The Demise of Classical Physics
The Demise of Classical Physics
61 Fall 2007
Lecture #2
page 1
(and inadvertently invents the cathode ray (TV) tube) Faraday (1860s 1870s) had already shown using electrochemistry that amounts of electric current proportional to amounts of some substances could be liberated in an electrolytic cell. The term electron was suggested as a natural unit of electricity. But Thomson experimentally observes electrons as particles with charge & mass.
y = displacement induced by deflector voltage Cathode Anode Thomson found that results are independent of (1) (2) cathode material residual gas composition Deflector plates Phosphor screen
Classical mechanics
Fy = e =m dv y dt
( F = ma )
dv y
e = dt me
e Integrating v y = t me
[Note v y t = 0 = 0]
Lecture #2
page 2
e 11 m = 1x10 C/kg e
e 11 = 1.758x10 C/kg me
(b)
1909 Milliken oil drop experiment determines e, me separately mist of micron-size oil droplets in air
Fg
Fg = Mg
F f = 6 rv
6 rvt = Mg
Now use x-rays or -rays to add some charge ne to the droplets Voltage across plates exerts Coulomb force Fc = ne on the charged droplet x-rays n-
( )
Fc
n-
Fg
n-
Ff
n-
Lecture #2
page 3
v = 0 F f = 0,
Fc = Fg
ne = Mg
Determine ne = Mg
They all had different charges ni e but all integer multiples of charge e Determined elementary charge as e = 1.59x10 (very close to todays value e = 1.602x10 Combining values for e me
19 19
( )
()
C)
) and ( e)
me = 9.11x10
27
31
kg
kg electron is subatomic!!
(c) Where are the electrons? Whats the structure of the atom? Angstrom (10-10 m) atomic size scale already inferred from gas kinetics First jellium model didnt last long (jelly)
n+
Au foil He
2+
98% undeflected
He2+ nucleus very small, << 10 -10 m (Rutherford estimated 10-14 m) Au atoms are mostly empty!
Lecture #2
page 4
Rutherford planetary model: classical mechanical model of atomic structure Coulomb attraction plays the role of gravity
centripetal force
r v
Fc =
me v 2
+Z
(Hz = cycles/s) =
v (m/s) 2 r (m/cycle)
circumference of orbit
atom should emit light at all frequencies that is it should produce a continuous spectrum
Lecture #2
page 5
BUT emission from atoms was known to be discrete, not continuous! For H:
n1 = 3 n1 = 2 n2 = 3 4 5 6
n1 = 1
n2 = 2 3 4
10,000
30,000
50,000
100,000 (cm-1)
For the H atom, Rydberg showed that the spectrum was consistent with the simple formula:
1
1
(cm -1 ) = R 2
2
n1 n2
with n1 = 1, 2, 3, ... and n2 = n1 + 1, n1 + 2, n1 + 3, ... R = 1.097x105 cm -1 (Rydberg constant)
n1 = 1 Lyman series n1 = 2 Balmer series n1 = 3 Paschen series
visible & UV lines well known
Rutherfords model of the atom Is not stable relative to collapse of electron into nucleus Does not yield discrete emission lines, Does not explain the Rydberg formula