Light, Waves, and Quantum Mechanics

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from the lecture on light, waves, and quantum mechanics, including historical figures, wave properties, quantum numbers, and orbital characteristics.

Isaac Newton

Published "Opticks" in 1704, describing light as being made of corpuscles.

Corpuscles

Newton's term for the particles he believed light was made of.

Antoine Lavoisier

Listed light as one of the elements in his classification of the elements.

Thomas Young

Demonstrated the interference of light in 1803-04, proving that light is a wave.

Interference of Light

A phenomenon where waves superpose to form a resultant wave of greater, lower, or the same amplitude, used to prove light's wave nature.

Constructive Interference

Occurs when waves add up to create a larger wave.

Destructive Interference

Occurs when waves cancel each other out due to a 180° phase shift.

Double-slit experiment

An experiment that produces an interference pattern, demonstrating the wave nature of light.

Interference Pattern

A characteristic pattern produced by waves, such as in the double-slit experiment.

Wave

A periodic disturbance that moves along a medium.

Wavelength

The distance between two consecutive peaks or troughs of a wave.

Amplitude

The range or magnitude of the disturbance of a wave at a given point in space.

Frequency

The number of waves or cycles that passes a given point in space in a given interval of time.

Speed of a Wave

One of the four characteristics that define a wave.

Electromagnetic Radiation

Light propagating through space, characterized by perpendicular oscillating electric and magnetic fields.

Max Planck

Concluded that energy is emitted in 'packets' or quanta after studying radiation from solid bodies heated to high temperatures.

Quanta

Discrete 'packets' of energy, as proposed by Max Planck.

Quantized Energy

The concept that energy can only be emitted or absorbed in discrete amounts or multiples of these amounts.

Planck's Equation

E = hn, where E is energy, h is Planck's constant, and n is frequency.

Planck's Constant (h)

A fundamental physical constant, approximately 6.63 x 10^-34 Js.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

The range of all types of electromagnetic radiation, ordered by wavelength and frequency, from radio waves to gamma rays.

Wave-Particle Dualism

The concept that light and matter exhibit properties of both waves and particles.

Wavefunction (ψ)

A mathematical function describing the quantum state of a particle, related to the probability of finding an electron at a particular point in space.

Quantum Numbers

A set of four numbers (n, l, ml, s) that describe the state of an electron in an atom, derived from solutions to the Schrödinger equation.

Principal Quantum Number (n)

Defines the electron shell and primarily determines the distance of the electron from the nucleus.

Angular Momentum Quantum Number (l)

Defines the subshell and the shape of an atomic orbital.

Magnetic Quantum Number (ml)

Defines the orientation of an atomic orbital in space.

Spin Quantum Number (ms)

Describes the intrinsic angular momentum (spin) of an electron, which can be +1/2 or -1/2.

Orbital

A region of space around the nucleus where an electron is most likely to be found.

s orbital

An atomic orbital with a spherical shape (l=0).

p orbital

An atomic orbital with a dumbbell shape (l=1), existing as px, py, and pz orientations.

d orbital

Atomic orbitals with more complex shapes (l=2), existing in five different orientations.

f orbital

Atomic orbitals with even more complex shapes (l=3), existing in seven different orientations.

Node

A region in an orbital where the probability of finding an electron is zero.

Radial Node (Spherical Node)

A spherical region within an orbital where the probability of finding an electron is zero.

Planar Node

A plane within an orbital where the probability of finding an electron is zero.

Electron Configuration

The distribution of electrons of an atom or molecule in atomic or molecular orbitals.

Order of Filling Subshells

The sequence in which atomic orbitals are typically filled with electrons, following principles like Aufbau.