Understanding Quantum Jump and Photodisintegration in Light and Atomic Nuclei

[EIRE2003]

Quantum Jump - Is this wen an electron jumps to a higher energy level when absorbed energy and when it falls down and energy is den emitted as light. ?

Photodisintegration - Light is made up of photons which travel in the form of waves. wen a high energy photon collides with an atomic nucleus, the nucleus disintegrates, in some cases a neutron is knocked out. But a photon has no mass. Does dis happen becos of the energy it carries?

 

[jimmy p]

Maybe with photondisintergration, the photon does provide enough energy to break any forces holding the neutron in the atom

 

[Lord Flasheart]

Originally posted by EIRE2003
But a photon has no mass.

No, it has no mass, but it has momentum. That is how light sails work, with photonic momentum. Surely if a quanta packet can move an object to high speeds, it could disintegrate a nucleus? Just a thought.

 

[vacuum]

I think it is oversimplification to regard photon and the target as two colliding balls. I would also like to hear somebody explainig the ineraction act itself between photon and other systems.

Though, in my (doubtful) opinion, photon should be considered as 'energy delivery man'. It just makes the difference in energy, that's the whole point of being a photon. There are no other, more fundamental processes happening when a photon whacks its target because photon is that process.

Again I have to underline that this is just my opinion. (which could be wrong. Very wrong ;-> )

 

[jimmy p]

I suppose i always thought that a photon is aborbed by a sub-atomic particle, which becomes excited, vibrates more violently until it reaches its ground state AND/OR it releases/transmits the energy in the form of a photon itself.

Sorry, don't think i have thought about it any more than that!

 

[Arcon]

Originally posted by EIRE2003
Quantum Jump - Is this wen an electron jumps to a higher energy level when absorbed energy and when it falls down and energy is den emitted as light. ?

Yes.

Photodisintegration - Light is made up of photons which travel in the form of waves.[/qupte]
That's not quite accurate. In quantum theory a photon has both particle aspects and wave aspects.

.. wen a high energy photon collides with an atomic nucleus, the nucleus disintegrates, ..
?

Do you mean that it fission/splits? Please defined disintegrate

But a photon has no mass. Does dis happen becos of the energy it carries?

When people say that they mean that a photon has zero proper mass. A photon has a non-zero relativistic mass which can be though, in special relativity, as the ratio of the photon's momentum to the photons's speed c. Thus a photon possesses inertia.

For the definition of inertial mass in the context of special relativity please see --
http://www.geocities.com/physics_world/sr/inertial_mass.htm

 

[pallidin]

A highly energetic photon, one which has a higher frequency than the photons of "hard x-rays" have the potential of interacting and influencing nucleonic states. This potential might include hard x-rays(as opposed to "soft") but I'm not sure.
In any event, a single photon of those energy levels is likely be less than required to cause nucleon disintergration. Perhaps lighter affected atoms such as helium, etc... tell a different story in this scenario.
Hmmm...