Chemistry is in the electrons Electronic structure – arrangement of electrons in atom Two parameters: – Energy – Position The popular image of the atom is incorrect: electrons are not miniature planets orbiting a nuclear sun
Chemistry is in the electrons
Electronic structure –arrangement of electrons in atom
Two parameters:– Energy
– Position
The popular image of the atom is incorrect: electrons are not miniature planets orbiting a nuclear sun
Learning objectives
Describe properties of waves and calculate basic properties like wavelength and frequency
Calculate quantities using the photon model of light
Describe the basic principles of the Bohr model
Distinguish between the “classical” view and the “quantum” view of matter
Describe Heisenberg Uncertainty principle and deBroglie wave-particle duality
Calculate wavelengths of particles
Rutherford’s epic experiment revealed the
positive nucleus with the electrons occupying the
vast void around it
Problem: Why don’t the electrons
collapse into the nucleus?
The planetary idea
A planet in a stable orbit circulates indefinitely
Orbiting charged particles emit energy - spiral
into the nucleus emitting energy as it does so
Conventional explanations don’t work
Yet... atoms exist and
electrons are stable
outside the nucleus
Familiar symbol of
planetary atom is
incorrect
There must be
another explanation...
Unlocking the mystery of light
Earth’s energy
provider
Chief nourisher of
life’s feast
Inspiration for
romance
Symbol of good
Object of worship
Source of wisdom
Absorption determines colour
Objects are the colour
of the light not
absorbed
White absorbs
nothing
Black absorbs
everything
Complementary
colors:
– Green absorbs red
– Violet absorbs yellow
Let there be light – properties of
waves
Electromagnetic waves
are characterized by:
– Wavelength – distance
between two peaks
– Frequency - number of
wave peaks that pass a
fixed point per unit time
– Amplitude - height of the
peak measured from the
center line
– Velocity – speed of the
crest
Wavelength and colour
Different “colours” of electromagnetic radiation are waves with different wavelengths and frequencies.
All electromagnetic radiation has the same velocity: the speed of light – 3 x 108 m/s
Velocity (c/ms-1) = wavelength (λ/m) x frequency (ν/s-1)
Wavelength proportional to 1/frequency - as λ ↑ ν ↓
c
Continuous range of wavelengths and frequencies:– Radio waves at low-frequency end
– Gamma rays at high-frequency end
– Visible region is a small slice near the middle
Waves in X-ray region have wavelength approximately same as atomic diameter (10–10 m)
Radiation becomes more dangerous as frequency increases
Harmful radiation
The electromagnetic spectrum
Atoms emit and absorb radiation at
specific wavelengthsAbsorption is light removed by the atom from incident light
Emission is light given out by an energetically excited atom
The absorption and emission lines are at the same wavelengths
The lines from the H atom form a neat series.
Do these spectra have anything to do with the electronic structure?
Each element has a unique spectrum
Electronic structures
of each element are
different
Spectra can be used
to identify elements –
even in very remote
locations
Empirical classification of the
spectra of the hydrogen atom
All of the lines in the H atom spectrum can be fit
to an equation
– m and n are integers (n > m)
– R is the Rydberg constant
The Balmer–Rydberg equation.
22
111
nmR
Inner shell
Outer shell
So, everything is cool with waves?
NOT
Observations of radiation from heated
bodies could not be described using
classical methods – the ultraviolet
“catastrophe”
Shortcomings with waves...
Blackbody radiation and the
ultraviolet catastropheObservations of radiation from heated bodies could not be described using classical methods – Intensity tends to infinity at shorter wavelength!
Observed radiation exhibits a maximum that depends on the temperature of the body– As T ↑, λmax ↓
Chunky energy and the Planck
equation
Blackbody radiation explained if energy is
emitted in discrete amounts (quanta)
instead of changing continuously
Quantization of energy
E = hν
h is Planck’s constant = 6.626 x 10-34 Js
Ele
ctr
ical
cu
rren
t
Frequency
Quantization and the photoelectric
effect
Light incident on a metal surface causes
electrons to be emitted.
Below threshold frequency nothing happens
Above threshold, current increases with intensity
No
current
flows
Current
flows
Photons: light as particle and wave
In photoelectric effect, light behaves like a particle
Energy of electron given by:
Energy is “quantized” into packets - photons
Photon energy depends on frequency:
E = hν
As frequency increases photon energy increases
e eKE h
Photon energy and the
electromagnetic spectrumAs frequency increases, photon energy increases
“Dangerous” radiation has high photon energy – UV
light, X-rays, gamma rays (ionizing radiation)
Harmless radiation has low photon energy – IR,
radiowaves
Light: particle or wave or both?
Newton advanced a corpuscular theory of light, even as he discovered the refraction of light in a prism
Huygens developed a wave theory of light
Maxwell equations cemented mathematical description of electromagnetic waves
Discovery of light interference and its description by wave theory made the latter triumphant in the 19th
century
Ultraviolet catastrophe and the photoelectric effect establish the photon
So what is light exactly? The enduring mystery...