LIGO-G W Quantum Mechanics Fred Raab, LIGO Hanford Observatory

LIGO-G W LIGO: Tuning into Einstein's Unfinished Symphony2 Why were there missing colors in sunlight? Since Newton’s studies of the splitting of light into a rainbow, or spectrum, scientists were interested in the study of color and its origins. Fraunhofer, using exacting techniques to make high-resolution spectra, discovered many narrow slices of color were missing from the spectrum of sunlight. Finding out why this occurred would lead to the revolutionary advances in 20 th century science.

LIGO-G W LIGO: Tuning into Einstein's Unfinished Symphony3 What are stars and how do they shine? Annie Jump Cannon studied photographic images of stars and looked for clues in the colors of stars. She developed a classification scheme for stars by color that is still used today and became crucial to understanding the life cycles of stars.

LIGO-G W LIGO: Tuning into Einstein's Unfinished Symphony4 An important clue, seen as a huge success Studying the light given off by elements burned in flames and by sparks in gases, it was noticed that the colors came out in sharp slices of color. Above is the series of visible spectral “lines” from hydrogen, named the Balmer series, after a Swiss high-school chemistry teacher who worked on spectra.

LIGO-G W LIGO: Tuning into Einstein's Unfinished Symphony5 Quantum Theory Planck explains the spectrum of colors given off by glowing embers »employs a mathematical trick by summing over a discrete energies of light, rather than a continuum »finds that one value of discreteness leads to the experimentally observed correct answer »the separation constant, h, takes Planck’s name Einstein, age 26, working at Swiss Patent Office in Bern, Laid the foundation for the quantum theory of light : »analyzed the photoelectric effect and showed that energy of light can only be exchanged with matter in discrete packets  quanta are real! »light possesses both wave and particle aspects deBroglie argues that if light waves also have particle nature, then maybe particles have a wave nature »associates momentum p = h , where is particles wavelength

LIGO-G W LIGO: Tuning into Einstein's Unfinished Symphony6 Rapid progress in quantum theory Danish physicist, Neils Bohr produces a model of the atom that explains the Balmer series of hydrogen and the stability of matter. It relies on the fact that, at the atomic scale, the fundamental particles of matter behave like waves

LIGO-G W LIGO: Tuning into Einstein's Unfinished Symphony7 Back in the heavens… Cecilia Payne, the first woman in America to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy, argues that the “missing colors” in stellar spectra are caused by absorption by cooler gases in the atmospheres of stars. Using this realization to study the composition of stars, she determines that stars are mostly made from hydrogen and a small amount of helium

LIGO-G W LIGO: Tuning into Einstein's Unfinished Symphony8 Successes of Quantum Mechanics Explained »Structure of matter »Nature of chemical bonding »Nuclear physics »Radioactivity »Atomic clocks »How the sun shines »Lasers, masers, etc. »Conduction of electricity »Semiconductors »Nanotechnology »And the list goes on…