- #1
iScience
- 466
- 5
hi all, i learned that only certain orbits were allowed in the atom and that if the electrons occupied any of the orbits in between, that they would no longer be in a resonance orbit (i was taught that the allowed orbits were the electron probability wave in resonance and therefore no EM radiation given off) and emit EM radiation; and then we just learned the fact that the absorption of a photon means that the atom is absorbing energy and this excites the electron up to the energy level corresponding to that "hf" value, and also the de-excitation of an electron leads to the electron giving off energy in the form of a EM wave.
but how exactly does this work? (obviously i haven't yet taken QM)
i want to know the mechanisms behind these phenomena
first off, when a photon of energy "hf" is incident to an electron cloud, but there is no other energy level with the energy difference of "hf", why does this photon still not get absorbed? what is wrong with absorbing the photon and then getting excited into the energy gap "orbital" and then instantly having its energy radiated since it is not in a resonance orbit? it's as if the electron knows that it cannot be in that orbit at all. how is this?
how are electrons excited and de-excited? do they physically travel across the energy gap? or do they somehow teleport? I've heard that they teleport
what is the mechanism for photon absorption? how exactly does an electron cloud absorb
i'm aware that EM waves are created by the acceleration of a charge. If this is true, ie.. if this is the only mechanism for which an EM wave can be created as far as we know, then this implies that the de-excitation of an electron causes the electron to undergo deceleration (rather obviously..); however, in any allowed orbit besides the s-orbit, the electron is accelerating and decelerating continuously, but in resonance. So, if the electron does physically travel across the energy gap, then is the emission of the EM wave solely due to the facts that the electron is 1.) undergoing deceleration and 2.) not in a resonance orbit and therefore it radiates away the energy of the still orbiting electron, as I've learned in my class?
but how exactly does this work? (obviously i haven't yet taken QM)
i want to know the mechanisms behind these phenomena
first off, when a photon of energy "hf" is incident to an electron cloud, but there is no other energy level with the energy difference of "hf", why does this photon still not get absorbed? what is wrong with absorbing the photon and then getting excited into the energy gap "orbital" and then instantly having its energy radiated since it is not in a resonance orbit? it's as if the electron knows that it cannot be in that orbit at all. how is this?
how are electrons excited and de-excited? do they physically travel across the energy gap? or do they somehow teleport? I've heard that they teleport
what is the mechanism for photon absorption? how exactly does an electron cloud absorb
i'm aware that EM waves are created by the acceleration of a charge. If this is true, ie.. if this is the only mechanism for which an EM wave can be created as far as we know, then this implies that the de-excitation of an electron causes the electron to undergo deceleration (rather obviously..); however, in any allowed orbit besides the s-orbit, the electron is accelerating and decelerating continuously, but in resonance. So, if the electron does physically travel across the energy gap, then is the emission of the EM wave solely due to the facts that the electron is 1.) undergoing deceleration and 2.) not in a resonance orbit and therefore it radiates away the energy of the still orbiting electron, as I've learned in my class?