The discussion revolves around the effects of neutral atom collisions on the continuous nature of black body radiation. Participants explore whether such collisions can shift eigenfunctions and create temporary dipoles, focusing on theoretical implications and models rather than experimental outcomes.
Participants express varying degrees of agreement on the effects of neutral atom collisions, with some supporting the idea of eigenfunction shifts and temporary dipoles, while others raise questions about the implications and complexities involved. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the overall impact on black body radiation.
Participants acknowledge the complexity of interactions and the potential for bound states, which may influence the interpretation of eigenfunction behavior during collisions. There are also assumptions regarding the nature of electron involvement in these interactions that remain unaddressed.
Yes to both. The van der Waals interaction leads to the polarisation of two atoms that are not too far from each other. This can be seen as shifting the energy levels with respect to the isolated atom.Getterdog said:Do neutral atom collisions shift the eigenfunctions,during the collisions? Do collisions create temporary dipoles?
Getterdog said:I’ve read everything I can here and in the stack exchange on the topic of the continuous nature of black body radiation and it’s been really helpful,but I’m lead now to this question. Do neutral atom collisions shift the eigenfunctions,during the collisions? Do collisions create temporary dipoles? I’m Assuming no free electrons,just collisions in neutral atoms.thanks jk
Does this then account for the more or less continuous distribution of energy for a monoatomic nonionized substance? Thanks jkhilbert2 said:In some collisions we can think of the wave function of the two-atom system as a product of the wave function for the internal motion in the atoms (relative position of electrons w.r.t. the nuclei) and a wave function for the center of mass motion of the atoms. Then you can model the collision in a way where the internal motion eigenstates change temporarily when the atoms get close enough to interact. In some other cases the two atoms can form a bound state, as in the recombination of two chlorine atoms to form a ##Cl_2## molecule - then you can't write the final state wavefunction in the same way as a combination of separate atoms because there's a covalent bond formed.