Section 5.3

 Neon advertising signs are formed from glass tubes bent in various shapes. An electric current passing through the gas in each glass tube makes the gas glow with its own characteristic color. You will learn why each gas glows with a specific color of light. 5.3

 Electrons and light both exhibit particle and wave properties at the same time!  The “particle” of light is known as a photon

 Electromagnetic radiation includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared waves, visible light, ultraviolet waves, X-rays, and gamma rays.  All electromagnetic waves travel in a vacuum at a speed of  10 8 m/s.

 The wavelength and frequency of light are inversely proportional to each other.

 The amplitude of a wave is the wave’s height from zero to the crest.  The wavelength, represented by (the Greek letter lambda), is the distance between the crests.  The frequency, represented by (the Greek letter nu), is the number of wave cycles to pass a given point per unit of time.  The SI unit of cycles per second is called a hertz (Hz).  1 Hz = 1/second

 This equation means:  Speed of light = wavelength in meters x frequency in Hertz  If you are given wavelength in nanometers you will need to convert:  1 m = 1 x 10 9 nm  c = x 10 8 m/s

 A prism separates light into the colors it contains.  When white light passes through a prism, it produces a rainbow of colors.  The rainbow is called a spectrum

▪ Unlike white light, light from elements produces only a few colored lines instead of a full rainbow: called atomic emission spectrum ▪

 Atomic emission spectrum- the discrete lines formed when atoms absorb energy, forcing electrons into higher energy levels and then lose energy by emitting light as the electrons fall to lower energy levels  The light is made up of only a few specific frequencies, depending on the element  Each frequency is a different color  The light is emitted as electrons fall from one energy level to another, like from n=4 to n=1  They are like atomic fingerprints- every element is unique

 When the electron has its lowest possible energy level, the atom is in its ground state.  Excitation of the electron by absorbing energy raises the atom from the ground state to an excited state. (not the orbital predicted by aufbau chart)  A quantum of energy in the form of light is emitted when the electron drops back to a lower energy level.  This energy is directly proportional to frequency, which determines the light’s color.

 Light emitted by an electron moving from a higher to lower energy level has a frequency directly proportional to the energy change of the electron  Equation describing energy change of the electron  E = h x ν (h = x J*s)  So different energy level drops result in different frequencies (and colors) of light

 The fact that electrons behave as waves leads to some odd observations, like:  Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle  it is impossible to know exactly both the velocity and the position of a particle at the same time.  This limitation is critical in dealing with small particles such as electrons.  This limitation does not matter for ordinary-sized object such as cars or airplanes.

 When photons hit metals, they can result in the ejection of electrons- This is the photoelectric effect  We use this property to create electron microscopes, which allow for clearer images since electrons have smaller wavelengths than light

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