WORLD OF ATOMS - "Mechanics"

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Introduction.
Quantum Mechanics is the study of matter and energy on the subatomic scale. It was came into being because classical physics could not explain certain experimental results, such as why the photoelectric effect occured only when the light shone is above a certain frequency. Quantum Mechanics and Relativity became the foundation of modern physics.

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Main points.

Principle of Quantatization The fundamental principle of Quantum Mechanics, and its namesake, is that energy came in discrete particles called "quanta". This idea, the Quantatization of Energy, was put forth by Planck in his Quantum Hypothesis(1900), an explanation of blackbody radiation. It was a departure from Classical Physics, which asserted that energy could be infinately small.

Photoelectric effect This quantatization of energy approach was used by Einstein in his 1905 explanation of the photoelectric effect, the emission of electrons by a metal when light is shone on it. No electrons are emitted when the light is below a threshold frequency, no matter how intense the light. Einstein postulated that light, while exibiting wave properties as shone by the Double-slit Experiment, also came in the from of particles called "photons", discrete packets of energy. The energy of a photon is proportional to the frequency of the light(E=hv); thus, light with higher frequency had more energy and could excite the electrons, while light whose frequency were below the threshold could not, no matter how many photons there were.

Bohr's model and spectral lines Bohr also used the Quantatization of energy in his 1913 model of the atom. He stated that electrons revolved around the nucleus much like the planets revolve around the sun. They could be found in predefined, stationary orbits, radiating no energy as they revolve. Only when they gain a quatum of energy equivalent to the difference between the energy of the orbits do they become excited and enter a higher energy orbit. This is consistent with Einstein's explanation of the photoelectric effect, and explains why spectral lines only occur at certain places.

Wave-particle duality of matter In 1923 De Broglie expanded the Principle of Wave-particle Duality of Light put forth by Einstein to include all matter, called Principle of Wave-particle Duality of Matter. He asserted that all matter, not just light, exibit both wave-like and particle-like behaviour,

Quantum Matrix and Wave Mechanics By now there was enough theories to put together a quantum picture of the atom. However, it was very difficult to sort through all the math. Heisenherg and Shroedinger simultaneously and independently worked to put forth a complete quantum mechanics. Heisenberg employed use of matrices, and his model was called the matrix mechanics. His approach emphasized the quantum--discrete properties while Schroedinger concentrated on the wave properties. He tried to find a function that would encompass all informatin about a particle or system at any given time. This is called the wave function. While debated ensued about which was correct, Schoedinger proved shortly after that the matrix mechanics and the wave function were mathematically equivalent.

Uncertainty Principle Heisenberg then came up with the Uncertainty Principle, which stated that the position and velocity(momentum, which is mass*velocity) cannot be known precisely simultaneouely. The more accurately one is known, the less accurately the other can be measured. The product of the uncertainty in position, and the uncertainty in momentum, is always greater than or equal to h/(2pi). While this is neglegible on the macroscopic level, subatomically, it causes great uncertainty. As a result, the world exists in statistical probabilities.
For example, a electron cannot be found precisely at one location. At any given chance, it has a certain probability of being found anywhere in the universe, with higher probabilities in regions around the atomic nucleus and less likelihood elsewhere. This can be calculated with the wave function.

Quantum atomic model The quantum model of the atom calls for arbitrarily defined orbitals. An orbital is a region around the nucleus where an electron has 90% chance of being found. Electrons have spin, a term used for the intrinsic angular momenta subatomic particles have. They have either a spin of +1/2 or -1/2. Two electrons in the same orbital of the same energy level must have opposite spin (Pauli Exclsion Principle).

Schroedinger's cat Since the wave function describes the world in terms of statistical probabilities and not certainties, a cat placed in an isolated system with equal chances of being found alive and dead at anytime is equally dead and alive at the same time. When an observer is introduced to the isolated system, the wave function collapses and the cat is either dead or alive.

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