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7: The Development of Quantum Mechanics

  • Page ID
    456198
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    • 7.1: Blackbody Radiation
      All bodies emit thermal radiation spanning a broad range of wavelengths. • The amount and peak wavelength of the radiation depends on the temperature of the body, but not on its composition. • The higher the temperature, the more radiation is emitted and the shorter (or bluer) the wavelength of the bulk of the radiation.
    • 7.2: The Photoelectric Effect
      Einstein's theory of the photoelectric effect made the claim that electromagnetic radiation had to be thought of as a series of particles, called photons, which collide with the electrons on the surface and emit electrons when absorbed. This theory ran contrary to the belief that electromagnetic radiation was a wave and thus it was not recognized as correct until 1916 when Robert Millikan experimentally confirmed the theory
    • 7.3: Atomic Emission Spectra
      Gases heated to incandescence were found to emit light with a series of sharp wavelengths. The emitted light analyzed by a spectrometer appears as a multitude of narrow bands of color. These so called line spectra are characteristic of the atomic composition of the gas. One such set of lines in the hydrogen ATOM emission are the Balmer lines, in which a phenomenological relatioshop between frequency and an integer of unknown origin.
    • 7.4: Matter Has Wavelike Properties
      Matter waves are often referred to as de Broglie waves and have wavelengths (λ) to its momentum, p, through the Planck constant, h: λ = h/p .
    • 7.5: The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
      The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is a fundamental theory in quantum mechanics that defines why a scientist cannot measure multiple quantum variables simultaneously. The principle asserts a fundamental limit to the precision with which certain pairs of physical properties of a particle, known as complementary variables, such as position x and momentum p, can be known.


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