Can visible light excite electrons?

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SUMMARY

Visible light can indeed excite electrons, leading to various phenomena such as heating and fluorescence. When an electron absorbs a visible photon, it gains energy, which can result in the emission of another photon or contribute to thermal energy, depending on the material's properties. For instance, materials like glass allow photons to pass through, while black bodies absorb most incoming light, resulting in increased temperature. This principle is foundational in applications like film photography, where visible light triggers chemical reactions in silver compounds.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of photon-electron interactions
  • Knowledge of material properties affecting light absorption
  • Familiarity with fluorescence concepts
  • Basic principles of thermal energy transfer
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the principles of Compton scattering
  • Explore the mechanisms of fluorescence in materials
  • Study the thermal effects of light absorption in black bodies
  • Investigate the role of visible light in photovoltaic energy conversion
USEFUL FOR

Students and professionals in physics, materials science, and engineering, particularly those interested in the interactions between light and matter and applications in photography and energy conversion.

LogicalAcid
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If so, then that means they can cause things to warm up right?
 
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yes this can happen . The electron can absorb the visible photon.
And you can have other things like Compton scattering.
 
Last edited:
cragar said:
yes this can happen . The electron can absorb the visible photon.
Then turns it into enegy, exites the electrons, and emits another photon of the same frequency
 
It doesn't necessarily have to re-emit the photon depends on the material.
 
cragar said:
It doesn't necessarily have to re-emit the photon depends on the material.

"Depends on the material" ?
 
like glass is transparent so the photons pass through the glass get absorbed and re-emitted among other thing, I think there is a faq on this , Or if i had a black body it would want to absorb most of the incoming light and it would heat up.
 
Good old fashioned film photography relies on visible light causing a chemical reaction to occur. When viewed at a quantum level it is exciting an electron in the silver compounds involved.
 
LogicalAcid said:
If so, then that means they can cause things to warm up right?

except in the case o fphotovoltaics, when the energy is also converted into ellectrical energy.
 

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