ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS ENGINEERING

MODERN PHYSICS
LABORATORY
EXPERIMENTS

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Contents
1 PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT 3
1.1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 EXPERIMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2 MAXWELLIAN VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION 8

2.1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2 EXPERIMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3 ELECTRON DIFFRACTION 13
3.1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2 EXPERIMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.3 DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4 DETERMINATION OF e/m 18
4.1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.2 EXPERIMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.3 RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

5 FRANCK–HERTZ EXPERIMENT 22
5.1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.2 EXPERIMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

6 ATOMIC SPECTRA 30
6.1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6.2 EXPERIMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6.3 RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

7 APPENDIX 36
7.1 Examples of Python Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

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 FIZ 215EL/ 1 PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
AIM OF THE Observation of the particle-like character of light (photons) and
EXPERIMENT determination of Planck’s constant via the photoelectric effect.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The photoelectric effect is described as the emission of electrons from the surface of a metal
being exposed to light. It was first observed by H. Hertz in 1887 during his experiments on
electromagnetic waves. In those experiments, it was seen that the duration of the spark in the
so-called secondary circuit depended on the (UV) radiation at the primary circuit. According
to this, if the (UV) emission in the primary was screened, the duration of the spark decreased;
and conversely, in the absence of screening, the duration was increased. Namely, (UV) radiation
in the primary circuit somehow generated electrons (photoelectrons) and these electrons were
causing the increase in the duration of the spark in the secondary circuit by increasing the
flow time of current in the circuit. This phenomenon is a result of an effect that was correctly
interpreted and explained later in 1905 by A. Einstein as the photoelectric effect (this won him
a Nobel prize; not his theories of relativity or other studies). Findings below were obtained by
Hertz and others who performed experiments in order to shed light on this phenomenon:

i Metal plate surfaces that are illuminated by visible or UV light emit electrons. These
surfaces do not emit positive ions.

ii It is necessary to exceed an energy threshold (or the corresponding light frequency) to

make these surfaces emit electrons. This threshold is called the “work function” of the
metal.

iii The energy of the electrons emitted depends on the frequency of the light, not on its
intensity.

iv Time period between the absorption of light and emission of electrons (∼ 10−9 s) is inde-
pendent of the frequency of the light used in the experiments.

Question 1 Taking into account the difference in the energy transferring mechanisms of a
particle and a wave to a particle, express which property of light explains the independence of
this time period from the frequency of the light.

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 Einstein’s paper explaining the photoelectric effect is one of the first applications of quantum
theory and became a milestone in the construction of this theory. Einstein thought of radiation
as a beam composed of particles with energies hf (quanta). Absorption of such a particle on
the surface of the metal transfers this energy to an electron. Part of this energy (hf ) is spent
for the detachment of the electron from the metal and the rest becomes the kinetic energy Ek
of this emitted electron.

Question 2 Which kind of metal is more suitable for obtaining a photoelectric current? (Hint:
You may answer by considering the electronic structure of the metals).

Question 3 Let the energy of the incoming photon be Ep and the threshold energy W . Express
the kinetic energy of the photoelectrons (Ek ) in terms of these energies.).

Question 4 According to (iii) above, the energy of the photoelectrons is related to the frequency
of the light used. Using the relation that you have found in Question 3 and assuming the threshold
energy to be 1eV , calculate the energies of the photoelectrons that would be generated by lights
of colors listed below (in eV ).

Light Color Yellow Green Blue Violet

Wavelength (nm) 587 532 485 425

Figure 1.1: Stopping potential applied to the photoelectrons

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Question 5 As seen in Figure 1, it is possible to stop the generated photoelectrons with a
counter potential U. What are the values of the potentials that are necessary to stop the photo-
electrons generated in Question 4 (for each of different colors used). If you plot the graph of these
values against the light frequency, the slope gives a universal constant. What is this universal
constant? It is also possible to determine the threshold energy from this graph. How would you
find it?

1.2 EXPERIMENT

Setup and Experiment

Figure 1.2: Experimental setup

Performing the Experiment

• Check if the setup of the experiment is correct by comparison with Figure 2.

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 • Turn on the mercury lamp and wait for a while to let it reach its maximum brightness. If
for some reason this lamp is turned off, it is necessary to let it cool down before turning it
on again. For this reason, you should not turn it off during the experiment.

• Adjust the maximum voltage in the potentiometer to 3.5 V using the power supply. Turn
on the current/voltage amplifier and the other voltmeter.

• A spectrum is obtained by making the light emitted by the mercury lamp pass through
the optical setup. The region of the spectrum that will impinge on the photocell is set
using the screw that moves the mechanism, and the corresponding current is read from
the voltmeter in terms of voltage.

• Stopping voltage is increased with the potentiometer until the photoelectric current van-
ishes. This will provide us with the energy of the photoelectrons.

• Repeat these steps for different colors.

• Adjust the potentiometer till the voltmeter reads zero voltage. Turn off all the equipment.

1.3 RESULTS

Data

Color
(frequency)
Stopping
Potential

Graphs and Calculations

• Plot the graph of the light frequency vs. stopping potential

• Determine the work function of the metal and more Planck’s constant from this graph.

1.4 DISCUSSION

Question 6 Imagine that a photon strikes an electron in the outer shell of an atom at the
surface of the metal and gets scattered. Obtain the following relation between the wavelengths of

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the incoming photon (of frequency f ) and the outgoing photon using conservation of momentum
and energy:

h
λincoming = λscattered + (1 − cos θ) (1.1)
me c

Here, h: Planck’s constant, c: speed of light, θ: angle between the incoming and the outgoing
photons. Would it be possible to observe a difference in frequencies of the incoming and scattered
photons if photons behaved like a wave?

Question 7 We know that the kinetic energies of photoelectrons depend only on the frequency
of the light. Then, what is the effect of the intensity of the light?

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 FIZ 215EL/ 2 MAXWELLIAN VELOCITY
DISTRIBUTION
AIM OF THE To determine the velocity distribution of particles by using
EXPERIMENT "Model gas" theory and to compare the experimental results
with the theory of Maxwellian velocity distribution.

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Suppose that we have a large number of gas molecules in a container. As long as the
temperature is kept constant and does not change over time, the average kinetic energy and
average square of velocity do not change with time. The movements of molecules are random
and unpredictable before. Maxwell has been analyzed the behavior of gas molecules at different
temperature to examine how many molecules moving at a certain speed at a given time. Maxwell
velocity distribution curves at a certain temperature provides information on the number of
particles moving at a certain speed.
Let’s take the example of a monatomic ideal gas. Obtaining the velocity probability distri-
−
→
bution dw(v) at the velocity range of |→
−
v | and |→
−
v + dv|, we use the Gibbs distribution:
 
E(⃗p, ⃗q)
ρ(⃗p, ⃗q) = A exp − (2.1)
kT

In the equation ρ(⃗p, ⃗q) is the probability distribution function (statistical weight), p and q are
generalized momentum and coordinate in phase space, E(⃗p, ⃗q) is total energy of particles sys-
tem, k is Boltzmann constant (1.386 · 10−23 J.K −1 ), T is absolute temperature and A is the
normalization constant.
The probability that depends on coordinates and momentum is given by;
 
E(⃗p, ⃗q)
dω(⃗p, ⃗q) = ρ(⃗p, ⃗q) · d⃗pd⃗q = A exp − d⃗pd⃗q (2.2)
kT

Total energy E(⃗p, ⃗q) is only the sum of kinetic and potential energies. The kinetic energies of
particles are only the function of momentum and velocities and the probability distribution of
velocities determines the dw(v).
 m

dω(⃗v ) = a exp − vx2 + vy2 + vz2 dvx dvy dvz (2.3)
2kT

where m is mass of particle (molecule) and a = (m/2πkT )3/2 . If we study dvx , dvy , dvz velocity

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coefficients in spherical coordinates, the unit volume becomes:

dvx dvy dvz = v 2 sin θdθdφdv. (2.4)

The probability distribution of velocities is given as eq. (2.5) by taking integral with respect to
angles:
 m 3/2  m 
dω(⃗v ) = 4π exp − v 2 v 2 dv (2.5)
2πkT 2kT
if the number of particles in unit volume V is N , the distribution of number of particles dN (v)
in the range of (v + dv) with respect to velocities is given by following equation:

N  m 3/2  m 
dN (v) = 4π exp − v 2 v 2 dv. (2.6)
V 2πkT 2kT

2.2 EXPERIMENT

Setup and Experiment

Figure 2.1: Maxwellian velocity distribution experimental setup.

The experiment apparatus comprises a 24-zone quarter circle for holding balls, a power
supply, test tubes, cables, a digital stroboscope, and a stopwatch.

Performing the Experiment

Step 1.

1. Set the frequency value of oscillator 50 s−1

2. Insert 400 glass balls into the oscillating apparatus.

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 3. Determine the number of glass balls pushed out the apparatus during 60 seconds by running
oscillator. This process is repeated 8 times and collect balls in 8 different tubes.

A1 = ......, A2 = ......, A3 = ......, A4 = ......, A5 = ......, A6 = ......, A7 = ......, A8 = ......

4. Calculate the average number of balls pushed from apparatus in 60 seconds.

Aaverage = ........

Step 2.

1. Place the average number of glass balls into 8 test tubes.

2. Make sure there are 400 glass balls in the oscillating apparatus before conducting the
experiment.

3. Adjust the height of upper piston 60 mm.

4. Check the oscillator frequency, it must be stable on 50 s−1

5. After seeing the oscillator frequency is constant, open the hole on apparatus so that balls
can leave.

6. Put the balls in 8 different tubes into the store with the interval of 60 second. (Total
experiment time was 9 minutes).

7. When the balls throws are completed in apparatus, a distribution will occur in 24 com-
partments of receiver. Determine the number of glass balls in each of the 24 compartments
of receiver by weighing. (The average mass of glass ball is m = 10.72 mg).

8. Alternatively, count the balls one by one, then write down the number of balls for each of
24 compartments.

Number of balls
1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8:

9: 10: 11: 12: 13: 14: 15: 16:

17: 18: 19: 20: 21: 22: 23: 24:

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2.3 RESULTS

Data, Graphs and Calculations

The average velocity of the particle (molecule) is given by the formula;

 1/2
3kT
v̄ = (2.7)
m

where m si mass of particle, T is absolute temperature and k is Boltzmann constant. We can

√
see from eq. (2.7), the average velocity si proportional to T . The direct determination of the
velocity of a certain molecule is impossible because it changes incessantly caused by collisions
with other molecules. For a great number of molecules one can derive a distribution function for
molecule velocities by means of statistical methods. This was done by Maxwell and Boltzmann
with the following result:
r  
dN (v) 2 m 3/2  m 
= exp − v 2 v 2 dv (2.8)
N π kT 2kT

This equation describes the probability that the velocity of a molecule is within the interval
(v + dv). For the velocity at the maximum vpr of the curve (velocity with highest probability)
the following relation can be derived:
  12
2kT
vpr = . (2.9)
m

Substituting eq. (2.9) into eq. (2.8), we obtain:

r  3/2
v2
 
dN (v) 2 2
= 2
exp − 2 v 2 dv. (2.10)
N π vpr vpr

This experiment is a model for eq. (2.10). Concerning the model experiment with glass balls
the velocity of the balls can be determined by means of the throw distances:
 g 1/2
v=s = K.s (2.11)
2h
where the height difference between outlet and receiver h = 60mm, the acceleration at the earth
surface g = 9.81m/s2 .
Now the experimental results (number of balls per throw distance interval) can be displayed

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graphically in the form:
N 1
Pi · = f (v). (2.12)
Ni ∆v
Ni the number of balls in the interval i, (i = 1, 2, ..23), ∆v is the velocity interval corresponding
to ∆s = 1 cm and ∆v = 0.078 m/s.

Figure 2.2: Experimental and theoretical velocity distribution in the model experiment.

Report

Please complete the tasks given below:

1. Draw the calculated data for Step 2. (fill the table at the end of step 2) using formula

N 1
Pi · = f (v). (2.13)
Ni ∆v

where ∆v = 0.078m/s for our setup, Ni is the amount of balls in the interval i (there are
24 intervals) and ΣNi is the sum of the balls.

2. Draw the graphic for the theoretical distribution formula

r  3/2
v2
 
2 2
2
exp − 2 v 2 dv (2.14)
π vpr vpr

where vpr ≡ vmax = (∆v times the number of the interval with the most amount of balls).
Cheat: v is your only parameter that changes.

3. Put these graphics together to compare the theory and the experiment. Cheat: Similar to
the figure (2.2)

4. Discuss the results.

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 FIZ 215EL/ 3 ELECTRON DIFFRACTION
In this experiment; wave-particle duality, which was first proposed
AIM OF THE by de Broglie, will be observed in electrons.
EXPERIMENT Interplanar spacings of the sample lattice will be calculated
by examining the interference pattern formed by the electrons
which are diffracted by the lattice structure

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Motivation

One of the fundamental and distinctive predictions of modern physics is the wave-particle
duality according to which particles display both wave and particle behavior. Equation (3.1)
below relates quantities characterizing these two different aspects of matter to each other, and
it is generally called “the de Broglie hypothesis”. In this equation, p is the momentum of the
particle, whereas λ is the wavelength of the wave describing the particle (h is the usual Planck
constant).
h
λ= . (3.1)
p
The main idea in this experiment is to show the validity of Equation (3.1), which implies the

wave particle duality, by observing the diffraction of electrons by a crystal lattice.

In general, for diffraction to occur, the wavelength of the wave should be of the same length
scale as the object involved. In our case, for the “electron wave” to be diffracted upon interaction
with the sample crystal (this sample is graphite), its wavelength should be of the same order of
magnitude with the separation distance of the families of planes (interplanar spacings) of the
lattice structure.

Question 1 Find an expression relating the momentum of the electron to the accelerating
potential (U ) applied. What are the interatomic distances that can be investigated using electron
beams accelerated through potential differences of 100V, 1kV and 2kV?

Waves that undergo diffraction through a given sample constructively interferes only along
some particular directions and consequently, interference peaks get observed only along these
same directions. In other directions, where destructive interference dominates, one can hardly
detect anything due to the vanishing of the wave intensity.

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Brief Introduction

Question 2 Waves that are diffracted by amorphous materials do not generate any interference
maxima (peaks). Research the reason of this phenomenon.

The directions along which diffracting waves interfere constructively are given by the Bragg’s
law. This law expresses the general fact that two waves will create constructive interference if
the distances traveled by each differ by an integer multiple of their (common) wavelength, in the
context of diffraction through crystals. One can easily deduce the mathematical expression for
this law using the figure below.

Figure 3.1: Quantities involved in Bragg’s law.

The path length difference of these two waves (symbolized in the figure with two parallel
lines carrying arrows on them) is given by |AB| + |BC|. The dots represent lattice atoms.

Figure 3.2: Electron diffraction by a polycrystalline graphite sample.

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Question 3 Show that the path length difference is given by 2d sin θ, where d is the distance
between the planes and θ is the angle of incidence of the waves. This gives left-hand side of
Bragg’s law given in (3.2). In (3.2), n is called diffraction order.

2d sin θ = nλ (3.2)

Question 4 Draw some of the planes of the simple cubic crystal lattice structure.

Bragg’s law is a simple algebraic relation and would easily provide us with correct results for a
crystal made up of many repetitions of the structure given in Figure 3.1; but in practice, it is very
difficult to obtain perfectly periodic macroscopic crystals consisting of a stack of microcrystals
with identical lattice structures and identical orientations (this latter type of structure is named
monocrystalline). During the growth of the crystal, there appear monocrystalline domains but
each with a different orientation and thus, at the end of the process one obtains a polycrystalline
structure. While waves being diffracted by a monocrystalline sample create an interference peak
along a single direction (line); waves that undergo diffraction through a polycrystalline sample
create interference maxima along multiple directions located on a cone emerging from the sample
(Figure 2). The latter is due to the existence of multiple families of planes that meet the Bragg
condition.
In our experiment, electrons emitted from the filament will first pass through the graphite
sample, be diffracted by it and traverse trajectories of different lengths before reaching the
screen; on which an interference pattern will form. We expect to see two distinct concentric
circles corresponding to two different interplanar spacings of graphite. One can use (3.3) to
calculate the values of these two spacings.

Figure 3.3: Electron diffraction by (left) a monocrystalline material (right) a polycrystalline

material.

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Question 5 Take the radius of the circle formed by the interference pattern for a polycrystalline
structure to be r and the distance between the sample and the screen to be L. Show that the
interplanar spacing d is given by (3.3).

Figure 3.4: Radius of the diffraction pattern.

(Hint: Let n = 1 and use the fact that the angle between the incoming and the emerging
beams is 2θ. Recall that cos 2θ = 1 − 2 sin θ2 .)
" √ #1/2
h 2 L2 + r 2
d= √ √
(3.3)
2 2em U L2 + r2 − L

3.2 EXPERIMENT

Setup and Experiment

Experimental setup is depicted below:

The filament that is used to generate the electrons, the tube in which the electrons are
accelerated, the sample and the fluorescent screen are all put in a high vacuum medium. The
spherical container made of glass has a radius of 6.5 cm, whereas the distance between the sample
and the center of the container is 7 cm. The diffraction of the electrons and the subsequent
interference both take place in this high vacuum environment.

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 Figure 3.5: Experimental setup.

Two different power supplies are used in the experiment: One (PS1) heats the filament to
generate free electrons and the other (PS2) provides the acceleration potential that speeds up
those electrons.

Performing the Experiment

1. Make the necessary connections as seen in Figure 3.5.

2. Adjust power supply PS1 to 6V and power supply PS2 to 2 kV.

3. Measure the radii of the two circles formed on the fluorescent screen.

4. Calculate the values of d corresponding to each of these two radii.

5. Repeat for acceleration potentials of 2.5kV and 3kV.

3.3 DISCUSSION

Question 6 Why do we observe only two maxima (two bright circles) on the screen? How can
we change the number of these maxima?

Question 7 We see pale and diffuse circles on the screen in addition to two bright ones. Why
are these formed?

Question 8 Explain the effect of (varying) the accelerating potential.

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 FIZ 215EL/ 4 DETERMINATION OF e/m
AIM OF THE To determine e/m (electronic charge/electron mass) based on
EXPERIMENT the trajectory of the electron in a magnetic field and to determine
based on the motion of charged oil drops in an electric field

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Motivation

To obtain electron beams, one can use electron guns, which mainly consist of a hot cathode,
an anode, a cage, and a tube. Basically, in an electron gun, electrons are released at the heated
cathode and then accelerated by the potential difference between the anode and the cathode.
The focusing of the beam is accomplished by the effect of the magnetic field generated by the
beam on the beam itself (“pinch effect”).

Question 1 How are the cathode beams formed? Research it.

Question 2 What is the motivation for the determination of the ratio e/m? What may have
been its significance for high-energy physics? Research.

Brief Introduction

Imagine that an electron beam, which is obtained by the way explained above, enters a region
containing low-pressure He (noble gas) with a speed of v. The moving electrons in that region
will collide with gas particles and excite them. These excited atoms emit light while they go
back to the ground state; hence, the trajectory of the electron beam becomes visible.
If a magnetic field B is applied perpendicularly to the direction of motion of the electrons,
they make a circular motion in the case where the gravitation can be ignored. The radius of
their trajectory will be:

mv
r= . (4.1)
eB

Question 3 Under which conditions can the gravitation be ignored? Estimate.

Question 4 Obtain equation (4.1) and explain why the electrons make a circular motion, by
considering the forces exerted on them.

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 If the electrons are accelerated by a potential U; using Eq. (4.1), the value of e/m can be
expressed by:

2U
(e/m) = . (4.2)
r2 B 2

Question 5 Obtain Eq. (4.2).

Figure 4.1: The motion of the electron in the tube, under the effect of a magnetic field.

In our experimental setup, the magnetic field B is supplied by two identical Helmholtz coils
that are placed on the same axis. The radii of the coils are 0.16 m and their coil turns are 175.
The coils are connected serially and they carry a DC current I. Consequently, the magnitude of
the magnetic field inside the region where the electron beam gets deflected is almost constant
and is given by the equation below:
     
8µ0 N I Wb Wb
B= √ , −7
µ0 = 4π · 10 , (4.3)
R 125 m2 A

where N and R are the coil turns and the radius, respectively.

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Question 5 Explain how a uniform magnetic field can be obtained by using a pair of Helmholtz
coils. Obtain Eq. (4.3).

4.2 EXPERIMENT

Setup and Experiment

Figure 4.2: Experimental setup.

The apparatus of the experiment is an electron beam tube, Helmholtz twin coils, power
supply, current supply (0 − 3A), and vernier calipers.

Performing the Experiment

• Adjust the filament potential (cathode potential) to 5V using the power supply.

• Wait about 3 minutes for the filament to warm up, then increase slowly the accelerating
potential (U ) to 180V . When the electron beam first appears, write down the value of the
accelerating potential and think about its significance.

• Obtain an intact electron beam by choosing a proper accelerating potential.

• Supply current to the Helmholtz coils. Its value should not be more than 2A.

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 • Determine the radius of the circular orbit by using the vernier caliper.

• Repeat the radius measurement for different current values of the coils.

4.3 RESULTS

Data, Graphs and Calculations

1. Make the relative error calculation by using Eq. (4.2).

Potential (U ) Current (I) Magnetic Field (B) Orbital radius (r) e/m ratio

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 FIZ 215EL/ 5 FRANCK–HERTZ EXPERIMENT
AIM OF THE To observe the discrete energy spectrum of atomic structure by
EXPERIMENT measuring the excitation and ionization energies of mercury

5.1 INTRODUCTION

Brief Introduction
As an introduction, we must mention the importance of the Franck-Hertz experiment in the
history of physics. The idea of quantization (observables having discrete spectra rather than
continuous ones) first appears in 1900 as an explanation for the properties of black body radi-
ation by Planck. The period between 1900 and 1924, during which physicists like Rutherford,
Thomson, and Bohr do research for an explanation of atomic structure by means of classi-
cal mechanics is called as “old quantum mechanics era” (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Bohr-Sommerfeld_quantization). Despite its shortcomings, the first successful atomic theory
is constructed by Bohr in 1913 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohr_model). Using (af-
terward) the so-called Bohr quantization condition, Bohr gave an explanation for the discreteness
of the energy levels observed in atomic spectra.
A new era in quantum mechanics begins with the hypothesis of de Broglie -in his PhD
thesis- in 1924 which states that the particles may have wavelike properties. Then physicists
like Schrödinger, Heisenberg, Born, and Dirac construct a new theory of quantum mechanics,
which is compatible with the experiments (See Sources of Quantum Mechanics – B.L. van der
Waerden QC174.12.W34 2007 in Mustafa İnan Library).
Motivation
In the FIZ 113 course, you are taught to use Newton’s laws in order to determine a point
particle’s trajectory. It is possible to know where the particle exactly will be at any mo-
ment, once you have solved its equation of motion (e.g. harmonic oscillator problem). As
the sizes and velocities are changed for the physical system under consideration, the physical
theories explaining its motion appear to change. For the first time, you will see in the Mod-
ern Physics course that atomic systems (individual atoms and interactions between them) and
subatomic systems (e.g. systems that are formed by electrons) need to be treated as quan-
tum systems, not classical. As a primitive example, think of a simple diatomic molecule.
Vibration about the equilibrium point of this system is very similar to the harmonic oscilla-
tor’s (truly any small oscillation about a stable point can be approached as harmonic oscil-
lation), but due to its small size, it needs to be described within quantum theory. If one

22
solves the related Schrödinger equation (with harmonic oscillator potential), she/he will come
up with the amazing discrete energy spectrum of the quantum harmonic oscillator, which is
radically different from the continuous energy spectrum of the classical harmonic oscillator
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_harmonic_oscillator).
Observed discrete energies which are not predicted by classical physics (classical harmonic
oscillator may have any amplitude, therefore any energy) needs to take place in the context of
a new theory (quantum mechanics).
Franck-Hertz experiment, which was realized in order to test the discrete energy levels of
atomic systems in 1914, verified the atom theory of Bohr. In the experiment it is observed
that the electron current passing through a mercury steam achieves some maximum and min-
imum values with gradually changing potential (this phenomenon can not be explained within
the framework of classical physics that predicts a linear proportionality in the voltage-current
diagram), which is a direct evidence of discrete energy levels.
Energy Levels: In Figure (5.1) symbolically, you can see the energy levels of a single atom.
Atoms can be excited to higher energy levels, namely they can undergo a transition. For this
example, the difference between the first and the second level is 91.8 eV and when this amount
of energy is transferred to the atom it will pass to the second level. Generally, this higher energy
state is not stable and the atom will radiate a photon of 91.8 eV , returning to the ground state.
If an energy of 122.4 eV is transferred to the atom, it will be ionized.

Figure 5.1: A symbolic representation of the energy levels of an atom.

There are two ways to excite an atom:

• Excitation by collision: Atoms can collide inelastically with other atoms or particles
like electrons, and kinetic energy transfer during this process leads to excitation.

23
 • Excitation by photon absorption: The absorption of a photon that has enough energy
to carry the atom to a higher energy level can excite the atom. As mentioned above, the
atom will not be stable at that level and will radiate a photon with an energy that matches
the energy difference between the two levels. For example, while returning from the first
excited state to the ground state, a hydrogen atom emits a photon with a wavelength of
121 nm. So, it is possible to excite a hydrogen atom to the first excited state only with a
photon having a wavelength of at least 121 nm.

Question 1 In the absorption spectrum of hydrogen, it is observed that the dark line splits a
little (called “fine structure”), instead of a single dark line. What will you see if you investigate
the emission spectrum instead of the absorption?

5.2 EXPERIMENT

Setup and Experiment

Let us observe the most important part of the setup, the Franck-Hertz (F-H) tube, and its
mechanism. As you see in Figure (5.2)a (see Figure (5.4)a for its photo), it is a coaxial tube
of cylindrical plates that are anode (A), first grid (G1), second grid (G2), and cathode (K)
in order. There is a filament at the center. In Figure 2, you will see the voltages between its
constituents. Inside the F-H tube, there is a little amount of liquid mercury that will be vaporized
during the experiment (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franck-Hertz_experiment and
the references therein).

Figure 5.2: (a) Schematic picture and (b) simplified cross section of the Franck-Hertz (F-H)
Tube.

24
 Physical processes that occur in the F-H tube briefly are:

• Electrons are emitted by thermionic emission from the filament that heats up due to the
Uf (UH ).

• Electrons that come to the cathode K are accelerated under the U1 potential and reach the
grid G1 . U1 is also called “selective potential”, as it determines how many electrons (how
much current) pass to the region between the grids

• Having passed through G1 , electrons are accelerated via U2 potential between G1 and G2
(in the experiment you will tune U2 ).

• If electrons that arrive at G2 have enough energy to overcome the stopping potential U3
(U3 is an inverse potential), they will reach the anode and contribute to the current.

During the experiment, inside the F-H tube, electrons and mercury atoms make elastic and
inelastic collisions between grids G1 and G2 . As soon as an electron has enough energy, for every
mean free path distance it travels, on average, it makes an inelastic collision with a mercury
atom and loses its energy by leading the mercury atom to be excited. Depending also on the
applied voltages U1 and U2 , inverse voltage U3 will not let all the electrons reach the anode.

Question 2 Define mean free path. For a system of mercury vapor, show that it can be
expressed as l = √2πnR
1
2 . Here, R0 is the radius of the mercury atom and n is the number of
0
atoms in a unit volume.

Question 3 Show that as a result of an elastic collision between an electron and a mercury
atom the ratio of the change in kinetic energy of the electron to the initial kinetic energy of it is
∆K
K0
≈ 4m elec
Mmerc
. Hint: Ignore the initial velocity of the mercury atom, and as Mmerc > melec , you
can assume that the electron will scatter with an angle of 1800 in the collision.

Question 4 Inspect the diagram of the energy levels of the mercury atom. Can an energy loss
like the one in the third question excite the mercury atom? Explain.

Question 5 Mercury atoms are excited and then they come back to their original level by
emitting a photon. At which wavelength interval do you expect to see radiation?

As U2 is increased (U1 is kept constant), electron current is expected to grow (as predicted by
classical physics). But at certain values of the potential, a drop in the current is observed instead
of an increase. This unexpected phenomenon is due to the discrete energy levels of the atoms
and the inelastic collisions between them and the electrons. Electrons lose energy and cannot

25
reach the anode because of these collisions. At some specific values of altered U2 , the energy
imparted to the electrons by the voltage coincides with one of the discrete energy differences of
the atom. At this potential, the electrons make inelastic collisions with atoms so that the latter
will be excited to the next energy level. Having lost some of its energy, the electron is not able
to overcome inverse potential U3 . Such a collective energy loss of electrons is observed as a drop
in current at this value of voltage.

Question 6 As U2 is increased (U1 is constant), what do you expect to see in the current-voltage
graph for the anode? (Do not draw a graph, give only a detailed explanation)

Question 7 The ideal temperature for this example is 185℃. Think of the possible effects that
you would come across if the temperature was above and below 185℃.

Question 8 In order to imagine the phenomena in an F-H tube, think of a simple system
composed of plates as drawn in Figure (5.3). Can a single electron reach the anode in this
construction? Take I = 2L and the excitation energy of the atom as 4 eV in your calculation.
Hint: You can start by finding the electric field in each interval and calculating the energy of the
electron with this information.

Figure 5.3: Graph of U(r).

26
Performing the Experiment

1. Measurement of the excitation potential of mercury atoms.

• Check the setup of the experiment and see if the connections between the components are
the same as in your lab sheet. If there is a problem, fix it. In the beginning, the battery
should not be inside its holder.

• Open the power supply of the oven and set the voltage to . . . , and wait for the temperature
inside the oven to come to . . . ℃. This temperature must be kept constant during the
experiment.

• The power supply and the voltmeter which is coupled to it are turned on. Adjustment
of the voltage between 0 − 30 V is accomplished using the potentiometer via this power
supply. When this process ends, the potentiometer is tuned to 0 V , and the power supply
and the voltmeter are turned off. Place the battery into its holder.

• Place the F-H tube inside the heated oven carefully. Turn on the two voltmeters, the
current-voltage amplifier, and the power supply; wait for a while until the filament of the
tube is heated.

• Observe the I values that correspond to various U2 potentials and draw the graph of
I = f (V ). Obtain the excitation voltage of mercury from this graph.

• Repeat this process for a different U1 .

• Same measurement can be repeated for different temperature values of the oven between
120 − 140.

• Compare your ionization voltage result with the wavelength (253.6 nm) of the emitted
photon corresponding to the transition from the first excited state to the ground state of
the mercury atom.

2. Measurement of the ionization energy

The current in a vacuum lamp that contains low-pressure gas is given by I = kV 3/2 . V is the
potential between the anode and the cathode, and k is a constant that depends on the structure
of the lamp and space charge density between the anode and the cathode. Increasing gradually
U2 from 0, upon reaching the ionization potential of the gas inside, the current that is formed by
ionization will not be compatible with the above formula. In the I 2/3 = f (V ) graph, the point
at which the graph begins to deviate from linearity gives the ionization potential.

27
• Eject the battery and interconnect the probes that are left bare.

• Measure the current-voltage values for each step of 2V increments and draw the 7I 2/3 =
f (V ) graph. Infer the ionization potential Vi from it.

• Repeat the last process with another value of the U1 cathode potential.

• After all the measurements are finished, take the F-H tube out of the oven and place it
into its box. Turn off all the apparatuses.

28
Figure 5.4: Setup of the experiment (a) Franck-Hertz tube and (b) circuit diagram.

29
 FIZ 215EL/ 6 ATOMIC SPECTRA
In this experiment, the optical spectrum lines of sodium atoms and
AIM OF THE some initially unknown substances will be observed by means of
EXPERIMENT diffraction. The wavelengths of various spectral lines will be
determined based on diffraction, the corresponding energy levels of
the atoms/molecules of the samples will be inferred and unknown
substances will be identified using this information.

6.1 INTRODUCTION

Motivation and Brief Introduction

The atomic structure consists of a nucleus and electrons located close to it. The locations of
the electrons are not completely random, but they are found in states corresponding to certain
discrete energy levels. These energy levels are called quantum levels and are characterized by an
integer number n (1, 2, 3, . . . ). The energy of an electron at the nth level is determined by the
following equation:

1
En = −Z 2 hcR , (6.1)
n2
Here, R and hcR are called the Rydberg constant and the Rydberg energy, respectively, and Z
is the atomic number of the atom under consideration.

Question 1 Draw the orbits of the electrons around the nucleus in classical theory with a simple
sketch. Again the classical picture, shows that the radii of the orbitals in a hydrogen atom are
quantized and estimate the ground state radius and energy of the hydrogen atom by using Bohr’s
quantization condition which tells that the angular momentum (L = mvr = nℏ) is quantized.

An electron in an excited state tends to go down when there is an empty quantum state with
lower energy, decreasing the total energy of the atom during this transition. This transition
releases energy and the atom emits a photon. Conversely, if an atom is excited by a certain
amount of energy, this energy is used by electrons to make a transition to higher energy levels.
This is called the excitation of the electron.

Question 2 What is a photon? What is the relationship between the energy and the wavelength
or the frequency of a photon?

30
Question 3 What is the minimum energy for an electron to make a transition to a higher
state? Give a few examples of ways to provide that energy (just the names).

Question 4 Imagine that an electron absorbs a photon and makes a transition from mth state
to nth state and also, another electron emits a photon and drops from nth state to mth state.
Write down the energy conservation equations for both cases not giving explicit expressions for
the terms involved.

Question 5 An electron emits a photon during a transition from state n to state m. Find an
expression relating the wavelength of the photon and the quantum numbers (n, m) of the states.

The non-random distribution of the electrons around the nucleus gives us information about
the atomic structure because of the characteristic energy levels for each atom. The atoms can
be characterized by the absorption and emission spectra.
In emission spectroscopy, electrons of the atoms are excited by one of the methods that you
explained in Question (3) and they emit photons on their way back to their lower energy states.
The energy of these photons can be measured and they give information about the atomic levels.

Question 6 Show emission spectrum “Lyman, Balmer ve Paschen transitions” of the hydrogen
atoms on a diagram.

Question 7 What is the wavelength interval of the visible region in the electromagnetic spec-
trum and which color corresponds to which wavelength in that region?

Question 8 What are the wavelengths corresponding to the fundamental transitions of sodium
atoms?

Question 9 What is the definition of resolution in spectroscopy? Make brief research on this.

Question 10 What is the function of the collimator in the experiment? What happens if we
do not use it?

6.2 EXPERIMENT

Setup and Experiment

• High-discharge lamps filled with low-pressure gases of sodium or unknown substances

31
• High-voltage power supply which can produce 5000 V approximately

• Spectrometer

• Diffraction grating

The apparatus of the experiment is shown in the figure below:

Figure 6.1: Apparatus of the experiment.

32
Performing the Experiment

Warning: The angle measurement must be done by at least two people. If the same person
does both determinations of the locations of the colors and measurement of the angles, this may
cause temporary visual disorder!

• Firstly, the focus adjustment of the ruler should be done: The illumination lamp should
be placed near the ruler and the ruler focus tuning screw should be released. The ruler
should be moved back and forth to focus and then the screw should be tightened again.

• The appearance of the fant should be neat in the spectroscope. For this purpose, the
illumination lamp should be placed in front of the fant and neatness should be effected
through the fant tuning screw while looking into the monocular.

• After the focus control, the sodium tube should be placed in front of the fant to calibrate
the system and 5000V voltage should be applied to the sodium tube, and the emission
is obtained. The colors of the spectral lines of the sodium atoms will be determined
on the scaled ruler. Therefore, the locations of the colors (meaning the corresponding
wavelengths) on the scaled ruler can be predicted and the d-space of the diffraction grade
can be estimated. In this way, the calibration of the system would be done.

• Now, an unknown atom or molecule can be examined in the device which is calibrated
with sodium. For this purpose, the tube consisting of the unknown atom or molecule must
be placed in the place of the sodium tube and 5000V voltage must be applied to the tube
to obtain the emission. The transition colors of the unknown atoms or molecules on the
scaled ruler can be predicted and the energy

• You would see that there will be certain transition color lines (scaled on the ruler) instead
of a continuous color spectrum at the visible region. After the center alignment, you will
see symmetric color lines at the left and right-hand sides. Write down the place of the
colors on the scaled ruler in the table below. Write all the values of the θright
0
and θleft
0
on
the right and left sides respectively. Consequently, you would find out the corresponding
wavelength of the colors and the energy levels of the gas in the tube.

• Do the same procedure for all the tubes and make a prediction for the gasses by using the
energy level values of the elements in the literature.

• You can use the resources below:

www.nist.gov, www.wolframalpha.com

33
6.3 RESULTS

Data

NOTE: Use the order of the table below for the sodium atom and the unknown atoms or
molecules.
0
|θright 0 |
−θleft
0 0
Colors θright θleft θ0 = 2
sin θ λ(A0 ) v(Hz) E(J) E(eV )

Figure 6.2: Example data values for some elements.

• In the report, calculate all wavelengths in Angstrom for each color that its data has given

• Use the formula below in the calculations

 0 0
θright − θleft

λ = d sin (6.2)
2

Take d = 17 × 103 Å

Question 11 Estimate the energies of the emission spectrum of a hydrogen atom in eV and
draw it on a scaled bar by using your observation of the wavelengths.

34
Question 12 You will see that the energy values you estimated in question 11 would be a few
electronvolts. Namely, a few voltages will be enough to excite 1 electron of the hydrogen atom.
Nevertheless, we applied very high voltage to have the emission spectrum of, for example, the
sodium gas in the experiment. Think about the reasons and write down your comment on your
report.

Question 13 Find the effect of the fant on the resolution by changing the width of the fant
space. If we accept that there would be a color between red and yellow, how should the width of
the fant be to see that color, big or small?

35
7 APPENDIX

7.1 Examples of Python Codes

1 import math
2

3 import numpy as np
4 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
5 #from scipy.optimize import curve_fit
6

7 #Photo Electric***********
8

9 f=[4.9*10**14,5.7*10**14,5.9*10**14,6.5*10**14,7.4*10**14]
10 U=[0.56,0.84,0.93,0.99,1.45]
11 ff=np.polyfit(f,U,1)
12 plt.figure("Photo-electric")
13 plt.scatter(f,U)
14

15 x=np.linspace(0,10*10**14,1000)
16 y=ff[1]+ff[0]*x
17 plt.plot(x,y)
18 print("Plank's constant is= ",ff[0])
19

Figure 7.1: Outcome of the above python code

36
1 #***Maxwell***
2

3 import math
4

5 import numpy as np
6 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
7 #from scipy.optimize import curve_fit
8

9 dv=0.099
10 v=[i*dv for i in range(24)]
11 n=[0,1,2,12,9,17,14,9,6,8,3,8,5,0,2,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0]
12 fp=(n/np.sum(n))*(1/dv)
13 plt.figure("Maxwellian Velocity Distribution")
14 plt.scatter(v,fp)
15

16

17 vmax=dv*6
18 x=np.linspace(0,2,1000)
19 y=np.sqrt(2/math.pi)*(2/vmax**2)**(3/2)*math.e**(-x**2/vmax**2)*x**2
20 plt.plot(x,y)
21

Figure 7.2: Outcome of the above python code

37