What happens to an electron's frequency during absorption of a photon?

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the interaction between an electron and a photon during the absorption process. It clarifies that there is no intermediate state where frequencies interact; instead, the system transitions directly from a state containing a photon and an electron to a state containing only the electron. The concept of "frequencies reaching each other" is dismissed as a misunderstanding of quantum mechanics, emphasizing that an isolated electron cannot absorb a photon without additional components in the system to conserve energy and momentum.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of quantum mechanics principles
  • Knowledge of photon and electron properties
  • Familiarity with conservation of energy and momentum
  • Basic grasp of quantum state transitions
NEXT STEPS
  • Study quantum mechanics and the behavior of particles in quantum states
  • Research the principles of photon absorption and emission
  • Explore the implications of conservation laws in quantum systems
  • Learn about the role of external factors in electron-photon interactions
USEFUL FOR

Physicists, students of quantum mechanics, and anyone interested in the fundamental interactions between particles at the quantum level will benefit from this discussion.

Iceking20
Messages
15
Reaction score
1
TL;DR
How does electron frequency and photon frequency interact with each other when they collapse together?
The point that I want to know is how two frequencys react with each other and does electron's frequency wait to reach to higher frequency on that fraction of second when they(photo's frequency and electron's frequency)collapse to each other than go to higher energy level or what?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I have no clue what you mean by "frequencies" interacting. An electron and a photon can interact, but how can frequencies interact? Which frequencies are you talking about?
 
Frequencies:Electrons have specific frequency in all energy level and also photons have frequency,so that what happen when these frequencies reach to each other?(in absorption)
 
Iceking20 said:
Electrons have specific frequency in all energy level and also photons have frequency,so that what happen when these frequencies reach to each other?(in absorption)

Nothing like "frequencies reach to each other" happens during the process of an electron absorbing a photon. So you are asking about something that doesn't exist.
 
The way quantum mechanics works, we start with a single quantum system whose state is "a photon, an electron, and some other stuff" at time ##t_1##. At some later time ##t_2## the state of the system is "an electron and more or less the same other stuff". We will say that "the photon was absorbed" but that's just a way of saying that the system was in one state before and is in another state now; there are no in-between states so no sensible way of talking about things that happen during the transition.

You may be wondering why there is "some other stuff" in the quantum state. That's because an isolated electron can neither absorb nor emit a photon (don't take my word for it! Try it! Calculate the energy and momentum of a system whose state is "a photon and an electron", then see if there can be any state "an electron" with the same energy and momentum; if not the absorption cannot happen because it would violate one or both of conservation of energy and momentum).
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: dlgoff

Similar threads

  • · Replies 36 ·
2
Replies
36
Views
5K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 78 ·
3
Replies
78
Views
6K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K