Monday, March 12, 2012

The Energy Scale

The colors of visible light are

just a small part of the range of possible photon energies

From low to high energy: Radio waves, Microwaves, Infrared Radiation, visible light (red to blue/violet), ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, gamma rays

All these are types of light, made up of photons!

Energy

Atoms
Matter (stuff with mass) is made up of tiny particles

called atoms, which are constantly in motion.

The different phases of matter reflect how much

energy the atoms are moving around with down at the lowest levels.
Solid slow moving, tight-packed atoms Liquid faster moving, more loosely-packed Gas very fast, spread out as much as possible Plasma like a gas, but some electrons split off and

travel separately from atoms (charged particles)

Atoms & Light

To understand why atoms

are so particular about the types of light theyll interact with, we need to make sure we understand atoms.

The Periodic Table of the Elements

Name of Element Atomic Number (# of protons) Chemical Symbol Typical Atomic Mass (# protons + # neutrons)

Using Element Info

For a particular element, The atomic number is the # of protons EVERY ATOM of that element has NO OTHER POSSIBILITIES!

If it has 1 proton, it IS Hydrogen. If it has 2 protons, it IS Helium, etc.

Using Element Info

For a particular element, The atomic mass is the average atomic mass, where each proton contributes 1 and each neutron contributes 1. You substract the atomic number from the atomic mass and round to the nearest whole number to get how many neutrons the TYPICAL atom of that element has, BUT some atoms may have extra or fewer neutrons we call these atoms of varying amounts of neutrons isotopes.

Most hydrogen atoms have an atomic mass of 1, so they have just a single proton in their nucleus. BUT some might have an atomic mass of 2 (1 proton, 1 neutron) or even 3 (1 proton, 2 neutrons). Thats why the AVERAGE is not an exact whole number.

Using Element Info

For a particular element, An UNCHARGED atom will have the same number of electrons as it does protons, but if an atom gains a lot of energy or is in a very high temperature environment some of its electrons may have escaped and left it charged or ionized.

The Sun and other stars are made up mostly of plasma, where the atoms have lost their electrons and so you have a soup of charged atomic nuclei and separate free electrons.

Spectra and Spectroscopy

Spectroscopy is where we use a prism or a device called

a spectrometer to split mixed light into its component colors and see exactly which energies/colors of light it contains, and how much it contains of each of these.

This gives you information about how the light was

produced.

Kirchhoffs Laws
1st law - continuous spectra 2nd law - emission spectra 3rd law - absorption spectra

Gustav Kirchhoff (German) Formulated these laws in the 1860s

Kirchoffs Laws
Kirchoffs Laws link each type of spectrum to a

particular type of source.

Continuous Spectrum
A continuous spectrum has a smooth rainbow

variation of color, with no gaps.

R O Y G. B I V

Kirchhoffs First Law

Hot solid, liquid or dense (opaque) gas emits light

of many wavelengths
continuous spectrum

(a.k.a. blackbody radiation)

Color and Temperature

Hot objects emit light Hotter => more energy => shorter wavelength
Longer wavelength, Lower Energy Shorter wavelength, Higher Energy

Start heating

Continue, temp increases

And light emitted becomes less red, longer wavelength

Kirchhoffs First Law -- completed

Explains source of continuous spectra: A hot solid, liquid or dense (opaque) gas emits light of many wavelengths, producing a continuous spectrum, with the peak brightness determined by the objects temperature.

Continuous spectrum as an Intensity vs. Wavelength plot. Note: intensity = brightness

Blackbody Radiation
The curve of a continuous spectrum on an intensity (brightness) vs. wavelength plot has a special shape called a blackbody curve.

Height and peak of this curve depend on temperature!

Why Blackbody Radiation

Radiation from temperature only!
Nothing reflected (imagine dark black box)

Composition or material has no effect, dont need to

know what it is made of.

Blackbody Spectra
An ideal object that emits a continuous

spectrum in this form is called a blackbody

Spectra from objects of various temperatures Hotter objects: Brighter Spectrum peaks at shorter wavelength (appears more blue)

Spectra and Temperature

Observing the spectrum from an object allows us to

tell its surface temperature.

Can look at the full spectrum, or part of it (and

reconstruct the rest)

The continuous light emitted depends on the

temperature, NOT the composition of the object.

Emission and Absorption Spectra

An emission spectrum has isolated bright lines,

like particular colors pulled out of a continuous spectrum

An absorption spectrum is a continuous

spectrum with dark lines, as if the colors were removed from specific spots.

Kirchhoffs Second Law

Explains source of emission spectra: A thin (transparent) gas emits light at specific wavelengths, if heated or otherwise given energy.
Mercury

Hydrogen

Intensity vs. wavelength plot shows isolated spikes of brightness at particular wavelengths, of varying height (strength).

Escape from atom requires 7.8 eV

10.9 eV

The Electron Ladder

Each element has a specific set of energy

9.1 eV
Requires 6.0 eV

7.8 eV
Requires 4.7 eV

levels that the electron can live in inside the atom. Light of the right energy is absorbed for the electron to step up in energy (or released for it to step down).

5.2 eV
Requires 2.1 eV

electron

3.1 eV

Nucleus of atom

Energy Levels & Spectra

The bright or dark lines in emission or absorption

spectra are at the particular energies required for transitions of the electron between energy levels.
Emission = Light

released by electron dropping down in energy Absorption = Background light absorbed by electron to move up in energy.

Spectral Fingerprints
Every chemical element has a unique pattern of

emitted wavelengths (colors) If many elements are mixed, each emits its own pattern, we see the combination.
More of one present => stronger lines

In any spectrum, we can determine what elements are present and their relative amounts.

Emission Spectra
Some examples:
Helium (He)

Neon (Ne)

Sodium (Na)

Unique Identification!

Hydrogen Atom

Kirchhoffs Third Law

Explains source of absorption spectra: Light from a blackbody which passes through a lowdensity (transparent) gas has light at specific wavelengths removed (absorbed)

Intensity vs. wavelength plot shows isolated dips of brightness at particular wavelengths, of varying depth (strength).

Kirchhoffs Third Law

Light is absorbed by the gas at the same wavelengths

(colors) as it would emit if heated/excited

Demo of chemical spectra: http://jersey.uoregon.edu/vlab/ele ments/Elements.html

The Suns Spectrum

What does the Suns spectrum tell us?

The Suns Structure

When we look at the Sun in visible light (with a filter

to bring down the brightness), we see a thick hot glowing ball

The Suns Structure

But we are viewing that thick part of the Sun through

thinner outer layers of the Sun called the corona

ABSORPTION SPECTRUM!!!

We can see the solar corona in other wavelengths or during a solar eclipse.