HYSICS

By Himanshu Mishra
 07
ALTERNATING CURRENT
AC VOLTAGE APPLIED TO A RESISTOR

→ Figure shows a resistor connected to a source ε of ac voltage.

→ We consider a source which produces sinusoidally varying potential difference across its terminals.
→ Let this potential difference, also called ac voltage, be given by
𝑣 = 𝑣𝑚 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜔𝑡

→ To find the value of current through the resistor, we apply Kirchhoff’s loop rule ∑ε( t) = 0

→ Note, in particular that both v and i reach zero, minimum and maximum values at the same time.
→ Clearly, the voltage and current are in phase with e ach other.

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 → the sum of the instantaneous current values over one complete cycle is zero, and the average current is zero.
The fact that the average current is zero, however, does not mean that the average power consumed is zero and
that there is no dissipation of electrical energy.
→ As you know, Joule heating is given by I 2R and depends on I 2 (which is always positive whether I is positive or
negative) and not on I.
→ The instantaneous power dissipated in the resistor is,

→ The average value of p over a cycle is,

→ To express ac power in the same form as dc power (P = I2R), a special value of current is defined and used.
→ It is called, root mean square (rms) or effective current and is denoted By Irm s or I.

→ It is customary to measure and specify rms values for ac quantities. For example, the household line voltage of
220 V is an rms value with a peak voltage of,

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 REPRESENTATION OF AC CURRENT AND VOLTAGE BY ROTATING VECTORS — PHASORS

Relation between phasor and sinusoidal representation of the function with respect to time

→ The analysis of an ac circuit is by using a phasor diagram. A phasor is a vector which rotates the origin with
angular speed ω, as shown in the fig given above.
→ The vertical components of phasors i and v represent the sinusoidally varying quantities v and i. The magnitudes
of phasors I and V represent the amplitudes or the peak values im and vm of these oscillating quantities.
→ The projection of voltage and current phasors on vertical axis,
→ i.e., Im sinωt and Vm sinωt respectively represent the value of current and voltage at that instant.

AC VOLTAGE APPLIED TO AN INDUCTOR

→ Figure shows an ac source connected to an inductor. Usually, inductors have appreciable resistance in their
windings, but we shall assume that this inductor has negligible resistance. Thus, the circuit is a purely inductive
ac circuit. Let the voltage across the source be v = Vm sinω t. Using the Kirchhoff’s loop rule,

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 → The dimension of inductive reactance is the same as that of resistance and its SI unit is ohm (Ω). The inductive
reactance limits the current in a purely inductive circuit in the same way as the resistance limits the current in a
purely resistive circuit.
→ The inductive reactance is directly proportional to the inductance and to the frequency of the current. A
comparison of source voltage and the current in an inductor shows that the current lags the voltage by π/2 or
one-quarter (1/4) cycle.

→ The instantaneous power supplied to the inductor is,

→ So, the average power over a complete cycle is

→ since the average of sin (2ωt) over a complete cycle is zero. Thus, the average power supplied to an inductor
over one complete cycle is zero.

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 AC VOLTAGE APPLIED TO CAPACITOR

→ Consider a capacitor of capacitance C connect to an ac voltage v= v˳ Sinωt. When a capacitor is connected to an

ac source, it limits or regulates the current but does not completely limit the flow of charged. The capacitor Is
repeatedly charged and discharged as the current reverses’ direction everyHalf cycle.
→ Let q be the charge on a capacitor at a time t. the instantaneous Voltage v across the capacitor will be-

Comparing i˳= v˳/R for a purely resistive circuit, we find that 1/ωC plays the role of resistance. It limits the
magnitudeof current in a purely capacitive circuit just like resistance limits the value of current in a purely
resistive circuit
- SI unit- Ohm (Ω)

Phasor
Comparing the expression for voltage and current for a purely capacitive circuit we see those current leads voltage
byπ/2 or by ¼ th of a period

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 → The instantaneous value of power supplied to a capacitor,

→ So, as in the case of an inductor, the average power,

AC VOLTAGE APPLIED TO A SERIES LCR CIRCUIT

→ Figure shows a series LCR circuit connected to an ac source ε. As usual, we take the voltage of the source to be
v = vm sin ωt. A series LCR circuit connected to an ac source.
→ If q is the charge on the capacitor and i the current, at time t, we have, from Kirchhoff’s loop rule:

Phasor-Diagram Solution

→ To calculate the current i in the circuit let us take help of the phasors. Since all 3 components L, C, R are in series
the current through all of them will be same.
→ In the phasor diagram let this current be represented by Im. let voltage across R, C and L be VR, VC, VL respectively
and net voltage be Vm. We know that for a resistor current is in phase withvoltage, for a capacitor current leads
by π/2 and for an inductor, current lags by π/2.

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 (Leads) (Lags)

(Lags) (Leads)

Same Phase

(Where φ Is phase diff between voltage and current)

Impedance (Z)
We define a quantity called impedance in an ac circuit which is analogous to resistance in a dc circuit| SI unit- Ohm

• If Xc > XL, φ is positive and the circuit is predominantly capacitive.

• If Xc <XL ,φ is negative and the circuit is predominantly inductive.

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 Disadvantages of using Phasors-
1. The phasor diagram gives nothing about the initial condition
2. The solution obtained is called the steady state solution and it is not a general solution
3. We have a transient solution which exists for v= 0. The general solution is the sum of the transient
solutionand the steady state solution. After sufficiently long time, the effects of the transient
solution die out andonly the steady state solution defines the circuit.

Choke coil
A choke coil (inductor) is a device which is kept in series with a fluorescent tube light so that it provides
the requiredpotential across the coil without consuming any energy.

Choke coil

Resonance

→ The phenomenon of resonance is a characteristic of systems which have a tendency to oscillate at a

particular frequency. This frequency is called the system’s natural frequency.
→ If such a system is driven by an external energysource at a frequency almost equal to the system’s
natural frequency, then the amplitude of oscillation becomes very large.
→ Consider an RLC circuit with amplitude of voltage= v˳ and frequency ω. The current in the circuit can

be written as-
So, if ω is varied, then at a particular frequency (ω˳), XC = XL , impedance will be minimum-

This frequency is called the resonant frequency

At resonant frequency, the current amplitude is maximum-

Uses of resonance in LCR circuit

Tuning of radio set or TV- to hear the signal from particular station, we need to tune the radio for which
we vary thecapacitance of a capacitor such that the resonant frequency of the circuit becomes almost equal
to the frequency of the radio signal received. When this happens, the amplitude of the current with the
frequency of the signal becomesmaximum.

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 SHARPNESS OF RESONANCE

→ The amplitude of current in the series LCR circuit is given by-

→ We know that it is maximum for ω=ω˳= and the maximum value is-

→ For values other than ω˳, the amplitude of current is less than the maxm value. Consider a value for ω
at which theamplitude becomes 1/√2 times the max value.
→ At this value, the power dissipated becomes half .
From the graph above, we see that there are two such values for ω. Let them be ω1 and ω2 –

Bandwidth of the circuit

The difference ω1 - ω2 = 2Δω is called the bandwidth of the circuit.

The quantity ω˳/2Δω is called the sharpness. The smaller the value of Δω, the sharper or narrower is the
resonance.We know that the relation b/w Im for ω1 and Im for ω˳ is as follows-

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 Therefore, sharpness of resonance is given by-

The ratio ω˳L/R is called the quality factor of the circuit

We see that-

So, larger the value of Q, the smaller the value of 2Δω or the bandwidth of the circuit and sharper is the
resonance.

Using ω˳2 = 1/LC we get-

Power in an AC circuit: Power factor

→ Consider a series RLC circuit with a voltage source v=vmSinωt. Let current in the circuit be i=imSin(ωt+ɸ).
We know-

Therefore, the instantaneous power supplied by the source is-

Average power-
The average of the time dependent term in one complete cycle will be 0 hence the average power-

Where Cos ɸ is the power factor of the circuit.

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 Case(i): Resistive circuit- If the circuit contains only pure R, it is called resistive. For such
a circuit-therefore, there is maximum power dissipation.

Case (ii) Purely inductive or capacitive circuit- If the circuit contains only a capacitor or an inductor, the
phase difference is π/2. Therefore, cosɸ=0 i.e. no power is dissipated even though a current flows. This
is called Wattlesscurrent.

Case(iii)- LCR series circuit- In series LCR circuit power is given by –

So ɸ may be non 0 is RLC, RL or RC circuits. Even here, power is dissipated only across R.

Case (iv): Power dissipated at resonance- maximum power is dissipated (through R ) at resonance

LC OSCILLATIONS

→ We know that a capacitor and inductor can store electrical and magnetic energy respectively.
→ Consider a capacitor C, initially charged(qm), connectedto an inductor L.
→ As the circuit is completed, current begins to grow in the circuit and the charge on the capacitor decreases. Let q
and i be the charge on the capacitor and the current in the circuit resp. Using Lenz law and

Kirchhoff’s loop law-

We can write i= -dq/dt (as q decreases, i increases) therefore,

Comparing this equation with that of a simple harmonic motion-

We see that the charge is oscillating and the natural frequency of

oscillation is-Further, we can also deduce that charge varies time as-

Where q˳ is the amplitude/ maxm value of charge and ɸ is phase constant. For the case given above,
q=qm @ t=0 ,ɸ=0 so-

For current-

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 Note: Since circuit has no dissipative element, total energy remains constant

Visualization of LC oscillations
1. At t=0, the charge on capacitor is q˳ and the current in the circuit is 0. Hence, there is no energy
stored in theinductor and the total energy of the circuit is the electrical energy stored in the
capacitor-

2. When the switch is closed, current starts growing in the circuit, the charge on the capacitor and
hence the electrical energy starts decreasing and then some energy gets stored as magnetic
energy in the inductor. Ifat time t current is I then the magnetic energy-

3. At time t= T/4, current reaches its maximum value i˳, all the energy is stored as magnetic energy and the
capacitor has no charge and no energy.
4. As the current continues to flow, it again starts charging the capacitor. This process
continues till thecapacitor is again fully charged at t=T/2 but in the opposite polarity.
5. This whole process repeats itself till the system is reverted to its original state. Thus, the
energy oscillatesbetween the capacitor and inductor

This oscillation can be compared to that of a block connected to a spring-

Here ω˳= √k/m where k is the spring constant. Comparing the two equations, we see that L is analogous to mass
‘m’.
L is a measure of resistance to change in current in
the circuit.For an LC circuit-

And for a spring-

So, 1/C is analogous to k. the constant k= F/x tells us the force

required to produce unit displacement similarly, 1/C=v/q tells
us the potential difference required to store unit charge

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 → It is a device used to step up or step-down alternating voltage
TRANSFORMER

Principle- mutual induction

Construction- A transformer consists of two sets of coils insulated from each other. They are wound over
a soft ironcore either on top of each other or on separate limbs of the core. One of the coils, known as the
primary coil has N1 turns and the other coil, called secondary coil has N2 turns. Usually, primary coil is for
input and secondary coil is foroutput.

Working- When an alternating current is passed through the primary coil, an alternating magnetic flux is
induced inthe coil. Through mutual induction, the alternating emf in the primary coil sets up an
alternating emf and hence alternating current in the secondary coil. We assume that the coils have no
resistance and entire flux of the primarycoil is linked with the secondary coil i.e. there is no flux leakage.
According to Faraday’s laws, the emf induced in N1 turns of the primary coil-

Similarly, the emf induced in N2 turns of the secondary coil-

Assuming ε1=V1 and ε2=V2 where V1 and V2 are the potential across primary and secondary coil respectively

Dividing both we get-

Now assuming that there is no

power loss-Power at primary =
power at secondary

Where I1 and I2 are currents in primary and secondary coils respectively. Therefore,

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 Assumptions made-
1. The primary resistance the current is small
2. Entire flux of primary coil is linked with the secondary coil i.e. there is no flux leakage
3. The secondary current is small

Types of transformers-
1. Step-up transformer
if the number of turns of secondary coil is more than that of the primary coil i.e. N1<N2, we can see
that V2>V1.Such a transformer is called a step-up transformer

2. Step-down transformer
If number of turns of primary coil is more than that of the secondary coil i.e. N1>N2, we can see
that V2<V1.Such a transformer is called step down transformer

Energy losses in transformers/ factors affecting efficiency of a transformer

1. Flux leakage- The complete flux of primary and secondary coil cannot be linked. There are
always someleakages. It can be reduced by winding the coils over one another.
2. Resistance of the windings- The windings have some resistance which causes loss of energy in the
form of heat.They are minimized by using thick wires
3. Eddy currents- The alternating emf induces eddy currents and causes loss of energy as heat
4. Hysteresis- The magnetization of core is continuously reversed by alternating magnetic field which
causes loss ofenergy due to hysteresis. It can be reduced by using materials of low hysteresis loss.

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 08
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES
→ We have learnt that an electric current produces magnetic field and a magnetic field changing with time
gives rise to an electric field. This brought together the phenomena of electricity and magnetism into a
coherent and unified theory. After this discovery, Maxwell in 1865, pointed out that a change in either
electric or magnetic field with time produces the other field.
→ From this Maxwell concluded that variation of electric and magnetic field vectors perpendicular to each
other leads to the production of electromagnetic disturbances in space. These disturbances displayed
properties of waves and can travel in space even without any material medium. These waves are called
electromagnetic waves.
→ Maxwell also concluded that electromagnetic waves are transverse in nature and that light is an
electromagnetic wave. In this chapter, we will study characteristics of these waves and electromagnetic
spectrum followed by the concept of displacement current and Maxwell’s equations.

DISPLACEMENT CURRENT

The current produced due to changing electric field (electric displacement) is called
displacement current. Consider a capacitor C. Let us observe the process of charging the

capacitor and apply Ampere’s Circuital Law –

To find the field at a point P just outside the capacitor, consider a plane circular loop of
radius r with its plane perpendicular to the direction of the current carrying wire. From
symmetry we can say that the field is directed along the circumference of the loop and is
of the same magnitude at all points. Therefore-

Now consider another surface with the same boundary and a pot like surface and has its

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 bottom between the plates of the capacitor (fig i) and another surface like a tiffin box (fig ii) (all
three are of the same perimeter). Applying ACL to them, we find that the left side of the
equation has not changed but the right side becomes 0 as no current passes through the
surface. Therefore, we conclude a term must be missing from ACL.
to find this missing term, consider the electric field passing between the two plates. Let the
charge on the plates be Q, Area A then the magnitude of field between the fields-

The flux through surface-

Now if there is any current through the surface of the capacitors, it can be written as i= dQ/dt

This is the missing term in Ampere’s circuital law and is called the displacement current (ID)

Note:
1. The total current carried by conductors due to flow of charges is called the conduction current (ic)
2. Thus Maxwell concluded that the source of magnetic field is not just the conduction current
but also the rate of change of electric field w.r.t. time. I.e. the total current is the sum of
conduction current and displacement current.

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 Sources of EMW

→ A charge oscillating harmonically is a source of EM waves of same frequency.

→ Electromagnetic waves are produced when high speed electron enters into target of high atomic weight.
→ Electromagnetic waves are produced during de-excitation of nucleus in radioactivity.
→ An electron in a stationary orbit orbiting around its nucleus does not emit EM waves. But during
transition from higher energy orbit to lower energy orbit, it emits EM waves.

Nature of Electromagnetic waves

→ Electric and magnetic fields in an EM wave are perpendicular to each other and to the direction of
propagation.
→ The electric and magnetic fields oscillate in phase with each other and the direction of energy transfer
(velocity of wave) is given by E × B.
→ Consider an em wave travelling in the z direction. The electric field Ex is along the x axis and magnetic
field By isalong the y axis. The electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular to each other and to the
direction of propagation. We can write Ex and By as-
Ex = E˳ Sin(kz-ωt)
By = B˳ Sin(kz-ωt)

Where k is the wave number and is given by-

And ω is the angular frequency of the wave. The speed of propagation of the wave is given by-

Also, from maxwell’s equations, we can conclude that-

Note:

Velocity of EM wave in any medium-

i.e. the speed of em wave does not depend on the electric and magnetic field but on the
electric and magnetic properties of the medium.
The great technological importance of electromagnetic waves stems from their capability to carry
energy from one place to another. The radio and TV signals from broadcasting stations carry energy.

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 Properties of Electromagnetic waves

1. Electromagnetic waves do not require a material medium to propagate- no material

medium is involved in vibration of electric and magnetic fields.

Note: Scientists in the 19th century thought that there must some material medium present in
all space and matterfor EM waves to propagate. They called this medium Ether. This theory
was disproved by the experiment of Michelson and Morley.
2. Electromagnetic waves can be polarized
3. The speed of EM waves in free space or vacuum is a fundamental constant. C= 3 × 108 m/s
4. Electromagnetic waves carry energy and momentum- Since EM waves contain both Electric
and Magnetic fields therefore, there is a non-zero energy density associated with them.
Consider a plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation. All the charges in this plane
will be set in sustained motion due to the electric and magnetic field. the charges thus
acquire momentum and energy from the wave.
If the total energy transferred to a surface is U in time t, it can be shown that the magnitude of total
momentum
(p) delivered to this surface (for complete absorption) is-
5. Electromagnetic waves exert pressure- Since the waves carry momentum, they also exert
pressure. This is called radiation pressure.

Note: Intensity of wave-

Electromagnetic Spectrum

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 Radio waves
→ These waves were first predicted by James Clerk Maxwell. Radio waves are produced due to oscillating
charge particles between plates of capacitor in L-C circuit. Uses of radio waves are given below
(i) These are used in AM (Amplitude Modulation) from 530 kHz to 1710 kHz. These are also used in
ground wave propagation.
(ii) These are used in TV waves ranging from 54 MHz to 890 MHz
(iii) These are used in FM (Frequency Modulation) ranging from 88 MHz to 108 MHz
(iv) UHF (Ultra High Frequency) waves are used in cellular phones.

Microwaves
→ These waves were also predicted by James Clerk Maxwell. Microwaves are called short wavelength
radio waves which are produced by vacuum tubes. Uses of microwaves are given below
(i) These are used in RADAR systems for aircraft navigation.
(ii) These are used in microwave oven for cooking purpose.
(iii) These are used in the study of atomic and molecular structures.
(iv) These are used to measure the speed of vehicle, speed of cricket ball, etc.

Infrared waves
→ These waves were discovered by Herschel. Infrared waves are also called heat waves. These waves are
produced by heat radiating bodies and molecules. They have high penetration power. Uses of infrared
waves are given below
(i) These are used in heat therapy to heat muscular pain or sprain.
(ii) These are used in satellite for army purpose.
(iii) These are used in weather forecasting.
(iv) These are used for producing dehydrated fruits.
(v) These are used in solar water heater, solar cells and cooker.
(vi) These are used in TV remote as signal carrier.
(vii) These are used in night vision or infrared photography

Visible rays
→ These rays were discovered by Sir Isaac Newton. It is that part of spectrum which is visible by human
eye. Visible rays are used by the optical organs of humans and animals for three primary purposes given
below
(i) To see things, avoid bumping from them and escape danger.
(ii) To find stuff to eat.
(iii) To find other living things with which to consort, so as to prolong the species.

Ultraviolet rays
→ These rays were discovered by Johann Ritter in 1801. UV-rays are produced by special lamps and very
hot bodies. The sun is an important source of UV-rays but fortunately these rays are absorbed by ozone
layer. Uses of ultraviolet rays are given below
(i) These are used in burglar alarm.
(ii) These are used to study molecular structure and in detection of invisible writing.

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 (iii) These are used to kill germs in minerals.
(iv) These are used to sterilise surgical instruments.

X-rays
→ These rays were discovered by German professor Roentgen. Uses of X-rays are given below
(i) These are used in surgery to detect the fracture, diseased organs, stones in the body.
(ii) These are used in engineering to detect fault, crack on bridges, testing of welds.
(iii) These are used at metro station to detect metal or explosive material.
(iv) These are used in scientific research.

Gamma rays
→ These rays were discovered by Rutherford. They have high penetration power. Uses of gamma rays are
given below
(i) These are used to produce nuclear reaction.
(ii) These are used in radiotherapy for the treatment of tumour and cancer.
(iii) These are used in food industry to kill pathogenic microorganism.
(iv) These are used to provide valuable information about the structure of atomic nucleus.

Ramlal & Mangilal Invaded Venus Using X-ray Guns

lowest to highest frequency
radio waves > microwaves > infrared light > visible light > ultraviolet light > x-rays > gamma
rays.
lowest to highest wavelength
Gamma rays < X Rays < UV Rays < Infrared Rays < Microwaves < Radiowaves

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 06
WAVE OPTICS
The ray optics uses the geometry of straight lines to explain the macroscopic phenomena like
rectilinear propagation of light, reflection of light and refraction of light, etc.
However, the microscopic phenomena like interference, diffraction and polarisation could not be
accounted by ray optics. To explain these phenomena concept of waves was introduced.
The new branch of physics based on the wave concept of light was called wave optics.
According to wave theory of light, light is a form of energy which travels through a medium in the form
of transverse wave motion.

Newton’s corpuscular theory of light

In 1675 AD Newton proposed this theory. According to him,

(i) Light consists of tiny particles called corpuscles which are emitted by a luminous object.
(ii) These corpuscles travel with speed of light in all directions.
(iii) The corpuscles carry energy and momentum with them. When they strike retina of the eye, they
produce sensation of vision.
(iv) The corpuscles of different colours are of different sizes. Red coloured corpuscles are larger than
blue coloured corpuscles.
(v) The corpuscular theory could explain the reflection, refraction and rectilinear propagation of light
but could not explain interference, diffraction and polarisation of light.
(vi) According to this theory, speed of light in denser medium is more than speed of light in a rarer
medium, which is incorrect. Therefore, the Newton’s corpuscular theory is wrong.

Huygens’ wave theory of light

In 1678, a Dutch scientist, Christian Huygens’ propounded the wave theory of light. According to him,
I. Light travels in the form of waves.
II. These waves travel in all the directions with the velocity of light.
III. The waves of light of different colours have different wavelengths.

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 IV. Initially, the light waves were assumed to be longitudinal. But later on while explaining the
phenomenon of polarisation, the light waves were considered to be transverse.
V. The whole universe with all matter and space is filled with a luminiferous medium called ether, of
very low density and very high elasticity.
VI. Huygen’s theory could explain reflection, refraction, interference, diffraction, polarisation but
could not explain photoelectric effect and Compton’s effect.
VII. Wave theory introduced the concept of wavefront.

Wavefront
A wavefront is the locus of points (wavelets) having the same phase (a surface of constant phase) of oscillations. A
wavelet is the point of disturbance due to propagation of light. A line perpendicular to a wavefront is called a ray.

Types of wavefront
Depending on the shape of source of light, wavefronts can be of three types which are given below

1) Spherical wavefront: When light is emerging from a point source wavefronts are spherical and
concentric with point source at their centre as shown in figure by spheres. Rays are radial as
shown by arrows.

2) Cylindrical wavefront: When the source of light is linear, e.g. a straight-line source as shown in
figure. All the points are equidistant from the source. Therefore wavefronts 1, 2 and 3 are cylindrical
and co-axial with the source as their common axis.

3) Plane wavefrontWhen light sources are emitting parallel rays, or when the light is coming from a very far-off
source wavefronts will be planes as shown in figure.

Point source- spherical wavefront

Line source- cylindrical wavefront
Plane source- planar wavefront

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 Huygens’ Principle
→ Each point of the wavefront is a source of a secondary disturbance and the wave emanating from these
points spread out in all directions with the speed of the wave.
→ These wavelets emanating from the wavefront are usually referred to as secondary wavelets and if we
draw a common tangent to all these spheres, we obtain the new position of the wavefront at a later
time.
→ Thus, if we know the shape of the wavefront at say time t=0 and wish to determine its shape at a later
time t=τ, we draw spheres of radius vτ (where v is speed of the wave) from each point on the wavefront.
→ We then draw a common tangent to all these spheres and we obtai n the new wavefront at t= τ

Drawbacks of Huygens’ Principle-

To explain the absence of a back wave, Huygens’ argued that the amplitude of the wave is maximum in the
forward direction and zero in the backward direction. But this explanation was not satisfactory.

Refraction and Reflection of Plane waves using Huygens’ Principle

Refraction of plane wave (at a denser medium)
Let PP’ represent the surface separating medium 1 and 2 (medium 2 is denser). Let v1 and v2
be the speed of light in medium 1 and 2 respectively. We assume a plane wavefront AB
propagating in the direction AA’ incident on the interface at an angle i. let τ be the time taken
by wavefront to travel the distance BC.
From the figure, we can write

Dividing both

From the above equation, we get that if i>r, i.e. the ray bends towards the normal, the speed of
light in the second medium will be less than that inn the first medium i.e. v1>v2. Let c be speed
of light in vacuum-

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 They are known as refractive indices of medium 1 and 2 respectively. We can write-

This is called Snell’s law of refraction. If λ1 and λ2 are the wavelengths of light in the first and second medium,
and if in the fig. BC = λ1, then, the distance AE will be equal to λ2, this is because if the crest has reached C from
B in time τ, then the crest from A should also reach E in the same time (as they are oscillating in the same

phase). Thus,

This implies that when a wave gets refracted into a denser medium-

1. Wavelength and speed of propagation decreases

2. Frequency remains the same

Refraction at a rarer medium

Consider a light wave going from a denser medium to a rare medium. The ray bends away from the
normal i.e. r > i. The speed of light in medium 1 is greater than that in medium 2 i.e. v1<v2. However,

we still have the following equation-

We define the angle ic by the following equation-

Thus, if i=ic then sin r = 1 and r=90°. For i>ic, there will be no refracted wave. The angle ic is known as
critical angle. For all angles of refractions greater than the critical angle, we will not have any refracted
and the wave will undergo what is known as total internal reflection.

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 Reflection of a wave by a plane surface
Consider a plane wave AB incident at an angle i on a reflecting surface MN. If v represents the
speed of the wave in the medium and if τ represents the time taken by the wavefront to
advance from the point B to C then-

To draw the reflected wavefront, draw a sphere of radius vτ from A. let CE be the tangent plane drawn
from the point C to this sphere-

Behavior of Prims, lenses and mirrors

Prism- since speed of light is less in glass, the lower portion of the
wavefront which coming from the thickest part of the prism will get delayed as
shown.

Convex lens- the center portion of the incoming wavefront has to pass through
the thickest portion and gets delayed the most. Emerging wavefront has a
depression at the center and therefore the wavefront becomes spherical and converges to the point
F which is called the focus.

Concave mirror- when a plane wave is incident on a concave mirror, on

reflection We have a spherical wave which converges to the focal point F.

The Doppler effects

→ When the source moves away from the observer, frequency as measured by the source will be
smaller.
→ This is known as Doppler effect. This is because if the source moves away from an observer, the
wavefronts have to travel a greater distance to reach the observer and hence take a longer time and

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 the time taken between the arrival of successive wavefronts is hence longer at the observer than at
the source.
→ Red shift- The increase in wavelength due to doppler effect is called red shift since a wavelength
towards the middle of the spectrum moves towards the red end of the spectrum.
→ Blue shift- If waves are received from an observer moving towards the observer, the apparent
decrease in wavelength is referred to as blue shift.

For velocities very small as compared to the speed of light in vacuum (c), the fractional change in the frequency
is given by –

Where vradial is the component of source velocity along the line joining the source and the observer.
Sign convention- v is taken as +ve when the source approaches the observer and -ve when the source moves
away from the observer

Coherent and Incoherent addition of waves

→ Coherent sources- Two sources having same wavelength, frequency and a constant phase
difference are coherent in nature. Their amplitudes may be different.
→ Incoherent sources- Two sources of light which do not emit light waves with a constant phase
difference are called incoherent sources.
1. If the two sources are incoherent
If they are incoherent, the phase difference between them will be a function of time {f(t)}.
So, we calculate the average intensity-

(Since the phase difference will vary with time and we know average of cosine
over a cycle is zero)
Therefore, the average intensity at a point will just be the arithmetic sum of the intensities of the
two waves. For e.g. when two light bulbs light up a wall

2. If the sources are coherent

The net intensity-

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 Note: Consider two waves having phase difference Δɸ and path difference Δx-

Where λ is the wavelength of the wave.

Interference of light wave

(i) Constructive interference When the two waves meet in same phase, i.e. the intensity of light is
maximum, is called the constructive interference.

(ii) Destructive interference When the two waves meet in opposite phase, i.e. the intensity of light is
minimum is called the destructive interference.

Principle of superposition of waves

→ According to superposition principle, at a particular point in the medium, the resultant displacement y
produced by a number of waves is the vector sum of the displacements produced by each of the waves
(y1, y2, y3……).
y= y1, + y2, + y3...
→ Clearly, each wave contributes as, if the other wave is not present.

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 Interference Of Light Waves and Young’s Experiment
→ If we use two sodium lamps illuminating two pinholes, we will not observe
any interference. This is because of the fact that light wave emitted from
an ordinary source (like a lamp) undergoes abrupt phase changes.
→ Thus, light waves coming out from two independent sources of light will
not have any fixed phase relationship and would be incoherent. So, to fix
this problem, Thomas Young made two pinholes S1 and S2 very close to
each other on an opaque screen which were lit by a common source S.
→ The sources S1 and S2 behave like two coherent sources because light coming out of these sources is
derived from the same original source and any abrupt phase change in S would manifest in exactly

similar phase changes in S1 and S2. Therefore, the two sources will be locked in phase.

→ From the fig (b), let us calculate the path difference between S1P and S2P i.e. we need S1P -S2P. We
can write-

Also,

→ (Where Is path difference)

→ For D>>>d, S1P = S2P = D. Therefore, substituting this we get-

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 Case 1: Constructive Interference-

For constructive interference we know,

Case 2: Destructive interference:

For destructive interference we know-

→ Thus, white and dark bands appear on the screen and such bands are called fringes. Fringes are equi-
spaced.
Fringe width (β)
It is defined as the separation between two successive maxima or minima i.e. –

Angular width
It is defined as the angle suspended by a fringe width at one of the slits

Note: 1. The fringe pattern is a hyperbola. But if the distance D is very large as compared to the
fringe width, the fringes will be nearly straight lines.

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 2. If source S is on perpendicular bisector, then the central fringe also occurs at O, also on the
perpendicular bisector. If S is shifted to a point S’ at angle ɸ then, the central fringe occurs at a point
O’ at an angle - ɸ i.e. it is shifted by the same angle on the other side of the bisector.

3. If we had slits instead of point sources, each pair of points would have produced straight line fringes
resulting in straight line fringes with increased intensities.

Diffraction
→ It’s the phenomenon of spreading of a wave when it encounters an obstacle of size comparable to its
wavelength

Note: Diffraction is a general characteristic exhibited by all types of waves, be it sound waves,
water waves, light waves, or matter waves. i.e. Diffraction is a sure test of wave nature.

The Single Slit-

→ When a narrow slit is illuminated by a monochromatic
source of light, a broad pattern with a bright central
region is seen. On both sides there are light and dark
regions the intensity of which becomes weaker as we
move away from the centre.
Consider the following figure with a slit LN of width a on
which a parallel beam of light is falling. The midpoint of
the slit is M and the light gets diffracted onto a screen.
Consider a point P on the screen. Point P will be a minima if the waves from L and M have a
phase difference of π at P-

In this manner, the angular position of the minima can be computed by-

Similarly, maxima can be computed by-

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 Difference between interference and diffraction

Polarisation of light
→ Light is an electromagnetic wave in which electric and magnetic field vectors vary sinusoidally
perpendicular to each other as well as perpendicular to the direction of propagation of wave of light.
→ The phenomenon of limiting the vibration of electric field vector in one direction in a plane
perpendicular to the direction of propagation of light wave is called polarisation of light.
→ The plane perpendicular to the plane of oscillation is called plane of polarisation.

Polaroids
→ These are thin film of ultramicroscopic crystals of herapathite or iodoquinine sulfate with their optic axis
parallel to each other and it is used to produce the plane polarised light.
→ It is based on the principle of selective absorption and is more effective than the tourmaline crystal.
→ Polaroids allow the light oscillations parallel to the transmission axis, to pass through them.
→ The crystal or polaroid on which unpolarised light is incident is called polariser. Crystal or polaroid on which
polarised light is incident is called analyser.
→ If the transmission axis of analyser is perpendicular to that of the polariser, then no light passes through the
analyser.

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 11
DUAL NATURE OF RADIATION AND MATTER

INTRODUCTION

→ We know that, light have the properties of electromagnetic waves. Various phenomena like interference,
diffraction, polarization, etc., demonstrated by light were explained by considering the light as waves.
→ But some other phenomena like photoelectric effect, Compton effect, etc., could not be explained by the wave
theory of light. To explain photoelectric effect, Einstein used Planck’s quantum theory.
→ According to which light consists photons or quantum’s of light that travel in a straight line with the speed of
light. Thus, the particle nature of light was established. Hence, it was concluded that light is of dual nature, as
some phenomena were explained by wave theory of light and some by particle nature of light.
→ Similar to light, matter also has dual nature, e.g. electron is a matter particle as it contains mass and charge but
fast-moving electrons, i.e. cathode rays show the properties of waves. Thus, matter also exhibits dual nature.

ELECTRON EMISSION

→ In metals, the electrons in the outer shells (valence electrons) are loosely bound to the atoms, hence they are
free to move easily within the metal surface but cannot leave their own surface. Such electrons are called free
electrons.
→ These free electrons can be emitted or ejected from the metals, if they have sufficient energy to overcome the
attractive pull of metal surface. The phenomenon of emission of these electrons from the surface of a metal is
called Electron emission.

TYPE OF EMISSION

THERMIONIC FIELD EMISSION PHOTOELECTRIC SECONDARY

EMISSION EMISSION EMISSION

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 (i) Thermionic emission: The energy to the free electrons can be given by heating the metal. This process of
emission of electrons is known as thermionic emission.
The electrons, so emitted, are known as thermions.
(ii) Field emission: When a conductor is put under strong electric field (≈ 108 V/m), the free electrons on it
experience an electric force in the opposite direction of field.
Beyond a certain limit, electrons start coming out of the metal surface.
Emission of electrons from a metal surface by this method is called the field emission.
Note: Field emission is also known as COLD EMISSION or COLD CATHODE EMISSION. One of the examples
of cold emission is spark plug
(iii) Photoelectric emission: It is the phenomenon of emission of electrons from the surface of metal when light
radiations of suitable frequency fall on it.
Here, the energy to free electrons is supplied by light photons.
(iv) Secondary emission: Emission of electrons from a metal surface by the bombardment of high-speed
electrons or other particles is known as secondary emission.
The electrons so emitted are called secondary electrons.

WORK FUNCTION
→ To pull out electrons from the surface of the metal, a certain minimum amount of energy is required. This
minimum energy required by the electrons is called the work function of the metal.
→ It is denoted by φ0 or W.
→ It is measured in eV (electron-volt). 1 eV is defined as the energy gained by an electron when it has been
accelerated by a potential difference of one volt (1 V), so that 1 eV = 1.602 × 10-19J.
→ Amongst metals, cesium is regarded as the best photosensitive material as it has lowest work function (φ0 =2.14
eV), whereas work function for platinum is highest (φ0 = 5.65 eV).

PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

→ The phenomenon of emission of electrons from the surface of metal, when radiations of suitable frequency fall
on it, is known as photoelectric effect. The emitted electrons are called photoelectrons and the current, so
produced is called photoelectric current.
→ Alkali metals like lithium, sodium, potassium, cesium, etc., show photoelectric effect with visible light, whereas
the metals like zinc, cadmium, magnesium etc., are sensitive only to ultraviolet light.

→ The phenomenon of photoelectric effect was discovered by Heinrich Hertz in 1887, while detailed investigation
on photoelectric emission was done by Wilhelm Hallwachs and Philipp Lenard.

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 HERTZ’S OBSERVATIONS

→ In his experimental investigation on the production of electromagnetic waves by means of a spark discharge,
Hertz observed that high voltage sparks across the detector loop were enhanced when the emitter plate was
illuminated by ultraviolet light from an arc lamp.
→ Light shining on the metal surface somehow facilitated the escape of free, charged particles which we now know
as electrons.
→ When light falls on a metal surface, some electrons near the surface absorb enough energy from the incident
radiation to overcome the attraction of the positive ions in the material of the surface.
→ After gaining sufficient energy from the incident light, the electrons escape from the surface of the metal into
the surrounding space

HALLWACHS’ AND LENARD’S OBSERVATIONS

→ In 1888, Wilhelm Hallwachs, a German physicist, confirmed that the strange behavior of the spark is due to the
action of ultraviolet light with his simple experiment.
→ A clean circular plate of zinc is mounted on an insulating stand and is attached to a gold leaf electroscope by a
wire. When the uncharged zinc plate is irradiated by ultraviolet light from an arc lamp, it becomes positively
charged and the leaves will open as shown in Figure (a).
→ Further, if the negatively charged zinc plate is exposed to ultraviolet light, the leaves will close as the charges
leaked away quickly Figure (b). If the plate is positively charged, it becomes more positive upon UV ray’s
irradiation and the leaves will open further Figure (c). From these observations, it was concluded that negatively
charged electrons were emitted from the zinc plate under the action of ultraviolet light.
→ In 1902, Lenard studied this electron emission phenomenon in detail. His simple experimental setup is as shown
in Figure d.
→ The apparatus consists of two metallic plates A and C placed in an evacuated quartz bulb. The galvanometer G
and battery B are connected in the circuit.
→ When ultraviolet light is incident on the negative plate C, an electric current flow in the circuit that is indicated
by the deflection in the galvanometer. On other hand, if the positive plate is irradiated by the ultraviolet light,
no current is observed in the circuit.
→ From these observations, it is concluded that when ultraviolet light falls on the negative plate, electrons are
ejected from it which are attracted by the positive plate A.
→ On reaching the positive plate through the evacuated bulb, the circuit is completed and the current flows in it.
Thus, the ultraviolet light falling on the negative plate causes the electron emission from the surface of the
plate.

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 → After the discovery of the electron in 1897, it became evident that the incident light causes electrons to be
emitted from the emitter plate.
→ Due to negative charge, the emitted electrons are pushed towards the collector plate by the electric field.
→ Hallwachs and Lenard also observed that when ultraviolet light fell on the emitter plate, no electrons were
emitted at all.
→ when the frequency of the incident light was smaller than a certain minimum value, called the threshold
frequency.
→ This minimum frequency depends on the nature of the material of the emitter plate.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

→ An extensive study of photoelectric effect was made by Lenard and RA Millikan. Fig. shows the experimental
arrangement for the study of photoelectric effect.
→ It consists of an evacuated glass or quartz tube which encloses a photosensitive plate C (called emitter) and a
metal plate A (called collector).
→ A transparent quartz window is sealed onto the glass tube which permits ultraviolet radiation to pass through
it and fall on photosensitive plate C.
→ The electrons are emitted by the plate C and are collected by the plate A. When the collector plate A is positive
with respect to the emitter plate C, the electrons are attracted towards it and hence photoelectric current is
constituted.
→ The experimental arrangement given above is used to study the variation of photoelectric current with intensity
of radiation, frequency of radiation and the potential difference between the plates A and C.

Effect of Intensity of Incident Light:

→ If we increase the intensity of incident light falling on plate C, we note that photoelectric current also increases
and so on. When we draw a graph between the intensity of incident light and photoelectric current, we get a
straight line as shown in the figure.
→ As, the photoelectric current is directly proportional to the number of photoelectrons emitted per second.
→ the number of photoelectrons emitted per second is directly proportional to the intensity of the incident
radiations. i.e. Intensity ∝ Photoelectric current

Effect of potential on photoelectric current:

→ For a fixed frequency and intensity of incident light, photoelectric current increases with increase in potential
applied to the collector, as shown in the graph below.
→ For a certain positive potential of plate, A, all the emitted electrons are collected by the plate A, and the
photoelectric current becomes maximum or saturates. If we further increase the accelerating potential of plate

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 A, the photocurrent does not increase. This maximum value of photoelectric current is called saturation
current.
→ Note Saturation current corresponds to the case when all the photoelectrons emitted by the plate C reaches
plate A.
→ When the potential is decreased, the current decreases but does not become zero at zero potential. This shows
that even in the absence of accelerating potential, few photoelectrons manage to reach the plate A on their
own due to their kinetic energy.
→ For a particular frequency of incident radiation, the minimum negative (retarding) potential V0 given to plate A
for which the photoelectric current stops or becomes zero is called cut-off or stopping potential.
→ for a given frequency of the incident radiation, the stopping potential is independent of its intensity.
→ In this condition, no electron (even the most energetic electron) reaches to plate A, i.e. the stopping potential
is sufficient to repel even the most energetic photoelectron with maximum kinetic energy Kmax.
→ Hence, maximum kinetic energy of emitted electrons is given as

Kmax =eV0 =1/2mvmax2

Effect of frequency of incident radiation on stopping potential:

→ For each radiation, the variation of photoelectric current against the potential difference between the plates is
as shown in the graph below
→ When we increase the frequency of incident light, the saturation current always remains the same whereas the
stopping potential increases.
→ The value of stopping potential is different for radiation of different frequencies but value of saturation current
(for given intensity) remains same for all incident radiations as intensity remains constant.
→ The value of stopping potential is more negative for radiation of higher incident frequency. That means, the
energy of the emitted electrons depends on the frequency of incident radiations.
→ Greater the frequency of incident radiation, greater is the maximum kinetic energy of photoelectrons,
consequently greater retarding potential or stopping potential is required to stop them completely.
→ The value of saturation current depends on the intensity of incident radiation but is independent of the
frequency of the incident radiation.

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 Stopping potential versus frequency graph:
→ If we plot a graph between stopping potential and the frequency of the incident radiation for two different
metals A and B, we get the graph as shown in the figure.
→ From the above graph, we observe that the stopping potentialV0 varies linearly with the frequency of incident
radiation for a given photosensitive material.
→ There exists a certain minimum cut-off frequency ν0 for which the stopping potential is zero. This minimum
frequency is called threshold frequency.
→ It can be defined as, “the minimum frequency of light which can emit photoelectrons from a material is called
threshold frequency or cut-off frequency of that material”.
→ It is a characteristic property of material. For a frequency lower than cut-off frequency, no photoelectric
emission is possible even if the intensity is large
→ . If frequency of incident radiation is more than the threshold frequency, the photoelectric emission starts
instantaneously without any apparent time lag (~10-9 s or less), even when the incident radiation has low
intensity.

PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT AND WAVE THEORY OF LIGHT

→ Einstein resolved this problem using Planck’s revolutionary idea that light was a particle. The energy carried by
each particle of light (called quanta or photon) is dependent on the light’s frequency (ν) as shown

E = hν

Since light is bundled up into photons, Einstein theorized that when a photon falls on the surface of a metal, the
entire photon’s energy is transferred to the electron.

A part of this energy is used to remove the electron from the metal atom’s grasp and the rest is given to the
ejected electron as kinetic energy. Electrons emitted from underneath the metal surface lose some kinetic
energy during the collision. But the surface electrons carry all the kinetic energy imparted by the photon and
have the maximum kinetic energy.

We can write this mathematically as:

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 Energy of photon= energy required to eject an electron (work function) + Maximum kinetic energy of the
electron

E = φ0 + KE

hv = φ0 + KE

KE = hv – φ0

At the threshold frequency, ν0 electrons are just ejected and do not have any kinetic energy. Below this
frequency, there is no electron emission. Thus, the energy of a photon with this frequency must be the work
function of the metal.
φ0 = hv0

Thus, Maximum kinetic energy equation becomes:

KE = 1/2mv2max=hv–hv0

1/2mv2max=h(v−v0)

Vmax is the maximum kinetic energy of the electron. It is calculated experimentally using the stopping potential.
Please read our article on Lenard’s observations to understand this part.

Stopping potential = ev0 = 1/2mv2max

Thus, Einstein explained the Photoelectric effect by using the particle nature of light.

Note:
i. From photoelectric equation it is clear that , Kmax is independent of intensity of radiation but depends linearly on
ν.
ii. Photoelectric emission is possible only, if hν > φ0. or hν > h ν0 ν > ν 0.
iii. Intensity of radiation(I) is proportional to the number of energy quanta per unit area per unit time (n) Higher the
value of n,higher the number of electrons emitted for (ν > ν 0.). Photocurrent ∝ Intensity
iv. The absorption of photon by electron is instantaneous process, hence emission of electrons is instantaneous.

PARTICLE NATURE OF LIGHT: THE PHOTON

→ The particle nature of light came into the picture when Albert Einstein looked up to the experiment conducted
by Max Planck and observed that the wavelength and intensity of light have a certain impact on the ejected
electrons. In this article, we will dive deeper into the topic and discuss what actually is the particle nature of
light.
→ Photons, also known as light quantum or energy packets, are elementary particles i.e., constituents of energy. In
the simplest terms, a photon is a particle of light.

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 → Photons are the basic constituent of light which is considered as the smallest quantum of radiation.
→ Photons travel at the speed of 2.99 × 108 m/s in a vacuum and never stay at the state of rest.
→ The energy of a photon is represented as E = hv, where h = Planck's Constant = 6.626 × 10-34 m2kg/s and v =
frequency. You can further represent it in the form E = hc/λ, where c = speed of light and λ = wavelength of light.
→ The formula for the momentum of a photon is represented as p = hv/c.
→ Photons are massless.
→ The number of photons per second gradually increases on increasing the intensity of the light of any given
wavelength.
→ They are electrically neutral.
→ Photons are stable particles.
→ They never decay on their own.
→ Photons are not deflected by an electric or magnetic field.
→ When photons interact with an electron or other subatomic particles, the collision that takes place is known as
Compton Effect.
→ In a photon-electron (or photo - other subatomic particles) collision, the complete energy and momentum are
conserved.
→ Photons transfer energy during a collision or interaction with other particles.

WAVE NATURE OF MATTER AND DE BROGLIE'S

EQUATION
→ The photoelectric effect, the electrons and photons exhibit the properties of a particle, just like a
billiard ball. But you surely remember the Diffraction experiment and the Interference Rings.
→ Just like how two ripples on the surface of a pond interact. We see the wave nature of light in
these cases. It’s an amazing mystery.
→ It even involves our sight! The gathering and focusing mechanism of light by the eye-lens
conform to the wave nature of light.
→ But its absorption by the rods and cones of the retina conforms to the particle nature of light!
While we were still struggling to understand this mystery, along came Louis de Broglie to make
it even more complicated with his de Broglie Relation.

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 → According to de-Broglie, a wave is associated with moving material particle which controls the particle in every
respect. The wave associated with moving particle is called matter waves or de-Broglie wave and it propagates
in the form of wave packets with group velocity.
→ Wavelength associated with de-Broglie wave is called de-Broglie wavelength and is given by
ℎ ℎ
λ= =
𝑚𝑣 𝑝
where, m, v and p are the mass, velocity and momentum of particle respectively and h is Planck’s constant.
→ According to Planck’s quantum theory, the energy of the photon is given by
ℎ𝑐
E=hf = ……….(1)
λ
According to Einstein’s theory, the energy of the photon is given by
E=mc2 …….… (2)
From Eqs. (i) and (ii), we get

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 11
ATOMS
INTRODUCTION

→ The basic unit of matter and defining structure of any element is atom. In 1898, JJ Thomson for the first time
proposed the physical structure of an atom and named it as Plum-Pudding model.
→ Then, Rutherford performed an experiment on α-particle scattering in early 90’s to investigate the atomic structure.
But his work was rejected on the basis of classical theory.
→ However, his shortcomings were rectified by Neil Bohr through his atomic model.
→ In this chapter, we will study Bohr’s model, energy levels, hydrogen spectrum and X-rays followed by Rutherford α-
particle scattering experiment.

RUTHERFORD’S α-PARTICLE SCATTERING EXPERIMENT

→ Rutherford with his two assistants, Geiger and Marsden did an experiment in 1911, in which they directed a
narrow beam of α-particle onto gold foil of about 10-8m thickness.
→ α-particle were emitted by some radioactive material, 21483Bi kept inside a thick lead box. These α-particles were
collimated into narrow beam by their passage through lead bricks.
→ This well collimated beam was then allowed to fall on a thin gold foil. While passing through the gold foil, α-
particles scattered through different angles.
→ A zinc sulphide (ZnS) screen and a microscope was placed on the other side of the gold foil. This screen was
movable, so as to receive the α-particles, scattered from the gold foil at angles varying from 0° to 180°. When an
α-particle strikes the screen, it produces a flash of light which were observed by the microscope.

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 Observations
Rutherford made following observations from the experiment
I. Most of the α-particles pass through the foil straight away undeflected.
II. Some of them are deflected through small angles.
III. Few α-particles (about 1 in 8000) are deflected through an angle more than 90°.
IV. A very few α-particles return back, i.e. deflected by 180°. Thus, few α-particles reverse their motion without
actually touching the gold foil.
V. The scattering of α-particles is proportional to the thickness of target for thin targets.
VI. The number of α-particles scattered per unit area N(θ) at scattering angle θ varies inversely y as sin4 (θ / 2)

This number N(θ) as a function of θ can be represented by following graph

Rutherford’s atomic model

The essential features of Rutherford's model of the atom or planetary model of the atom are as follows
1. Most of the mass (at least 99.95%) and all of the charge of an atom is concentrated in a very small region
of atom called atomic nucleus.
2. Nucleus is positively charged and its size is of the order of 10-15m 1 ≈ fermi. The nucleus occupies only
about 10-12 of the total volume of the atom or less.
3. In an atom, maximum space is empty and the electrons revolve around the nucleus in the same way as
the planets revolve around the sun (i.e. in elliptical orbits).

Impact parameter
The perpendicular distance of the Initial velocity vector of the a-particle from the centre of nucleus is called
impact parameter.

Making these assumptions Rutherford was able to establish a formula for calculating the number of α-
particles scattered at an angle θ as:
N (θ) ∝ Z2 Where, E=K.E of a-particle =mv2 /2

sin4 (θ / 2) E2

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 → When a beam of a-particles falls upon a thin metal foil, the particles are scattered in various directions
by nuclei of the atoms of the foil.
→ The angle of scattering of a particular a-particle depends upon the impact parameter [the
perpendicular distance from the nucleus to the initial direction of motion (velocity vector) of the a -
particle when it is far away from the nucleus] of particles.
→ Rutherford showed that the angle of scattering (θ) is related to the impact parameter b according to
the equation

→ The Impact parameter b Is the perpendicular distance of the Initial velocity vector of the a-particle
from the centre of the nucleus. Thus, smaller the Impact parameter b, greater the scattering angle e.
→ When b = O, then 8 = 180°. This means that when the a-particle moves directly (head-on) towards the
nucleus. it is scattered through 180°. i.e. reflected back along its initial path. Clearly. under this
condition the particle will have its closest approach to the nucleus.
Distance of closest approach
The minimum distance from the nucleus up to which the α-particle approaches is called the distance of
closest approach(r0). At this distance (when particle deflect by 180°), whole of the KE of α-particle
converts into electrostatic potential energy,

Electron orbits
In the Rutherford’s nuclear model of the atom pictures, the atom as an electrically neutral sphere
consisting of a very small, massive and positively charged nucleus at the Centre surrounded by the
revolving electrons in their respective dynamically stable orbits. The electrostatic force of attraction Fe

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 between the revolving electrons and the nucleus provides the requisite centripetal force F c to keep
them in their orbits. Thus, for a dynamically stable orbit in a H-atom,
Fc = F e

(The negative sign in U signifies that the electrostatic force is in the –r direction.) Thus the total energy E of the
electron in a hydrogen atom is

The total energy of the electron is negative. This implies the fact that the electron is bound to the nucleus. If E
were positive, an electron will not follow a closed orbit around the nucleus.

Drawbacks of Rutherford’s model

(i) Regarding stability of atom Electrons revolving around the nucleus have centripetal acceleration. According
to classical electromagnetic theory, accelerated charged particles must radiate energy in the form of
electromagnetic wave. Therefore, the energy of the accelerating electron should, continuously decreases.

(ii) Regarding explanation of line spectrum Due to continuous decrease in radii of electron's orbit, the
frequency of revolution of electron will also change. According to classical theory of electromagnetism,
frequency of EM wave emitted by electron is equal to frequency of revolution of electron. So, due to
continuous change in frequency of revolution of electron, it will radiate EM waves of all frequencies, i.e. the
spectrum of these waves will be continuous in nature.

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 Atomic Spectra
→ When an atomic gas or vapour is excited at low pressure, usually by passing an electric current through
it, the emitted radiation has a spectrum which contains certain specific wavelengths only.
→ A spectrum of this kind is termed as emission line spectrum and it consists of bright lines on a dark
background. The spectrum emitted by atomic hydrogen is shown in Fig.
→ Study of emission line spectra of a material can therefore serve as a type of “fingerprint” for
identification of the gas. When white light passes through a gas and we analyze the transmitted light
using a spectrometer we find some dark lines in the spectrum.
→ These dark lines correspond precisely to those wavelengths which were found in the emission line
spectrum of the gas. This is called the absorption spectrum of the material of the gas.

Spectral series
→ Hydrogen is the simplest atom and therefore, has the simplest spectrum. In the observed spectrum, however, at
first sight, there does not seem to be any resemblance of order or regularity in spectral lines.
→ But the spacing between lines within certain sets of the hydrogen spectrum decreases in a regular way (Fig).
→ Each of these sets is called a spectral series. In 1885, the first such series was observed by a Swedish school
teacher Johann Jakob Balmer (1825–1898) in the visible region of the hydrogen spectrum. This series is called
Balmer series (Fig).
→ The line with the longest wavelength, 656.3 nm in the red is called Hα; the next line with wavelength 486.1 nm in
the blue-green is called Hβ, the third line 434.1 nm in the violet is called H γ; and so on.
→ As the wavelength decreases, the lines appear closer together and are weaker in intensity. Balmer found a simple
empirical formula for the observed wavelengths

→ where λ is the wavelength, R is a constant called the Rydberg constant, and n may have integral values 3, 4, 5,
etc. The value of R is 1.097 × 107 m-1. This equation is also called Balmer formula.

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 Bohr Model of The Hydrogen Atom
→ The model of the atom proposed by Rutherford assumes that the atom, consisting of a central nucleus
and revolving electron is stable much like sun-planet system which the model imitates.
→ However, there are some fundamental differences between the two situations. While the planetary
system is held by gravitational force, the nucleus-electron system being charged objects, interact by
Coulomb’s Law of force.
→ We know that an object which moves in a circle is being constantly accelerated – the acceleration being
centripetal in nature. According to classical electromagnetic theory, an accelerating charged particle
emits radiation in the form of electromagnetic waves.
→ The energy of an accelerating electron should therefore, continuously decrease. The electron would
spiral inward and eventually fall into the nucleus (Fig). Thus, such an atom cannot be stable.
→ According to the classical electromagnetic theory, the frequency of the electromagnetic waves emitted
by the revolving electrons is equal to the frequency of revolution.
→ As the electrons spiral inwards, their angular velocities and hence their frequencies would change
continuously, and so will the frequency of the light emitted.
→ Thus, they would emit a continuous spectrum, in contradiction to the line spectrum actually observed.
Clearly Rutherford model tells only a part of the story implying that the classical ideas are not sufficient
to explain the atomic structure.

Bohr’s model is based on the following three postulates

(i) Bohr postulated that an electron in an atom can move around nucleus in certain circular stable
orbits without emitting radiations.
(ii) Electrons can revolve only in those orbits in which their angular momentum is an integral multiple
of h /2π , where h is Planck’s constant. If the mass of the electron be m and it is revolving with
velocity v in an orbit of radius r, then its angular momentum will be mvr.
According to Bohr's postulate,
we have angular momentum, mvr = nh/2π where, n is an integer (n =1, 2, 3, …) and is called the
principal quantum number of the orbit. This equation is called Bohr’s quantisation condition.
(iii) When the atom receives energy from outside, then one (or more) of its outer electrons leaves its
orbit and goes to some higher orbit. This state of the atom is called excited state. The electron in
the higher orbit stays only for 10-8 s and returns back to lower orbit. While returning back, the
electron radiates energy in the form of electromagnetic waves.
If the energy of electron in the higher orbit be Ef and that in the lower
orbit be E1, then the frequency ν of the radiated waves is given by

Hν = Ef – Ei ν= Ef – Ei /h
This equation is called Bohr’s frequency condition.

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 where Ei and Ef are the energies of the initial and final states and Ei > Ef.
To calculate r, Bohr’s second postulate about the angular momentum of the electron–the quantisation
condition – is used.
The radius of nth possible orbit thus found is

Atomic energies are often expressed in electron volts (eV) rather than joules. Since 1 eV = 1.6 x 10-19 J, Eq. can
be rewritten as

The negative sign of the total energy of an electron moving in an orbit means that the electron is bound with
the nucleus. Energy will thus be required to remove the electron from the hydrogen atom to a distance
infinitely far away from its nucleus (or proton in hydrogen atom).

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 Energy levels
→ The energy of an atom is the least (largest negative value)
when its electron is revolving in an orbit closest to the
nucleus i.e., the one for which n = 1. For n = 2, 3, ... the
absolute value of the energy E is smaller, hence the energy is
progressively larger in the outer orbits.
→ The lowest state of the atom, called the ground state, is that
of the lowest energy, with the electron revolving in the orbit
of smallest radius, the Bohr radius, a0.The energy of this state
(n = 1), E1 is –13.6 eV.
→ Therefore, the minimum energy required to free the electron
from the ground state of the hydrogen atom is 13.6 eV. It is
called the ionisation energy of the hydrogen atom.
→ This prediction of the Bohr’s model is in excellent agreement
with the experimental value of ionisation energy. At room
temperature, most of the hydrogen atoms are in ground
state.
→ When a hydrogen atom receives energy by processes such as
electron collisions, the atom may acquire sufficient energy to
raise the electron to higher energy states. The atom is then
said to be in an excited state. From Eq. of En, for n = 2; the
energy E2 is –3.40 eV.
→ It means that the energy required to excite an electron in hydrogen atom to its first excited state, is an
energy equal to E2 – E1 = –3.40 eV – (–13.6) eV = 10.2 eV. Similarly, E3 = –1.51 eV and E3 – E1 = 12.09 eV,
or to excite the hydrogen atom from its ground state (n = 1) to second excited state (n = 3), 12.09 eV
energy is required, and so on.
→ From these excited states the electron can then fall back to a state of lower energy, emitting a photon
in the process. Thus, as the excitation of hydrogen atom increases (that is as n increases) the value of
minimum energy required to free the electron from the excited atom decreases.
→ The energy level diagram* for the stationary states of a hydrogen atom, computed from Eq. of En, is
given in Fig. Below.
→ The principal quantum number n labels the stationary states in the ascending order of energy. In this
diagram, the highest energy state corresponds to n = ∞ in Eq. of En and has an energy of 0 eV.
→ This is the energy of the atom when the electron is completely removed (r = ∞) from the nucleus and
is at rest. Observe how the energies of the excited states come closer and closer together as n
increases.

Note: * An electron can have any total energy above E = 0 eV. In such situations the electron is free. Thus,
there is a continuum of energy states above E = 0 eV, as shown in above Fig.

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 Limitations of Bohr’s model
The limitation of Bohr’s model are as follows
(i) Bohr’s model is applicable only to a single electron atoms/ions.
(ii) It does not explain the fine structure of spectral lines. Application of external magnetic field
(Zeeman effect) and external electric field (Stark effect) to radiating atoms could not be explained.
(iii) Bohr’s assumption regarding stationary orbits is against Heisenberg uncertainty principle.
(iv) No explanation is given regarding principle of quantisation of angular momentum.
(v) This model does not explain why orbits of electrons are taken as circular whereas elliptical orbits
are also possible.

The Line Spectra of The Hydrogen Atom

→ According to the third postulate of Bohr’s model, when an atom makes a transition from the higher
energy state with quantum number ni to the lower energy state with quantum number nf (nf < ni ), the
difference of energy is carried away by a photon of frequency ⱱif such that

hⱱif =Eni - Enf

→ Since both nf and ni are integers, this immediately shows that in transitions between different atomic
levels, light is radiated in various discrete frequencies.
→ The various lines in the atomic spectra are produced when electrons jump from higher energy state to
a lower energy state and photons are emitted. These spectral lines are called emission lines.
→ But when an atom absorbs a photon that has precisely the same energy needed by the electron in a
lower energy state to make transitions to a higher energy state, the process is called absorption.
→ Thus, if photons with a continuous range of frequencies pass through a rarefied gas and then are
analysed with a spectrometer, a series of dark spectral absorption lines appear in the continuous
spectrum.
→ The dark lines indicate the frequencies that have been absorbed by the atoms of the gas.

De Broglie’s Explanation of Bohr’s Second Postulate of Quantisation

According to de-Broglie, a stationary orbit is that which contains an integral number of de-Broglie standing
waves associated with the revolving electron. For an electron revolving in nth circular orbit of radius rn,

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 13
NUCLEI
Atomic masses and composition of nucleus

Nucleus is composed of two types of particles

(i) Protons Positively charged particles
(ii) Neutrons Neutral particles Mass of neutron is slightly greater than the mass of the proton
Mass of proton, mp = 1.6726231 x 10-27 kg
Mass of neutron, mn =1.6749286 x 10-27 kg
mp~ 1840 me , where me = mass of electron.

• Isotopes are variants of a particular element with different numbers of neutrons.

For example, the two isotopes of Uranium are, 23592 U and 23992 U.
• Isobars are elements that have the same number of nucleons (sum of protons and neutrons). The
series of elements with 40 Mass numbers serve as a good example; 4016S, 4017Cl, 4018Ar, 4019K, and 4020Ca.
The nucleus of all the above-mentioned elements contains the same number of particles in the nucleus
but contain varying numbers of protons and neutrons.
• Isotones are atoms that have the same neutron number but different proton number.
For example, 3616S, 3717Cl, 3818Ar, 3919K, and 4020Ca are all isotones of 20 since they all contain 20
neutrons.
• Isomers are atoms that consist of the same number of protons and the same number of neutrons but
are different in energy and manner of radioactive decay and exist for a particular period of time.
There are different states to nuclear isomers, such as ground state and metastable state.
Note: Hydrogen has three isotopes- Protium, Deuterium and Tritium. Tritium nuclei is
radioactive and is unstable therefore, it is not found naturally.
Atomic mass unit (u)
An atomic mass unit is defined as 1/12th the mass of a carbon (12C) atom. According to this-

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 - A free neutron, unlike a free proton, is unstable. It decays into a proton, an electron and a antineutrino (another
elementary particle), and has a mean life of about 1000s.
- It is, however, stable inside the nucleus. The composition of a nucleus can now be described using the following
terms and symbols:
Z - atomic number = number of protons
N - neutron number = number of neutrons
A - mass number = Z + N = total number of protons and neutrons
- The term nucleon for a proton or a neutron. Thus, the number of nucleons in an atom is its mass number A.
Electron Volt (eV):
- It is an appropriate unit for measuring small energies accurately. One electron volt Is the energy
acquired by an electron when accelerated through a potential difference of one volt.
Now by definition of potential difference.
Work done on the electron = Charge on the electron x potential difference of 1 volt
1 eV = (1 .6 x 10-19 C) x (1 V) = 1 .6 x 10-19 joule
1 MeV = 1 million ev = 106 ev
= 106 (1 .6 x 10-19 joule) = 1 .6 x 10-13 joule
1 MeV = 1 .6 x 10-13 joule
Relation between one a.m.u and MeV
- According to Einstein's mass energy relation, E = mc2
(which means that mass m is equivalent to energy E).
Substituting m = 1 u = 1 .66 x 10-27kg and c = 3 x 108 ms-1 in the above relation, we obtain
E = (1 .66 x 10-27kg) (3 x 108)2 J = 1.49 x 10-10J
=1.49 x 10-10J MeV
1 .66 x 10-13
=931.478 MeV

Size of the nucleus

- From various experiments, it was found that the volume of the nucleus is directly proportional to the
number of nucleons (mass number) constituting the nucleus. Let R is the radius of the nucleus having
mass number A, then volume,
V=4/3 πR3 ∝ A ⇒ R ∝ A1/3

where, R0 = 1.2 × 10-15 m, is the range of nuclear size. It is also known as nuclear unit radius.
- Owing to the small size of the nucleus, fermi (fm) is found to be a convenient unit of length in Nuclear
Physics. It is defined as, 1 fermi (fm) = 10-15 m.
- Different nuclei are like a drop of liquid of constant density. The density of nuclear matter is
approximately 2.3 × 1017 kgm-3. This density is very large compared to ordinary matter, say water,
which is 103 kgm-3.
- This is understandable, as we have already seen that most of the atom is empty. Ordinary matter
consisting of atoms has a large amount of empty space.

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 Mass-energy and nuclear binding energy
- Before the advent of Einstein theory of special relativity it was presumed that mass and enegy were
conserved separately in a reaction. Einstein showed that it is necessary to treat mass as another form of
energy.
- Einstein gave the famous mass/energy equivalence E = mc2. here the energy equivalent of mass mis
related by the above equation and c is the velocity of light in vacuum and is approximately equal to 3 x
108 m/s.
- Einstein's mass-energy relation has been experimentally verified in the study of nuclear reactions
amongst nucleons, nuclei. electrons and other more recently discovered particles.
- In nuclear reactions initial energy and the final energy are equal provided the energy associated with
mass is also included. Therefore, the two classical laws of conservation of mass and conservation of
energy have been unified into one law of conservation of energy.

Nuclear binding energy

- We know that the nucleus is made up of neutrons and protons. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that
the mass of the nucleus is equal to the total mass of the its individual protons and neutrons.
- However, the nuclear mass isalways found to be less than this. The difference in mass of a nucleus and
its constituents, ΔM, is called mass defect and is given by-

Mass Defect (Md):

- Since the mass of the nucleus is less than the sum of masses of its constituents, the equivalent
energy of the nucleus is less than the sum of equivalent energies of its constituents.
- Therefore, if one wants to break a nucleus into protons and neutrons, the extra energy ΔMc2 has to
be supplied. This energy required Eb is related to mass defect-

- If a certain number of neutrons and protons are brought together to form a nucleus of a certain
charge and mass, an energy Eb will be released in the process.

- The energy Eb is called the binding energy of the nucleus. If we separate a nucleus into its
nucleons, we would have to supply a total energy equal to Eb, to those particles.

- EX-A neutron breaks into a proton and an electron. Calculate the energy produced in this reaction.

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 - A more useful measure of the binding between the constituents of the nucleus is the binding energy
per nucleon, Ebn, which is the ratio of the binding energy Eb of a nucleus to the number of the nucleons,
A, in that nucleus:
Ebn = Eb / A
Binding energy per nucleon ∝ stability of nucleus
Binding energy curve

Some features of this curve are given below

(i) The curve has almost a flat maximum roughly from A = 50 to A = 80 corresponding to an average
BE/nucleon of about 8.5 MeV. So, the nuclei having mass number between 50 to 80 are most stable.
Iron (Fe56 )(A = 56) , having a BE/nucleon of about 8.8 MeV has maximum stability.
(ii) For nuclei having mass number more than 80, the average binding energy per nucleon decreases
slowly and drop to about 7.6 MeV for uranium (A=238 ).
We can draw the following conclusions from the plot-
1. The force is attractive and sufficiently strong to produce a binding energy of a few MeV per nucleon.
2. The constancy of the binding energy in the range 30 < A < 170 is a consequence of the fact that
the nuclear force is short-ranged. Consider a particular nucleon inside a sufficiently large
nucleus. It will be under the influence of only some of its neighbors, which come within the
range of the nuclear force. If any other nucleon is at a distance more than the range of the
nuclear force from the particular nucleon it will have no influence on the binding energy of the
nucleon under consideration. If a nucleon can have a maximum of p neighbors within the range
of nuclear force, its binding energy would be proportional to p. Let the binding energy of the
nucleus be pk, where k is a constant having the dimensions of energy. If we increase A by
adding nucleons, they will not change the binding energy of a nucleon inside. Since most of the
nucleons in a large nucleus reside inside it and not on the surface, the change in binding energy
per nucleon would be small. The binding energy per nucleon is a constant and is approximately
equal to pk. This is called saturation property of nuclear force.
3. A very heavy nucleus, say A = 240, has lower binding energy per nucleon compared to that of a
nucleus with A =

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 120. Thus, if a nucleus A = 240 breaks into two A = 120 nuclei, nucleons get more tightly
bound. This implies energy would be released in the process. This is called nuclear fission.
4. Consider two very light nuclei (A ≤ 10) joining to form a heavier nucleus. The binding
energy per nucleon of the fused heavier nuclei is more than the binding energy per nucleon
of the lighter nuclei. This means that the final system is more tightly bound than the initial
system. Therefore, energy would be released in such a process of fusion.

Nuclear Force
- The nuclear force is much stronger than the Coulomb force acting
between charges or the gravitational forces between masses.
- The nuclear force between two nucleons falls rapidly to zero as
their distance is more than a few femtometers. This leads to
saturation of forces in a medium or a large-sized nucleus, which is
the reason for the constancy of
the binding energy per nucleon.
- The nuclear force between neutron-neutron, proton-neutron and
proton-proton is approximately the same. The nuclear force does
not depend on the electric charge.

- Some important properties of nuclear forces are given below

(i) Nuclear forces are charge independent.
(ii) Nuclear forces are short range forces. These do not exist at large distances greater than 10-15 m.
(iii) These are attractive force and cause stability of the nucleus.
(iv) Nuclear forces are non-central force.
(v) Nuclear forces are the strongest force in nature.
(vi) Nuclear forces depend on the direction of the spins of the nucleons. The force is stronger, if the
spin of nucleons is parallel and is weak, if it is anti-parallel.
(vii) Electrical and gravitational forces follow inverse square law (i.e. F ∝ 1/r2), but nuclear forces are
complicated in nature and does not follow it.
Radioactivity
- Radioactivity is a nuclear phenomenon in which an unstable nucleus undergoes a decay. The elements
which show this phenomenon are called radioactive elements.
- Atoms are radioactive, if their nuclei are unstable and spontaneously (and randomly) emit various (α β,
and γ) radiations and decay into stable nucleus.
- When naturally occurring nuclei are unstable, then such an unstable nucleus undergoes spontaneous
emission of radioactive radiation (α, β and γ) and this process continues until a stable nucleus is
obtained.
This phenomenon is called natural radioactivity.
- When some nuclei are made radioactive nuclei in laboratory, then such phenomena are known as
artificial radioactivity. Some examples of radioactive substances are uranium, radium, thorium,
polonium, neptunium, etc.
This is referred to as
radioactive decay. Three types of radioactive decay occur in nature:
1. α-decay in which a helium nucleus 42He is emitted
2. β-decay in which electrons or positrons (particles with the same mass as electrons, but with
a charge exactlyopposite to that of electron) are emitted

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 3. ɣ-decay in which high energy (hundreds of keV or more) photons are emitted.

Law of Radioactive Decay

- In any radioactive sample, which undergoes α, β or γ-decay, it is found that the number of nuclei
undergoing the
decay per unit time is proportional to the total number of nuclei in the sample. If N is the number of
nuclei in the
sample and ∆N undergo decay in time ∆t then-

where λ is called the radioactive decay constant or disintegration constant.

- The change in the number of nuclei in the sample is dN = – ∆N in time ∆t. Thus, the rate of change of N
is (in the limit ∆t → 0)

- Integrating both sides we get-

- Where N˳ is the number of radioactive nuclei in the sample at some arbitrary time t˳ and N is the
number of nuclei at any subsequent time t. For t˳= 0,

- The total decay rate R of a sample is the number of nuclei disintegrating per unit time. Suppose in
a time interval dt, the decay count is ΔN. Then dN = -ΔN. The positive quantity R is defined as-

- Differentiating the expression for N(t), we get-

Also,

- The decay rate of a sample is known as ‘activity’. The SI unit for activity is becquerel.

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 - 1 becquerel = 1 disintegration per second. Another unit for activity is curie-

Nuclear energy
- The greater the binding energy, the less is the total mass of a bound system, such as a nucleus.
Consequently, if nuclei with less total binding energy transform to nuclei with greater binding
energy, there will be a net energy release.
- This is what happens when a heavy nucleus decays into two or more intermediate mass
fragments (fission) or when light nuclei fuse into a heavier nucleus (fusion.)
- In a nuclear reaction, the energy released is of the order of MeV. For same quantity of matter,
nuclear sources produce a million times more energy than a chemical source.
- Two distinct ways of obtaining energy from nucleus are as (i) Nuclear fission (ii) Nuclear fusion

Nuclear fission
- The process of splitting of a heavy nucleus into two lighter nuclei of comparable masses (after
bombardment with a energetic particle) with liberation of energy is called nuclear fission.
- Fission reaction resulting from the absorption of neutron is known as induced fission. One of the
common example of fission is when uranium isotope 23592U bombarded with a neutron breaks into
two intermediate mass nuclear fragments.

- In general, fission nuclei contain excess of neutrons, therefore are highly unstable. Hence, undergo
beta decay until they reach a stable end product.
- The energy released in 23592U fission is about 200 MeV or 0.8 MeV per nucleon and on an average
2.5 neutrons are liberated. These neutrons are called fast neutrons and their energy is about 2 MeV
(each).
- These fast neutrons can escape from the reaction. So, in order to proceed the reaction, they are
needed to slow down.
- Fission of 23592U occurs by slow neutrons only of energy about 1 eV or even by thermal neutrons of
energy about 0.025 eV.
Nuclear fusion
- When two light nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, then this process is called nuclear fusion.
In order to fuse two nuclei, they must come together in the range of nuclear force and to do this,
they must overcome electrical repulsion of their positive charges.

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 - Hence, the kinetic energy required for fusion depends on the Coulomb barrier height ≈ 400keV for
two protons. This energy is only achieved at high temperature.
- Hence, for fusion, high pressure ≈ 1016 atm and high temperature of the order of 107K to 108K is
required and so the reaction is called thermonuclear reaction.
- Two deuterons (heavy-hydrogen nuclei) can be fused to form a triton (tritium) according to
following reaction.

Nuclear reactor
- There is a release of extra neutron (s) in the fission process. Averagely, 21/2 neutrons are released per fission
of uranium nucleus. It is a fraction since in some fission events 2 neutrons are produced, in some 3, etc.
- The extraneutrons in turn can initiate fission processes, producing still more neutrons, and so on. This leads
to the possibility of a chain reaction.
- If the chain reaction is controlled suitably, we can get a steady energy output. This is what happens in a
nuclearreactor.
- Slow neutrons (thermal neutrons) are much more likely to cause fission in 235 92U than fast neutrons. Also,
fastneutrons liberated in fission would escape instead of causing another fission reaction.
- The ratio, K, of number of fissions produced by a given generation of neutrons to the number of fissions of
the preceding generation may be greater than one.
- This ratio is called the multiplication factor; it is the measure of the growth rate of the neutrons in the
reactor.
- For K = 1, the operation of the reactor is said to be critical, whichis what we wish it to be for steady power
operation. If K becomes greater than one, the reaction rate and the reactor power increases exponentially

Only for Knowledge

Antimatter, substance composed of subatomic particles that have the mass, electric charge, and
magnetic moment of the electrons, protons, and neutrons of ordinary matter but for which the electric
charge and magnetic moment are opposite in sign.
- The antimatter particles corresponding to electrons, protons, and neutrons are
called positrons (e+), antiprotons (p), and antineutrons (n); collectively they are referred to
as antiparticles.
- The electrical properties of antimatter being opposite to those of ordinary matter, the positron has a
positive charge and the antiproton a negative charge; the antineutron, though electrically neutral,
has a magnetic moment opposite in sign to that of the neutron.
- Matter and antimatter cannot coexist at close range for more than a small fraction of a second
because they collide with and annihilate each other, releasing large quantities of energy in the form
of gamma rays or elementary particles.

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 14
SEMICONDUCTOR ELECTRONICS
• A semiconductor material is a device that allows the passage of electric current through it.
• while in the earlier vacuum tubes/valves, the mobile electrons were obtained from a heated cathode
and they were made to flow in an evacuated space or vacuum.
• No external heating or large evacuated space is required by the semiconductor devices.
• They are small in size, consume low power, operate at low voltages and have long life and high
reliability.
• Vacuum tube has two electrodes; cathode (plate) and anode Electrons are supplied by heated cathode
• Vacuum is required in the inter-electrode space so that the moving electrons don’t lose their
energy upon collision with the air molecules.
• Electrons only flow in one direction i.e.; from cathode to anode. Therefore, referred to as valves
• Bulky, consume high power, operate generally at high voltages (~100 V) and have limited life and low
reliability.
Note: Vacuum tube- 2 electrodes, Triode-3electrodes (cathode plate and grid), Tetrode-4electrodes,
Pentode- 5 electrodes
Classification of Metals, Conductors and Semiconductors
• On the basis of the relative values of electrical conductivity (σ ) or resistivity (ρ=1/ σ ), the solids are
broadly classified as

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 Type of semiconductors
1. Elemental semiconductors- Si and Ge
2. Compound semiconductors-
a. Inorganic- CdS, GaAs, CdSe, InP, etc.
b. Organic- anthracene, doped phthalocyanines, etc.
Organic polymers- polypyrrole, polyaniline, polythiophene, etc

• organic semiconductors and semiconducting polymers have been developed signaling the birth of a
futuristic technology of polymer-electronics and molecular-electronics.

On the basis of energy bands

• According to Bohr model, the energy of electrons in an isolated atom is decided by the orbit in which it
revolves. When two atoms come close to each other to form solid, their outer orbits of electrons come
very close or even overlap.
• Thus, the motion of electron in a solid is different from that in isolated atom. In a crystal, each
electron has a unique position, i.e. no two electrons can have the same position. So, each electron will
have a different energy level and these different energy levels with continuous energy variation are
called energy bands.
Conduction in solids on the basis of Band Theory
▪ Let us consider what happens in the case of Si or Ge crystal containing N atoms. For Si,
the outermost orbit is the third orbit (n = 3), while for Ge it is the fourth orbit (n = 4).
The number of electrons in the outermost orbit is 4 (2s and 2p electrons).
▪ Hence, the total number of outer electrons in the crystal is 4N. The maximum possible
number of electrons in the outer orbit is 8 (2s + 6p electrons). So, for the 4N valence
electrons there are 8N available energy states.
▪ At the distance between the atoms in the crystal lattices of Si and Ge, the energy band
of these 8N states is split apart into two which are separated by an energy gap Eg.
▪ The lower band which is completely occupied by the 4N valence electrons at
temperature of absolute zero is the valence band.
▪ The other band consisting of 4N energy states, called the conduction band, is completely
empty at absolute zero.
▪ The lowest energy level in the conduction band is shown as E C and highest energy level
in the valence band is shown as EV. Above EC and below EV there are a large number of
closely spaced energy levels.
▪ The gap between the top of the valence band and bottom of the conduction band is
called the energy band gap (Energy gap Eg). It may be large, small, or zero, depending
upon the material.

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 Valence band and conduction band
• The energy band which includes the energy levels of valence electrons is called valence band.
• The energy band above it, is called conduction band.
• In isolated condition, i.e. with no external energy, all the valence electrons will reside in valence band.
Normally, conduction band is empty but when it overlaps on valence band, electrons can move freely into it.

Case1
When the conduction band is partially filled and the balanced band is partially empty or when the
conduction andvalance bands overlap, the solid is said to be conductor. When there is overlap
electrons from valence band can easily move into the conduction band. This situation makes a large
number of electrons available for electrical conduction. When the valence band is partially empty,
electrons from its lower level can move to higher level making conduction possible. Therefore, the
resistance of such materials is low or the conductivity is high.

Case 2
When a large band gap Eg exists (Eg > 3 eV). There are no electrons in the conduction band, and therefore no
electrical conduction is possible. The energy gap is so large that electrons cannot be excited
from the valence band to the conduction band by thermal excitation.Such solids are called insulators.

Case 3
When a finite but small band gap (Eg < 3 eV) exists, at room temperature some electrons from valence band can
acquire enough energy to cross the energy gap and enter the conduction band. These electrons
(though small in numbers) can move in the conduction band. Such solids are called semiconductors. Hence, the
resistance of semiconductors is not as high as that of the insulators.

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 TYPE OF SEMICONDUCTOR

1. Intrinsic Semiconductor
▪ A pure (free from impurity) semiconductor which has a valency 4 is called an intrinsic semiconductor. Pure
germanium and silicon in their natural state are intrinsic semiconductors. Si and Ge both have 4 valence
electrons.
▪ In crystalline structure, each Si or Ge atom share each of its four valence electrons with four nearest
neighbouring atoms and forms covalent bond.
▪ At temperature close to zero, all shared electrons are tightly bound and so no free electrons are available to
conduct electricity through the crystal.
▪ At room temperature, however a few of the covalent bonds are broken due to thermal agitation and thus some
of the valence electrons become free. Thus, we can say that a valence electrons is shifted to conduction band
leaving a vacancy of electron in valence band. This vacancy is known as hole and carries a positive charge e.
▪ At low temperatures, all bonds are intact and no bond is broken. As the temperature increases, more thermal
energy becomes available to these electrons and some of these electrons may break–away (becoming free
electrons contributing to conduction).
▪ Thermal energy effectively ionizes a few atoms in the crystalline lattice and creates a vacancy in the bond. The
neighborhood, from which the free electron (with charge –q) has come out leaves a vacancy with an effective
charge (+q). This vacancy with the effective positive electronic charge is called a hole. The hole behaves as an
apparent free particle with effective positive charge.
In intrinsic semiconductors, the number of free electrons (ne) is equal tothe number of holes

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 ▪ In semiconductors, apart from the electrons, the holes also move. Holesmove in the direction opposite from that of
motion of electrons. But, the motion of hole is independent of the motion of free electrons andis a way of describing
the motion of bound electrons.
▪ The free electron moves completely independently as conduction electron and gives rise to an electron current (Ie)
under an applied electric field. Under the influence of electric field, the holes move towards negativepotential and
give rise to hole current (Ih)The total current is the sum of conduction current and hole current-

▪ Apart from the process of generation of conduction electrons and holes, a simultaneous process of recombination
occurs in which the electrons recombine with the holes. At equilibrium, the rate of generation is equal to the rate of
recombination of charge carriers. The recombination occurs due to an electron colliding with a hole.

▪ An intrinsic semiconductor will behave like an insulator at T = 0 K. It is the thermal energy at higher temperatures (T>
0K), which excites some electrons from the valence band to the conduction band. These thermally excited electrons
at T > 0 K, partially occupy the conduction band.

2. Extrinsic Semiconductor
• The conductivity of an intrinsic semiconductor depends on its temperature, but at room temperature its
conductivityis very low. Hence to improve their conductivity, we add certain impurities.
• When a few parts per million (ppm) of a suitable impurity is added to the pure semiconductor, the
conductivity ofthe semiconductor is increased manifold. Such materials are known as extrinsic
semiconductors or impurity semiconductors.
• The deliberate addition of a desirable impurity is called doping and the impurity atoms are called
dopants. Such amaterial is also called a doped semiconductor.
• The dopant has to be such that it does not distort the original pure semiconductor lattice. It occupies only
a very fewof the original semiconductor atom sites in the crystal. A necessary condition to attain this is
that the sizes of the dopant and the semiconductor atoms should be nearly the same.
• There are two types of dopants used in doping the tetravalent Si or Ge:
(i) Pentavalent (valency 5)- Arsenic (As), Antimony (Sb), Phosphorous(P)
(ii) Trivalent (valency 3)- Indium (In), Boron (B), Aluminum (Al)

The pentavalent and trivalent dopants in Si and Ge give rise to two different types of semiconductors-

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 N-type Semiconductor

• When an atom of +5 valency element occupies the position of an atom in the crystal lattice of Si, four of its
electrons’ bonds with the four siliconneighbors while the fifth remains very weakly bound to its parent atom.
• This is because the four electrons participating in bonding are seen as partof the effective core of the atom by
the fifth electron.
• As a result, the ionization energy required to set this electron free is very small and even at room temperature it
will be free to move in the lattice of the semiconductor. Thus, the pentavalent dopant is donating one extra
electron for conduction and hence is known as donor impurity.
• The number of electrons made available for conduction by dopant atoms depends strongly upon the doping
level and is independent of any increase in ambient temperature.

• On the other hand, the number of free electrons (with an equal number of holes) generated by Si atoms,
increases weakly with temperature. In a doped semiconductor the total number of conduction electrons ne is
due to the electronscontributed by donors and those generated intrinsically, while the total number of holes nh
is only due to the holes from the intrinsic source.
• But the rate of recombination of holes would increase due to the increase in the number of electrons. As a
result, the number of holes would get reduced further.
• Thus, with proper level of doping the number of conduction electrons can be mademuch larger than the number
of holes. Hence in an extrinsic semiconductor doped with pentavalent impurity, electrons become the majority
carriers and holes then minority carriers. These semiconductors are, therefore, known as n-type semiconductors.
For n-type semiconductors-

P-type Semiconductor
• This is obtained when Si or Ge is doped with a trivalent impurity like Al, B, In, etc.
• The dopant has one valence electron less than Si or Ge and, therefore, this atom can form covalent
bonds with neighboring three Si atoms but does not have any electron to offer to the fourth Si atom.
So, the bond between the fourth neighbor and the trivalent atom has a vacancy or hole.
• Since the neighboring Si atom in the lattice wants an electron in place of a hole, an electron in the
outer orbit of an atom in the neighborhood may jump to fill this vacancy, leaving a vacancy or hole at
its own site. Thus, the hole is available for conduction.

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 • Note that the trivalent foreign atom becomes effectively negatively charged when it shares fourth
electron with neighboring Si atom. Therefore, the dopant atom of p-type material can be treated as
core of one negative charge along with its associated hole.
• These holes are in addition to the intrinsically generated holes while the source of conduction
electrons is only intrinsic generation.
• Thus, for such a material, the holes are the majority carriers and electrons are minority carriers.
Therefore, extrinsic semiconductors doped with trivalent impurity are called p-type semiconductors.
• For p-type semiconductors, the recombination process will reduce the number (ni)of intrinsically
generated electrons to ne.
For p-type semiconductors-

p-n Junction
• A p-n junction is the basic building block of many semiconductor devices like diodes, transistor, etc.

Consider a p-type semiconductor. A small part of this is converted into an n-type

semiconductor by adding certain impurities. The semiconductor now contains a n-region and
p-region with a metallurgical junction between p and n region. Two processes, diffusion and
drift lead to the formation of a p-n junction as follows-

• In an n-type semiconductor, the concentration of electrons is

more compared to the concentration of holes. And in a p-type
semiconductor, the concentration
of holes is more than the concentration of electrons. During the
formation of p-n junction, due to the concentration gradient
across p-, and n- sides, holes diffuse from p-side to n-side (p →
n) and electrons diffuse from n-side to p-side (n → p). This
motion of charge carries gives rise to diffusion current across
the junction.
• When an electron diffuses from n → p, it leaves behind an
ionized donor on n-side.This ionized donor (positive charge) is
immobile as it is bonded to the surrounding atoms. As the
electrons continue to diffuse from n → p, a layer of positive
charge (or positive space-charge region) on n-side of the junction
is developed.

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 • When a hole diffuses from p → n due to the concentration gradient, it leaves behind an ionized
acceptor (negative charge) which is immobile. As the holes continue to diffuse, a layer of
negative charge (or negative space-charge region) on the p-side of the junction is developed.
This space-charge region on either side of the junction together is known as depletion region
• Due to the positive space-charge region on n-side of the junction and negative space charge
region on p-side of the junction, an electric field directed from positive charge towards
negative charge develops. Due to this field, an electron on p-side of the junction moves to n-
side and a hole on n-side of the junction moves to p-side. The motion of charge carriers due to
the electric field is called drift. Thus, a drift current, which is opposite in direction to the
diffusion current starts.
• Initially, diffusion current is large and drift current is small. As the diffusion process continues,
the space-charge regions on either side of the junction extend, thus increasing the electric field
strength and hence drift current. This process continues until the diffusion current equals the
drift current. Thus, a p-n junction is formed. In a p-n junction under equilibrium there is no net
current.
• The n-material has lost electrons, and p material has acquired electrons. The n material is thus
positive relative to the p material. Since this potential tends to prevent the movement of
electron from the n region into the p region, it is often called a barrier potential.

Current flow across a p-n junction

1. Diffusion current Because of concentration difference, holes try to diffuse from the p-side to the n-side
and electrons from n-side to p-side at the p-n junction.
However, only those holes/ electrons cross the junction which have high kinetic energy. The diffusion
give rise to a current from p-side to n-side called diffusion current.
2. Drift current Because of thermal collisions, electron-hole pairs are created at every part of a p-n
junction. However, if an electron-hole pair is created in the depletion region, the electron is pushed by
the electric field towards the n-side and the hole towards the p-side.
This gives rise to a current from n-side to p-side called the drift current.
Thus, we have, diffusion current,

Semiconductor diode or p-n junction diode

• A semiconductor diode [Fig. (a)] is basically a p-n junction with metallic contacts provided at the ends
for the application of an external voltage.
• It is a two-terminal device. A p-n junction diode is represented by the symbol as shown in Fig. (b).

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 Biasing of junction diode
• Biasing is the method of connecting external battery or emf source to a p-n junction diode. The
junction diode can be connected to an external battery in two ways, called forward biasing and
reverse biasing of the junction.
1. Forward biasing:
• A junction is said to be forward biased when the positive terminal of the external battery is connected
to the p-side and negative terminal to the n-side of the diode.
Flow of current in forward biasing:
• In this situation, the forward voltage opposes the potential barrier, due to which the potential barrier
decreases and hence width of depletion layer decreases.
• Under the effect of external electric field, holes in the p-region and electrons in n-region, both move
towards the junction.
• These holes and electrons mutually combine just near the junction and cease to exist. For each
electron-hole combination, a covalent bond breaks up in the p-region near the positive terminal of the
battery.
• Of the hole and electron so produced, the hole moves towards the junction, while the electron enters
the positive terminal of the battery through the connecting wire.
• The direction of the applied voltage (V) is opposite to the built-in potential V0. As a result, the
depletion layer width decreases and the barrier height is reduced.
• The effective barrier height under forward bias is (V0 – V). If the applied voltage is small, the barrier
potential will be reduced only slightly below the equilibrium value, and only a small number of carriers
in the material—those that happen to be in the uppermost energy levels—will possess enough energy
to cross the junction.
• So, the current will be small. If we increase the applied voltage significantly, the barrier height will be
reduced and more number of carriers will have the required energy. Thus, the current increases.
• Just at this moment, an electron is released from the negative terminal of the battery which enters the
n-region to replace the electron lost by combining with a hole at the junction.
• Thus, a current called forward current, is constituted by the motion of majority charge carriers across
the junction. In forward bias, the junction diode offers low resistance (ideally zero). Also, I df > Idr or Inet
is from p-side to n-side.

2. Reverse biasing
• A junction diode is said to be reverse biased when the positive terminal of the external battery is
connected to the n-side and negative terminal to the p-side of the diode.

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 Flow of current in reverse biasing
• In this situation, the reverse voltage supports the potential barrier, due to which the potential barrier
increases and hence width of depletion layer increases.
• Under the effect of external electric field, holes in the p-region and electrons in the n-region are
pushed away from the junction, i.e. they cannot be combined at the junction. So, there is almost no
flow of current due to majority charge carriers.
• The applied voltage mostly drops across the depletion region. The direction of applied voltage is same
as the direction of barrier potential.
• As a result, the barrier height increases and the depletion region widens due to the change in the
electric field. The effective barrier height under reverse bias is (V0 + V ). This suppresses the flow of
electrons from n → p and holes from p → n.
• Thus, diffusion current, decreases enormously compared to the diode under forward bias. The electric
field direction of the junction is such that if electrons on p-side or holes on n-side in their random
motion come close to the junction, they will be swept to its majority zone.
• This drift of carriers gives rise to current. The drift current is of the order of a few µA. This is quite low
because it is due to the motion of carriers from their minority side to their majority side across the
junction.
• The drift current is also there under forward bias but it is negligible (µA) when compared with current
due to injected carriers which is usually in mA.
• However, a very small current due to minority charge carriers, flows across the junction. This current
is called reverse saturation current. Here, Idr> Idf or Inet is from n-side to p-side.

• In forward bias, the current first increases very slowly till the voltage across the diode crosses a certain
value. After the characteristic voltage, the diode current increases significantly (exponentially), even for
a very small increase in the diode bias voltage.
• This voltage is called the threshold voltage or cut-in voltage. For the diode in reverse bias, the current is
very small and almost remains constant with change in bias. It is called reverse saturation current.
• At very high reverse bias (break down voltage), the current suddenly increases. The forward bias
resistance is low as compared to the reverse bias resistance. For diodes, we define a quantity called
dynamic resistance as the ratio of small change in voltage ∆V to a small change in current ∆I:

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 The region of the characteristic curve, where dynamic resistance is almost independent of the applied voltage
is called the linear region of junction diode.

Application of Junction Diode as a Rectifier

• From the V-I characteristic of a junction diode we see that it allows current to pass only when it
is forward biased.
• So, if an alternating voltage is applied across a diode the current flows only in that part of the
cycle when the diode isforward biased. This property is used to rectify alternating voltages and
the circuit used for this purpose is called a rectifier.
Principle: A p-n junction diode can work as an excellent rectifier because it permits current in one
direction only.
It offers a low resistance for the current to flow when it is forward biased, but a very high resistance
when reverse biased. Thus, it allows current to flow through it in only one direction and acts as a
rectifier. The junction diode can be used either as a half-wave rectifier or as a full-wave rectifier.
p-n junction diode as half-wave rectifier
• A simple rectifier circuit called the half-wave rectifier, using only one diode is shown in figure. The
AC voltage to be rectified is connected to the primary coil of a step-down transformer. Secondary
coil is connected to the diode through resistor RL across which, output is obtained.

• If an alternating voltage is applied across a diode in series with a load, a pulsating voltage will
appear across the load only during the half cycles of the ac input during which the diode is forward
biased. Such rectifier circuit is called a half-wave rectifier.
• The secondary of a transformer supplies the desired ac voltage across terminals A and B. When the
voltage at A is positive, the diode is forward biased and it conducts.
• When A is negative, the diode is reverse biased and it does not conduct. Therefore, in the positive
half-cycle of ac there is a current through the load resistor RL and we get an output voltage
whereas there is no current in the negative half-cycle.

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 • In the next positive half-cycle, again we get the output voltage. Thus, the output voltage is
restricted to only one direction and is said to be rectified. Since the rectified output of this circuit is
only for half of the input ac wave it is called as half-wave rectifier.

p-n junction diode as full wave rectifier

The full wave rectifiers are of two types
i) Centre tap full wave rectifier(2-DIODES)
ii) Full wave bridge rectifier(4-DIODES)
• The circuit using two diodes gives output rectified voltage
corresponding to both the positive as well as negative half of the ac
cycle. Hence, it is known as full-wave rectifier.
• Here the p-side of the two diodes are connected to the ends of the
secondar of the transformer. The n-side of the diodes are connected
together and the output is taken between this common point of
diodes and the midpoint of the secondary of the transformer.
• So, for a full-wave rectifier the secondary of the transformer is
provided with a center tapping and so it is called center-tap
transformer. The voltage rectified by each diode is only half the total
secondary voltage. Each diode rectifies only for half the cycle, but the
two do so for alternate cycles.
• Thus, the output between their common terminals and the center-ta
of the transformer becomes a full-wave rectifier output. Suppose the
input voltage A with respect to the center tap at any instant is
positive. At that instant, voltage at B being out of phase will be
negative.
• So, diode D1 gets forward biased and conducts (while D2 being
reverse biased is not conducting). Hence, during this positive half
cycle we get an output current. In the course of the ac cycle when the
voltage at A becomes negative with respect to center tap, the voltage
at B would be positive.
• In this part of the cycle diode D1 would not conduct but diode D2
would, giving an output current and output voltage (across RL) during the negative half cycle of the input ac.
Thus, we get output voltage during both the positive as well as the negative half of the cycle.
• The rectified voltage is in the form of pulses of the shape of half sinusoids. Though it is unidirectional it does not
have a steady value. To get steady dc output from the pulsating voltage, a capacitor or an inductor is connected
across the output terminals (parallel to the load RL).
• Since these additional circuits appear to filter out the ac ripple and give a pure dc voltage, so they are called
filters. When the voltage across the capacitor is rising, it gets charged. If there is no external load, it remains
charged to the peak voltage of the rectified output.
• When there is a load, it gets discharged through the load and the voltage across it begins to fall. In the next half-
cycle of rectified output, it again gets charged to the peak value.
• The rate of fall of the voltage across the capacitor depends inversely upon the product of capacitance C and the
effective resistance RL used in the circuit and is called the time constant.
• To make the time constant large value of C should be large. So, capacitor input filters use large capacitors. The
output voltage obtained by using capacitor input filter is nearer to the peak voltage of the rectified voltage.

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