Quantum

Blackbody Radiation and Planck’s Hypothesis

An object at any temperature emits electromagnetic waves in the form of thermal
radiation. The characteristics of this radiation depend on the temperature and properties of
the object’s surface. A careful study shows that the radiation consists of a continuous
distribution of wavelengths from all portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. If the object is
at room temperature, the wavelengths of thermal radiation are mainly in the infrared region
and hence the radiation is not detected by the human eye. As the surface temperature of the
object increases, the object eventually begins to glow visibly red, like the coils of a toaster.
At sufficiently high temperatures, the glowing object appears white, as in the hot tungsten
filament of an incandescent lightbulb.
In the end of the 19th century, however, it became apparent that the classical theory
of thermal radiation was inadequate. The basic problem was in understanding the observed
distribution of wavelengths in the radiation emitted by a black body. A black body is an ideal
system that absorbs all radiation incidents on it. The electromagnetic radiation emitted by the
black body is called blackbody radiation.
The Photoelectric Effect
This phenomenon is known as the photoelectric effect, and the emitted electrons are
called photoelectrons.
Figure 40.9 is a diagram of an apparatus for studying
the photoelectric effect. An evacuated glass or quartz tube contains
a metallic plate E (the emitter) connected to the negative terminal
of a battery and another metallic plate C (the collector) that is
connected to the positive terminal of the battery. When the tube is
kept in the dark, the ammeter reads zero, indicating no current in
the circuit. However, when plate E is illuminated by light having an
appropriate wavelength, a current is detected by the ammeter,
indicating a flow of charges across the gap between plates E and C.
This current arises from photoelectrons emitted from plate E and
collected at plate C.
Figure 40.10 is a plot of photoelectric current versus potential difference ∆𝑉 applied
between plates E and C for two light intensities. At large values of ∆𝑉, the current reaches a
maximum value; all the electrons emitted from E are collected at C, and the current cannot
increase further. In addition, the maximum current increases as the intensity of the incident
light increases, as you might expect, because more electrons are ejected by the higher-
intensity light. Finally, when ∆𝑉 is negative that is, when the battery in the circuit is reversed
to make plate E positive and plate C negative—the current drops because many of the
photoelectrons emitted from E are repelled by the now negative plate C.
 The prediction made by Einstein is an equation for the maximum kinetic energy of an
ejected electron as a function of frequency of the illuminating radiation. This equation can
be found by rearranging Equation:
𝐾𝑀𝑎𝑥 = ℎ𝑓 − 𝜙

Equation 40.11 shows that 𝐾𝑀𝑎𝑥 is independent of the light intensity. The maximum
kinetic energy of any one electron, which equals ℎ𝑓 − 𝜙.
The incident energy appears in small packets, and there is a one-to-one interaction
between photons and electrons. If the incident light has very low intensity, there are very
few photons arriving per unit time interval.
The photon must have energy greater than the work function f to eject an electron,
the photoelectric effect cannot be observed below a certain cutoff frequency.

Example
The sodium surface is illuminated with light having a wavelength of 300 nm. As the
work function for sodium metal is 2.46 eV.
(A) Find the maximum kinetic energy of the ejected photoelectrons
(B) Find the cutoff wavelength lc for sodium.
The Compton Effect
Prior to 1922, Compton and his coworkers had accumulated evidence showing that
the classical wave theory of light failed to explain the scattering of x-rays from electrons.
According to classical theory, electromagnetic waves of frequency f incident on electrons
should have two effects: (1) radiation pressure should cause the electrons to accelerate in the
direction of propagation of the waves, and (2) the oscillating electric field of the incident
radiation should set the electrons into oscillation at the apparent frequency f’, where f’ is the
frequency in the frame of the moving electrons. This apparent frequency is different from the
frequency f of the incident radiation because of the Doppler effect.
Because different electrons move at different speeds after the interaction, depending
on the amount of energy absorbed from the electromagnetic waves, the scattered wave
frequency at a given angle to the incoming radiation should show a distribution of Doppler-
shifted values.
Figure 40.13 shows the quantum picture of the collision
between an individual x-ray photon of frequency 𝑓0 and an
electron. In the quantum model, the electron is scattered through
an angle 𝜙 with respect to this direction as in a billiard-ball type of
collision. (The symbol 𝜙 used here is an angle and is not to be
confused with the work function, which was discussed in the
preceding section.)

Figure 40.14 is a schematic diagram of the

apparatus used by Compton. The x-rays, scattered
from a carbon target, were diffracted by a rotating
crystal spectrometer, and the intensity was measured
with an ionization chamber that generated a current
proportional to the intensity. The incident beam
consisted of monochromatic x-rays of wavelength
𝜆0 = 0.071 𝑛𝑚
 The experimental intensity versus-wavelength plots observed by Compton for four
scattering angles (corresponding to 𝜃 in Fig. 40.13) are shown in Figure 40.15. The graphs for
the three nonzero angles show two peaks, one at 𝜆0 and one at 𝜆′ > 𝜆0.

The shifted peak at 𝜆′ is caused by the scattering of x-rays from free electrons, which
was predicted by Compton to depend on scattering angle as
ℎ
𝜆′ − 𝜆0 = (1 − cos 𝜃)
𝑚𝑒 𝑐

When the electron recoils at an angle 𝜙, then

1 ℎ𝑓 𝜃
= (1 + 2
) tan( )
𝑡𝑎𝑛 𝜙 𝑚𝑒 𝑐 2

where 𝑚𝑒 is the mass of the electron. This expression is known as the Compton shift
equation and correctly describes the positions of the peaks in Figure 40.15. The factor 𝑚ℎ𝑒𝑐,
called the Compton wavelength of the electron, has a currently accepted value of
ℎ
𝜆𝐶 = = 0.00243 𝑛𝑚
𝑚𝑒 𝑐

Example
X-rays of wavelength 𝜆 = 0.2 nm are scattered from a block of material. The scattered
x-rays are observed at an angle of 45.0° to the incident beam. Calculate their wavelength
The Wave Properties of Particles
In his 1923 doctoral dissertation, Louis de Broglie postulated that because photons
have both wave and particle characteristics, perhaps all forms of matter have both properties.
This highly revolutionary idea had no experimental confirmation at the time. According to de
Broglie, electrons, just like light, have a dual particle-wave nature.
We found that the momentum of a photon can be expressed as
ℎ
𝑝=
𝜆
De Broglie suggested that material particles of momentum 𝑝 have a characteristic
wavelength that is given by the same expression. Because the magnitude of the momentum
of a particle of mass m and speed u is 𝑝 = 𝑚𝑢, the de Broglie wavelength of that particle is
ℎ ℎ
𝜆= =
𝑝 𝑚𝑢

Furthermore, in analogy with photons, de Broglie postulated that particles obey the
Einstein relation E = hf, where E is the total energy of the particle. The frequency of a particle
is then
𝐸
𝑓=
ℎ

The Davisson–Germer Experiment

De Broglie’s 1923 proposal that matter exhibits both wave and particle properties was
regarded as pure speculation. If particles such as electrons had wave properties, under the
correct conditions they should exhibit diffraction effects. Only three years later, C. J. Davisson
(1881–1958) and L. H. Germer (1896–1971) succeeded in observing electron diffraction and
measuring the wavelength of electrons.
Interestingly, the intent of the initial Davisson–Germer experiment was not to confirm
the de Broglie hypothesis. In fact, their discovery was made by accident (as is often the case).
The experiment involved the scattering of low-energy electrons (approximately 54 eV) from a
nickel target in a vacuum.
Example
(A) Calculate the de Broglie wavelength for an electron (𝑚𝑒 = 9.11 × 10−31 kg)
moving at 1 × 107 m/

(B) A rock of mass 50 g is thrown with a speed of 40 m/s. What is its de Broglie
wavelength.

The Double-Slit Experiment Revisit

Consider a parallel beam of mono-energetic electrons incident on a double slit as in
Figure 40.21. Let’s assume the slit widths are small compared with the electron wavelength
so that we need not worry about diffraction maxima and minima as discussed for light. An
electron detector screen is positioned far from the slits at a distance much greater than d, the
separation distance of the slits. If the detector screen collects electrons for a long enough
time, we find a typical wave interference pattern for the counts per minute, or probability of
arrival of electrons.
Problem
Calculate the energy, in electron volts, of a photon whose frequency is (a) 620 THz,
(b) 3.10 GHz, and (c) 46.0 MHz. (ii)Determine the corresponding wavelengths for the photons
listed in part (i) and (iii) state the classification of each on the electromagnetic spectrum.

Molybdenum has a work function of 4.20 eV. (a) Find the cutoff wavelength and cutoff
frequency for the photoelectric effect. (b) What is the stopping potential if the incident light
has a wavelength of 180 nm?
 The work function for zinc is 4.31 eV. (a) Find the cutoff wavelength for zinc. (b) What
is the lowest frequency of light incident on zinc that releases photo-electrons from its surface?
(c) If photons of energy 5.50 eV are incident on zinc, what is the maximum kinetic energy of
the ejected photoelectrons?

Two light sources are used in a photoelectric experiment to determine the work
function for a particular metal surface. When green light from a mercury lamp (𝜆 = 546.1 nm)
is used, a stopping potential of 0.376 V reduces the photocurrent to zero. (a) Based on this
measurement, what is the work function for this metal? (b) What stopping potential would be
observed when using the yellow light from a helium discharge tube (𝜆 = 587.5 nm)?
 Lithium, beryllium, and mercury have work functions of 2.30 eV, 3.90 eV, and 4.50 eV,
respectively. Light with a wavelength of 400 nm is incident on each of these metals. (a)
Determine which of these metals exhibit the photoelectric effect for this incident light. Explain
your reasoning. (b) Find the maximum kinetic energy for the photoelectrons in each case.

An isolated copper sphere of radius 5.00 cm, initially uncharged, is illuminated by

ultraviolet light of wavelength 200 nm. The work function for copper is 4.70 eV. What charge
does the photoelectric effect induce on the sphere?
 X-rays are scattered from a target at an angle of 55.0° with the direction of the incident
beam. Find the wave-length shift of the scattered x-rays.

A 0.110-nm photon collides with a stationary electron. After the collision, the electron
moves forward and the photon recoils backward. Find the momentum and the kinetic energy
of the electron.
 X-rays with a wavelength of 120.0 pm undergo Compton scattering. (a) Find the
wavelengths of the photons scattered at angles of 30.0°, 60.0°, 90.0°, 120°, 150°, and 180°. (b)
Find the energy of the scattered electron in each case. (c) Which of the scattering angles
provides the electron with the greatest energy?

After a 0.800-nm x-ray photon scatters from a free electron, the electron recoils at
1.40 x 106 m/s. (a) What is the Compton shift in the photon’s wavelength? (b) Through what
angle is the photon scattered?
 A photon having energy E 0= 0.880 MeV is scattered by a free electron initially at rest
such that the scattering angle of the scattered electron is equal to that of the scattered
photon as shown in Figure P40.31. (a) Determine the scattering angle of the photon and the
electron. (b) Determine the energy and momentum of the scattered photon. (c) Determine
the kinetic energy and momentum of the scattered electron.

X-rays having an energy of 300 keV undergo Compton scattering from a target. The
scattered rays are detected at 37.0° relative to the incident rays. Find (a) the Compton shift at
this angle, (b) the energy of the scattered x-ray, and (c) the energy of the recoiling electron.
 (a) Calculate the momentum of a photon whose wave-length is 4.00 x 1027 m. (b)
Find the speed of an electron having the same momentum as the photon in part (a)

(a) An electron has a kinetic energy of 3.00 eV. Find its wavelength. (b) What If? A
photon has energy 3.00 eV. Find its wavelength.

Calculate the de Broglie wavelength for a proton moving with a speed of 1.00 x 106
m/s.