Lecture 7

Chapter 3
Electromagnetic Theory, Photons.
and Light

Sources of light
Emission of light by atoms
The electromagnetic spectrum see supplementary material
Light in bulk matter and dispersion

Sources of light
Accelerating charges emit light
Linearly accelerating charge

Synchrotron radiation
light emitted by charged
particles deflected by a
magnetic field

Bremsstrahlung (Braking radiation)

light emitted when charged particles
collide with other charged particles

Synchrotron radiation:
Advanced Photon Source
Argonne National Lab, Chicago, IL

1104 m circumference storage ring

http://www.aps.anl.gov/

The vast majority of light in the universe

comes from molecular vibrations emitting light.
Electrons vibrate in their motion around nuclei
High frequency: ~1014 - 1017 cycles per second.

Nuclei in molecules vibrate

with respect to each other
Intermediate frequency:
~1011 - 1013 cycles per second.

Nuclei in molecules rotate

Low frequency: ~109 - 1010 cycles per second.

Emission of light by (isolated) atoms

Quantum mechanics: electrons in atoms can only be in discreet

states characterized with specific (quantized) energy
Transition of electron between discreet states with different
energies causes emission or absorption of a single photon with
energy matching the energy difference between the electron states
The energy of this photon and frequency of EM wave are
connected via Plancks constant: E = h

Atomic and molecular vibrations

correspond to excited energy levels in
quantum mechanics.
Energy levels are everything in quantum mechanics.

Energy

Excited level

E = h
Ground level

The atom is vibrating

at frequency, .

The atom is at least partially in

an excited state.

Excited atoms emit photons

spontaneously.
When an atom in an excited state falls to a lower energy level, it
emits a photon of light.

Energy

Excited level

Ground level

Molecules typically remain excited for no longer than a few

nanoseconds. This is often also called fluorescence or, when it
takes longer, phosphorescence.

Different atoms emit light at different

widely separated frequencies.
Each colored
emission line
corresponds to
a difference
between two
energy levels.

These are
emission
spectra from
gases of hot
atoms.

Frequency (energy)
Atoms have relatively simple energy level systems (and hence simple
spectra).

Atoms and molecules can also absorb

photons, making a transition from a lower
level to a more excited one.
Excited level
Energy

This is, of
course,
absorption.
Ground level

Absorption lines in an
otherwise continuous
light spectrum due to
a cold atomic gas in
front of a hot source.

Before

After

Spontaneous
emission

Absorption

Stimulated
emission
Einstein showed that stimulated emission can also occur.

Molecules have many energy levels.

A typical molecules energy levels:
E = Eelectonic + Evibrational + Erotational

2nd

excited
electronic state
Energy

1st excited
electronic state

Lowest vibrational and

rotational level of this
electronic manifold
Excited vibrational and
rotational level
Transition

Ground
electronic state

There are many other

complications, such as
spin-orbit coupling,
nuclear spin, etc.,
which split levels.

As a result, molecules generally have very complex spectra.

Waters vibrations

Energy

Decay from an excited state can occur in

many steps.

Ultraviolet

Infra-red

Visible

Microwave
The light thats eventually re-emitted after absorption may occur
at other colors.

The Greenhouse effect

The greenhouse effect occurs because
windows are transparent in the visible but
absorbing in the mid-IR, where most
materials re-emit. The same is true of the
atmosphere.

Visible

Infra-red

Greenhouse gases:
carbon dioxide
water vapor
methane
nitrous oxide
Methane, emitted by
microbes called
methanogens, kept
the early earth warm.

Blackbody radiation
Blackbody radiation is emitted from a hot body. It's anything but black!
The name comes from the assumption that the body absorbs at every
frequency and hence would look black at low temperature.
It results from a combination of spontaneous emission, stimulated
emission, and absorption occurring in a medium at a given
temperature.
It assumes that
the box is filled
with molecules
that, together,
have transitions
at every
wavelength.

Blackbody emission spectrum

The higher the temperature, the more the emission and the shorter
the average wavelength.

Blue hot is hotter

than red hot.

The suns surface is 6000 degrees K, so its blackbody spectrum

peaks at ~ 500 nm--in the green. However, blackbody spectra are
broad, so it contains red, yellow, and blue, too, and so looks white.

Electromagnetic spectrum

See supplementary lecture notes

Light in bulk matter

Maxwell eq-ns in free space EM wave speed is c

0 0
In medium, 0 and 0 in Maxwell equation must be replaced by
and and phase speed of EM wave in medium becomes slower:
v

Absolute index of refraction: n

Relative permittivity: K E 0
Relative permeability: K B 0

v
0 0

n KE KB

For nonmagnetic transparent materials KB1: n K E

Maxwells
Relation

However, n depends on frequency (dispersion) and Maxwell

equation works only for simple gases.