quantum) states – an ad hoc model
 - Bohr’s atom model achieved three Actual Experimental Observations of
important results Photoelectric Effect
1. Atoms are stable 1. There is no delay between the light
2. Different atoms of the same hitting the surface and the
element are identical electrons being ejected
3. Atoms regenerate if they are 2. Electrons are ejected only if the
taken apart and then allowed incident light has a frequency above
to reform some threshold value (i.e., it depend
Photoelectric Effect on the color or the light)
- Photon = wave particle of light Observation of Photoelectric Effect:
- When light shines on a metal Experiment
surface, the surface emits electrons 1. Number of electrons depends on
- For example, I can measure a intensity
current in a circuit just by shining a
light on a metal plate
- Einstein successfully explained the
photoelectric effect within the
content of quantum physics
- Quantum Physics: the “quantum”
comes from quantization: we need
to understand the origin of this
- Einstein proposed that light delivers Observation of Photoelectric Effect:
its energy in chunks; light consists Einstein
of little particles, or quanta, called 1. Number of electrons depends on
photons, each with an energy of intensity
Planck’s constant times its - Higher intensity —> more
frequency quanta
E=hf 2. Energy of electrons DOES NOT
- h: Planck’s constant depend on intensity
- f: Frequency of radiation - Only one photon to eject
- E: Energy 3. Cut-off frequency: minimum
-
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h = 6. 6 𝑥 10 𝐽. 𝑠 frequency to get any emission
- 𝐾𝐸 = ℎ𝑓 − ϕ
4. Above cut-off, energy increases
linearly with frequency