- #1
Gonzolo
What happens to a bound electron when a photon comes along but doesn't have quite enough energy to make it go up a level? What happens to the photon? Quantum mechanical and simple answers welcome.
Tom Mattson said:In that case, the photon will scatter and the atom will recoil.
jtolliver said:They are absorbed and re-emitted.
Gonzolo said:What happens to a bound electron when a photon comes along but doesn't have quite enough energy to make it go up a level? What happens to the photon? Quantum mechanical and simple answers welcome.
ZapperZ said:Gonzolo: this is a clear example on why there is no such thing as a SIMPLE question! :) The simpler the question, the more complicated and complex the answer can get.
Gonzolo said:Yah, I guess I had an unconscious hint that the question needed a situation ("boundary conditions"). Learning and revising a lot of stuff though. I guess I thought I might be able to figure the answer myself without a little input.
The question came to mind when I realized I couldn't explain properly why a beam does doesn't scatter all around in glass. Here's my specific problem :
1: Are photons continuously absorbed and emitted when a beam travels through glass?
1.a.: If so, why are they always emitted forward rather than in a random direction?
1.b.: If not, how are the atoms affected without changing energy levels?
Gonzolo said:ZapperZ, you thought me an exciton was simply a lousy e-hole pair with the e in the gap. I always thought it was somekind of beast. Two-photon absorption! That is sooo neat! (but not quite what I'm looking for for now)
Gonzolo said:Thanks ZapperZ, I suspected this :
"(ii) you get "retransmission" of that light in the SAME direction, due conservation of momentum (there will be some scattering of course)."
...but needed it to be told for confirmation. And I was forgetting the link to phonons, which seems to raise the question of how glass (and water), which is amorphous, can have lattice mode vibrations? I suspect the answer is a detail I am missing.
When a bound electron absorbs energy, it moves to a higher energy level within the atom. This can cause the electron to become excited and eventually emit the absorbed energy in the form of light or heat.
When a bound electron is placed in a magnetic field, it will experience a force and begin to move in a circular motion. This is known as the Hall effect and is a fundamental property of charged particles in a magnetic field.
When a bound electron is hit by a photon, it can absorb the energy and move to a higher energy level or it can emit the energy in the form of a new photon. This is the basis of how atoms interact with light and is crucial in understanding the behavior of electrons in different materials.
When a bound electron is in a superposition state, it exists in multiple energy levels simultaneously. This is a key concept in quantum mechanics and describes the probability of finding the electron in a specific energy state when measured.
When a bound electron interacts with other particles, it can exchange energy and momentum with them. This interaction can result in the electron moving to a different energy level or even being ejected from the atom. The behavior of bound electrons in these interactions is essential in many fields of science, such as chemistry and material science.