1

PHY 111
Handout VI
MODERN PHYSICS
Quantisation of Energy; Energy Levels:Bohr's Theory of the Hydrogen Atom
An atom has energy levels which are separate from each other. The energy of the atom is the total
energy of its electrons which occupy the allowed levels.
The angular momenta of the electrons are whole number multiples of h where h is Planck's
2
constant, i.e., the angular momentum does not have a continuos range of values - it is quantized.
This leads to Bohr's three postulates of the hydrogen atom:

Postulate 1
Electrons can revolve around the nucleus only in certain "allowed orbits" and while in these orbits
they do not emit radiations.
Total energy E of the system is given by
me4
E  Ek  E p   2 2 2 , (n = 1,2,3…….)
8 o n h
where m = mass of the electron
e = charge on electron
r = radius of orbit.

This nullifies the idea (by Rutherford, senior scientist to Bohr, Geiger and Marsden), that the
electrons should continuously emit radiation, for if they were to do so, they would lose energy
continuously and would need to have a continuous range of energies available to them. The
allowed energy levels are often referred to as stationary states since an electron can remain in a given
state indefinitely without radiating any energy. The energy is always negative because work has to be
done to remove the electron to infinity where it is considered to have zero energy, i.e., the electron
is bound to the atom.

Postulate 2
For circular motion, the allowed orbits are determined by the quantum condition that the angular
momentum is nћ where ћ = h/2; h is Planck's constant and n can take positive integral values.

Postulate 3
Energy changes can only occur from one energy level to another and not between levels. The
energy change E2 - E1 = hf = hc/ where f is the frequency of the radiation emitted by the energy
change from a high (E2) to a lower (E1) value. This change produces an emission spectra. At high
temperature, hydrogen produces ultraviolet, visible and infrared emission spectra.
 2
4
me
En  
8 o n 2 h 2
2

E1 =-13.6eV,
E
En = 21
n
E - 13.6
Thus E2 = 21   3.4 eV
2 4

Energy levels and traansition for atomic hydrogen

me4 1
En   2 2 2
8 o h n
The ground state minimum energy E corresponds to n=1 if En is the energy value of a higher level
corresponding to n=n1 then
me 4  1 1 
E n1 - E1  2 2  2  2  , n1 = 2, 3, 4, ……
8 o h  1 n1 
hc me 4
1 
therefore = 1  2 
2 2 
 8 o h  n 1 
1 me 4  1 
and = 1  2 
3 
 8 o ch  n 1 
2

This may be written as

1  1 
= R 1  2 
  n1 
Where R is a constant called the Rydberg constant.

Wavelengths calculated using this expression agree well with those observed in the line spectrum of
atomic hydrogen which is experimental evidence that the energy levels exist.

The above equation represents the spectral transition of hydrogen known as the LYMAN series
whose lines are in the ultraviolet and each is associated with a transition involving the level n=1
The BALMER series which are in the visible involves transitions to the level with n=2 and as a
consequence smaller energy diffreences are involved
1  1 1 
= R  2  2  , n1 = 3, 4, 5, - - - -
 2 n1 
The PASCHEN seriesd which are in the infrared involves transitions to the level with n=3 and
even much smaller energy differences are involved.

1 1 1 
= R  2  2  , n1 = 4, 5, 6, - - - -
 3 n1 

Similarly for the hydrogen spectrum we have other series

 3

1  1 1 
= R  2  2  , n1 = 6, 7, 8, - - - - Brackett series
 5 n1 
1  1 1 
= R  2  2  , n1 = 7, 8, 9, - - - - Pfund series
 6 n1 

Ionisation energy
This is the energy required to remove the electrons from the atom completely.

E  - E1 = (0-E1)
= -E1eV
X-RAYS
X-rays are short (10-10m) wavelength electromagnetic radiations.
 4

A focused beam of electrons is accelerated towards the anode made of copper rod, in which the
target is embedded. On collision the electrons decelerate rapidly and x-rays are produced. Over
99% of the kinetic energy of the electrons goes on producing heat. The target is a high melting
point metal such as tungsten. The purpose of the copper rod is to conduct the heat away from the
target. The rod is cooled by circulating oil through it or by the use of cooling fins. The intensity of
the x-rays increases with the number of electrons hitting the target and therefore depends on the
filament current. The penetrating power (quality) of the x-rays increases with the operating voltage
of the tube. There are two types of x-rays:
(i) Soft x-rays - have low penetrating power
(ii) Hard x-rays - Have high penetrating power

Properties of X-rays
(i) They travel in a straight line at the speed of light
(ii) They cannot be deflected by electric or magnetic field
(iii) They penetrate matter
(iv) They can be reflected, but only at very large angles of incidence

Properties used to detect X-rays

(i) They ionise gases through which they pass
(ii) They affect photographic films
(iii) They produce fluorescence
(iv) They produce photoelectric emission

Uses of X-rays
(i) They are used in medicine to
- locate bone fractures
- destroy cancer cells
(ii) They are used to locate internal imperfections in welded joints
(iii) X-ray diffraction has been used to determine the structure of complex organic molecules.

Radioactivity
Radioactivity is the process in which radiations are emitted when an unstable nucleus disintegrates
to acquire a more stable state. The disintegration is spontaneous and most commonly involves the
emission of an -particle or a -particle. In both  - and  -emissions, the parent nucleus (i.e. the
emitting nucleus) undergoes a change of atomic number and therefore becomes the nucleus of a
different element. This new nucleus is called a daughter nucleus. It often happens that the daughter
nucleus is formed when it is in the excited state so it reaches its stable state by emitting -rays.

 -particles
Consists of two protons and two neutrons, i.e. it is identical to a helium nucleus. It is the most
energetic form of radiation produced by radioactive decay. They have the least penetrating power
with a range of only a few centimetres in air. They are more effective in producing ionisation in the
gases through which they pass. They move relatively slowly since they are relatively heavy particles.
A strong magnetic field deflects them and the direction and magnitude of the deflection suggests
that particles are positively charged.
When a nucleus undergoes -decay it loses four nucleons, two of which are protons. Thus the
mass number A decreases by 4 and its atomic number Z decreases by 2
That is AZ X  AZ--24 Y  42 He
 5
Uranium 238 decays by -particles to thorium 234
92 U  90 Th  2 He
238 234 4

Parent Daughter  - Particle

-particles
These are very fast electrons. -Particles are emitted by nuclei which have too many neutrons to be
stable. These particles are more penetrating and have a range of several metres in air. They have
less ionising power than alpha particles but are more easily deviated by magnetic or electric fields
due to their small mass. They have higher speeds than alpha particles. When a nucleus undergoes
decay its mass number A does not change but its atomic number Z increases by 1

A
Z X  AZ1Y  0
-1 e

Carbon 14 decays by -emission to Nitrogen 14.

6 C  7 N  1 e
14 14 0

-Rays
-rays are electromagnetic radiations of very short wavelength. And are highly penetrating having a
range of several centimetres in lead. They have far less ionising power compared to b particles and
are not deflected by a magnetic field

ACTIVITY OF A RADIOACTIVE ELEMENT

The activity of a radioactive nuclide is the rate at which the nuclei of its constituent atoms
decay. If N is the number of nuclei present in a sample at a certain time, its activity R is
given by
dN
R = - …………………………….1
dt
dN
The negative sign makes R positive since is a negative quantity. The SI units of activity
dt
is 1Becquerel whereby 1Becquerel (1Bq) = 1 event/s

Half life
Half life of a radioactive sample is the time taken for the nuclei in the sample to decay by half.
Experiments have shown that the activity of a radioactive sample falls off exponentially as shown
below
 6
If the activity of a given sample is Ro when an observation started, after one half life it
decreases to 0.5Ro and after another half life , it decreases to 0.25Ro and so on. Every
radionuclide has a characteristic half life, with some half lives being short and others very
long.
From experiments therefore R =Roe-t where  is the decay constant
After one half life i.e. t = T½, the activity R drops to ½Ro, Hence

R = Roe-t becomes,
 T1
½Ro = Ro e 2

T1
e 2
=2 or  T½ = ln2
ln2 0.693
 T½ =  T½ =
 
If a sample contains N undecayed nuclei, the number dN that decay in a time dt is the product
of the number of nuclei N and the probability dt that each will decay in dt. That is

dN = -Ndt, where the negative sign is because N decreases with increasing

time
dN
 = -dt
N

N t
dN
 N N  -   dt
0
o

 lnN – lnNo = -t

 N = Noe-t

Example How long does it take for 60% of a sample of radon to decay? Half life of radon is
3.8days
Solution

Using N = Noe-t
N N 1 No
 e - t or -  t  ln  t  ln
No No  N
0.693 0.693
Here    and N  (1 - 0.6)N o  0.4N o
T½ 3.8days

ln  0.4  = 5.02 days

3.8 days
 t  1
0.693
 7
ACTIVITY AND DECAY CONSTANT
dN
We saw earlier that the activity of a radioactive sample is R = -
dt
But N = Noe-t
d(N o e - t )
 R  -  R   N o e - t
dt
so that R= N
Example
find the activity of 1 g( 10-6kg ) of radon 222
R

CARBON DATING
The activity law Ro = Roe-t may be used to determine the age of substances. This is done
by using radiocarbon, which is the beta active carbon isotope 146 C . We know that every
living plant contains some radiocarbon. Also when animals eat the plants they also
incorporate some radiocarbon into their bodies. Thus living plants and animals have the
same ratio of radiocarbon to ordinary carbon 126 C . When the plants and animals die they no
longer take in radiocarbon but the radiocarbon they contain keeps decaying away to 14 N .
The half life of this decay is 5760years.
By determining the proportion of radiocarbon to ordinary carbon therefore it is possible to
evaluate the ages of ancient objects knowing their organic origin. In order to measure the
14
6 C content, the total carbon content in a sample from an organism that died a time t ago is
usually converted into a gas such as CO2 which is then used to fill a special beta-sensitive
detector. If the activity of a certain mass of carbon from a plant or animal that was recently
alive is Ro and the activity of the same mass of carbon of the sample to be dated is R, then
from the activity law we have
Ro = Roe-t
R R
  e - t o  e  t
Ro R

or t 
1

ln  
Ro
R

Example
A piece of wood from the ruins of an ancient dwelling was found to have a 146 C activity of 13
disintegrations per minute per gram. The activity of the living wood is 16 disintegrations per
minute per gram. How long ago did the tree from which the wood came die?

BINDING ENERGY

Einstein's Mass-Energy Relation

If the particle of mass m is moving at the speed of light c then energy is
E  M
E = mc2
It follows that whenever a reaction results in a release of energy there is an associated decrease in
mass.
Unified atomic mass u is defined as
1u = 1.66 x 10-27 kg = 931MeV.
 8
Binding energy
An atom has lass mass than the total mass of its constituent particles. The hydrogen isotope
deuterium 21 H for instance, has a neutron as well as a proton in its nucleus. Thus we would
expect the mass of the deuterium atom to be equal to the mass of a proton and the mass of the
neutron as shown
Mass of proton  1.0078u
+ Mass of neutron  1.0087u
expected mass of 1 H atom  2.0165u
2

However the measured mass of 21 H is found to be 2.0141u, which is 0.0024u less than the
combined mass of a proton and a neutron. The missing mass of 0.0024u corresponds to the
energy given off when a 21 H nucleus is formed from a free proton and neutron. Since the
energy equivalent of 1u of mass is 931MeV, the energy corresponding to the missing
deuterium mass of 0.0024u is

(0.0024ux931MeV/u) = 2.2MeV.

This energy equivalent of the missing mass of a nucleus is called binding energy of the
nucleus. If the binding energy is large, it implies that more energy has to be added to break
the nucleus. The binding energy per nucleon is obtained by dividing the total binding energy
by the number of nucleons
22M eV
Thus binding energy per nucleon for deuterium = = 1.1MeV/nucleon
2
NUCLEAR FISSION
Nuclear fission is the process of splitting heavy nuclei into two medium sized nuclei, in
which, each of the new nuclei has less binding energy per nucleon than the original nucleus.
Nuclear fission is accompanied by the emission of energy and it involves many times more
energy per atom than burning coal or oil etc.

NUCLEAR FUSION
This is the process of joining two light nuclei together to give a single nucleus. This process
also involves the emission of energy and it is a very effective way of obtaining energy. In
fact nuclear fusion is the main energy source of the sun and the other stars.

HOMEWORK 6
1. Some of the energy levels of a mercury atom are shown below

(i) Why are the energies negative

(ii) Calculate the wavelength of the energy emitted when an electron moves from level 4
to 2. In what part of the electromagnetic spectrum does this wavelength lie
(iii) Calculate the ionization energy of a mercury atom in eV and in joules
 9
2. Draw a clean well labelled diagram of a modern x-ray tube.
(a) How can the intensity and the penetrating power be controlled
(b) Describe the properties of x-rays and compare them with those of ultraviolet
radiation.
(c) Outline the evidence for the wave nature of x-rays
(d) Molybdenum Krays have =7x10-11m find
(i) Minimum x-ray tube potential difference that can produce these x-rays
(ii) Their photon energy in eV
3. (a) What is meant by the half life of a radioactive element. Draw a well labelled sketch of the
relation N=Noe-t to illustrate your answer
(b) The initial number of atoms in a radioactive element is 6.0x1020 and its half life is 10Hrs
calculate
(i) The number of atoms which have decayed after 30Hrs
(ii) The amount of energy liberated if the energy liberated per atom decay is
4.0x10-13J

4. (a) In a fusion reaction

1 H  1 H  2 He  0 n
2 3 4 1

How much energy in joules is liberated

Masses 12 H =3.345x10-27kg
-27
1 H =5.008x10 kg
3

He =6.647x10-27kg
4
2

n =1.675x10-27kg
1
0
(b) Describe the functions of the various components of a nuclear power station
(c) Explain briefly what is meant by
(i) Nuclear fusion
(ii) Nuclear fission
(iii) Nuclear binding energy
(d) Calculate the activity of 2.0g of 6429 Cu ( the half life of 64
29 Cu =13Hrs, Avogadro's
23 -1
constant =6.0x10 mol )

5. A uranium bearing rock is found to contain 9 uranium 238 atoms for every 8 helium atoms
present in the rock. Assuming that the decay process which eventually converts a uranium atom
to lead involves the emission of 8  particles calculate the age of the rock
6. Briefly discuss the dangers posed by exposure to radiation from radioactive elements
7. Part of the Uranium decay series is shown below
234 234 234 226
238
92 U 
(1)
90 Th  
(2)
91 Pa  
(3)
92 U  
(4)
90 Th 
230

(5)
88 Ra

(i) What particle is emitted at each decay

(ii) List the pairs of isotopes in the series.