Topic 12: Quantum and nuclear physics
The interaction of matter with radiation
● Photons
○ Einstein proposed that light consists of particles called photons.
○ Quantum refers to the smallest discrete amount of something. A photon is a
quantum of electromagnetic radiation (light).
○ Photons exhibit wave properties under refraction or interference.
○ Photons exhibit wave properties under its emission or absorption.
○ A photon’s energy (E) is proportional to its frequency (f) and is given by the
following:
○ H is Planck’s constant, c is the speed of light, and λ is its wavelength
(electromagnetic wave).
● The Photoelectric Effect
○ Photoelectric effect refers to the emission of electrons from a metal surface as a
result of the absorption of electromagnetic wave energy.
Factor Effect
Intensity Affects the number of electrons ejected.
There exists a minimum frequency
(depending on the material) below which no
Frequency electrons are ejected.
Affects the maximum KE of ejected electrons
○ An example of the photoelectric effect on a sample metal surface.
○ Incident electromagnetic waves with lower frequency have a smaller chance of
inducing the photoelectric effect.
○ The work function corresponds to the potential energy which binds the electron to
the nucleus.
■ Since total energy = potential energy + kinetic energy
● Matter waves
○ The De Broglie hypothesis suggests that all matter exhibits wave-like properties.
In particular, the momentum of a particle is related to its wavelength where the De
Broglie wavelength may be deduced by the following formula
○ The term “wave-particle duality” refers to matter acting as both waves and
particles.
● Quantization of angular momentum in the Bohr model for hydrogen
○ Bohr developed a model for hydrogen that was able to explain the emission and
absorption spectra of hydrogen.
○ His model assumed discrete orbital paths in which electrons orbit the nucleus
through, the same way planets orbit stars.
○ The orbits were quantized in terms of their allowable angular momentum
(rotational momentum).
○ Therefore, the orbital radii and energies are also quantized.
○ The energy of the orbit is the energy required to ionize (remove) an electron and
can be given through the following equation in relation to the order of orbit (n)
○ When the electrons are excited, they jump to higher energy orbits and eventually
drop back down to a more stable orbit by releasing excess energy by the form of
light. The energy of the light released is therefore equal to the difference in energy
of the two orbits.
Nuclear Physics
● Rutherford scattering and nuclear radius
○ Rutherford’s undergraduate students, Geiger and Marsden, bombarded a sheet of
gold foil by alpha particles.
○ The alpha particles passed through the gold foil in most cases, a small percentage
of alpha particles were deflected by small angles of deflection, and an even
smaller percentage of alpha particles were deflected by large angles of deflection.
○ Rutherford thus deduced that the atom consists of a small compact positive
nucleus (where alpha particles deflect by large angles) with a majority of volume
existing as empty space (where alpha particles pass right through).
● Nuclear energy levels
○ In the same way electrons can move between discrete energy levels, the nucleus
of an atom can too.
○ Atoms that decay through gamma decay emit distinct frequencies of gamma rays
which correspond to distinct energy levels.
● The neutrino
○ A neutrino is a type of lepton. Since they have no electrical charge or strong
charge, most neutrinos do not react with other particles and pass right through
earth with no interaction.
○ Neutrinos are produced in many particle decays, such as in beta decay. When a
neutron at rest (zero momentum) decays by releasing a proton and an electron,
because of the law of conservation of momentum, the resultant products of decay
must have a total momentum of zero, which the observed proton and electron
clearly does not portray.
○ Therefore, we suggest the presence of another particle to balance the momentum
– by the release of an antineutrino (neutrino antimatter). This was confirmed by
experimentation.
● The law of radioactive decay and the decay constant
○ Apart from half-lives, the activity of radioactive decay can also be shown
exponentially by the law of radioactive decay.
○ The decay constant (λ) represents the probability of decay of a nucleus per unit
time and is dependent on the type of element.
