Quantum physics for scientists and technologists: Fundamental principles and applications

✍ Scribed by Sanghera P.

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 543
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Making quantum physics accessible to the non-physicists, Quantum Physics for Scientists and Technologists is a self-contained, cohesive, concise, yet comprehensive story of quantum physics presented for students and professionals in biology, chemistry, material science, engineering, computer science, nanotechnology, and related fields. The fact that all these fields are dealing with the molecules and atoms underlines the increasing need of learning quantum mechanics even in non-physics majors because quantum physics is the science of the micro and nano world of molecules, atoms, subatomic particles, and their behavior in living and non-living systems.  Most, if not all, books on quantum physics written for the science students use abstract mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics and leave its implications and connections to the real world often non-intuitive. This kind of framework may be necessary for physics students, but not that important but often is a learning hurdle for non-physics majors.   This book presents comprehensive coverage of quantum theory supported by experimental results and explained through applications and examples is presented without the use of abstract and complex mathematical tools and formalisms such as bra-ket vectors, Hilbert space, matrix algebra, or group theory. Throughout the book, concepts and principles of quantum physics are explained in the language of non-physics majors by presenting examples and applications from non-physics fields including chemistry, biology, nanotechnology, and related fields. The interfaces and connections between quantum physics and non-physics fields such as biology, chemistry, computing, and nanotechnology are exposed or introduced in an easy to understand fashion.Furthermore, this book takes advantage of the amazing story of how quantum mechanics was developed. The concepts and principles that make the foundation of the quantum theory are developed in context of the history of the gradual development of quantum mechanics, which some of us find as amazing as quantum mechanics itself. This facilitates to introduce the key concepts and principles of quantum physics as explanations to the results of those historic experiments which could not be explained with the classical physics. In doing so, the book illustrates in an interesting way the process of scientific discoveries and advances.

✦ Table of Contents

QUANTUM PHYSICS FOR SCIENTISTS AND TECHNOLOGISTS......Page 5
Contents......Page 9
Acknowledgments......Page 17
About the Author......Page 19
About the Tech Editor......Page 21
Periodic Table of the Elements......Page 23
Fundamental Physical Constantsa......Page 25
Important Combinations of Physical Constants......Page 27
Preface Science, Technology, and Quantum Physics: Mind the Gap......Page 29
1: FIRST, THERE WAS CLASSICAL PHYSICS......Page 43
1.1 INTRODUCTION......Page 44
1.2 PHYSICS AND CLASSICAL PHYSICS......Page 45
1.3 THE CLASSICAL WORLD OF PARTICLES......Page 52
1.4 PHYSICAL QUANTITIES......Page 54
1.5 NEWTON ’ S LAWS OF MOTION......Page 57
1.6 ROTATIONAL MOTION......Page 60
1.7.1 Superposition......Page 64
1.7.2 Collision and Scattering......Page 67
1.8 CLASSICAL WORLD OF WAVES......Page 68
1.8.2 Defining Wave Characteristics......Page 69
1.9 REFLECTION, REFRACTION, AND SCATTERING......Page 72
1.10.1 Diffraction......Page 74
1.10.2 Interference......Page 76
1.11 EQUATION OF WAVE MOTION......Page 77
1.12 LIGHT: PARTICLE OR WAVE?......Page 80
1.13 UNDERSTANDING ELECTRICITY......Page 81
1.14.1 Magnetic Field......Page 87
1.14.2 Magnetic Flux......Page 89
1.15.1 Types of Electromagnetic and Other Waves......Page 91
1.15.2 Electromagnetic Spectrum......Page 92
1.16 MAXWELL ’ S EQUATIONS......Page 94
1.17.2 Standing Waves......Page 97
1.17.3 Wavegroups......Page 101
1.18 PARTICLES AND WAVES: THE BIG PICTURE......Page 104
1.19 THE FOUR FUNDAMENTAL FORCES OF NATURE......Page 105
1.19.1 Gravitational Force......Page 107
1.19.2 Electromagnetic Force......Page 108
1.19.3 Weak and Strong Nuclear Forces......Page 109
1.19.4 Four Fundamental Forces: The Big Picture......Page 110
1.20 UNIFICATION: A SECRET TO SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTIONS......Page 111
1.21 SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY......Page 114
1.22.2 Either It Is Here or There: The Certainty......Page 117
1.22.4 Common Grounds Among Particles and Waves: A Red Flag......Page 118
1.23 SUMMARY......Page 119
1.24 ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS......Page 120
2: PARTICLE BEHAVIOR OF WAVES......Page 122
2.2 THE NATURE OF LIGHT: THE BIG PICTURE......Page 124
2.3 BLACK - BODY RADIATION......Page 126
2.3.1 The Classical Collapse......Page 127
2.3.2 The Quantum Rescue......Page 131
2.4.1 The Photoelectric Effect: The Experiment......Page 135
2.4.2 The Classical Collapse......Page 137
2.4.3 The Quantum Rescue......Page 140
2.5 X - RAY DIFFRACTION......Page 145
2.6 THE COMPTON EFFECT......Page 148
2.7.1 Using Black - Body Radiation......Page 152
2.7.2 Using the Photoelectric Effect......Page 153
2.7.3 Using Compton Scattering......Page 155
2.8 SUMMARY......Page 156
2.9 ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS......Page 157
3: WAVE BEHAVIOR OF PARTICLES......Page 159
3.2 PARTICLES AND WAVES: THE BIG PICTURE......Page 160
3.3 THE DE BROGLIE HYPOTHESIS......Page 162
3.4 MEASURING THE WAVELENGTH OF ELECTRONS......Page 167
3.5 QUANTUM CONFINEMENT......Page 171
3.6.1 Understanding Particle Waves......Page 175
3.6.2 Understanding the Uncertainty Principle......Page 178
3.6.3 Another Form of the Uncertainty Principle......Page 182
3.7 WAVE - PARTICLE DUALITY OF NATURE......Page 183
3.8.1 Seeing the Nanoworld with Electron Waves......Page 185
3.8.2 Seeing Nanostructures with the Diffraction of Particle Waves......Page 187
3.9 SUMMARY......Page 189
3.10 ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS......Page 190
4: ANATOMY OF AN ATOM......Page 192
4.1 INTRODUCTION......Page 193
4.2 QUANTUM MECHANICS OF AN ATOM: THE BIG PICTURE......Page 194
4.3 DALTON ’ S ATOMIC THEORY......Page 195
4.4 THE STRUCTURE OF AN ATOM......Page 196
4.5 THE CLASSICAL COLLAPSE OF AN ATOM......Page 199
4.6.1 Bohr ’ s Model......Page 203
4.6.2 The Bohr Model Meets the Spectral Series......Page 207
4.7 QUANTUM MECHANICS OF AN ATOMIC STRUCTURE......Page 213
4.7.1 Principle Energy Levels......Page 214
4.7.3 Electron Orbitals......Page 215
4.8 CLASSICAL PHYSICS OR QUANTUM PHYSICS: WHICH ONE IS THE TRUE PHYSICS?......Page 217
4.9.1 Free Electron Model for Pi Bonding......Page 220
4.11 ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS......Page 222
5: PRINCIPLES AND FORMALISM OF QUANTUM MECHANICS......Page 224
5.1 INTRODUCTION......Page 225
5.2 HERE COMES QUANTUM MECHANICS......Page 226
5.3 WAVE FUNCTION: THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCK OF QUANTUM MECHANICS......Page 227
5.3.2 Introducing Probability in Science......Page 228
5.5 PREDICTING THE MEASUREMENTS......Page 231
5.5.1 Expectation Values......Page 233
5.5.2 Operators......Page 235
5.6 PUT IT ALL INTO AN EQUATION......Page 238
5.7 EIGENFUNCTIONS AND EIGENVALUES......Page 240
5.8 DOUBLE SLIT EXPERIMENT REVISITED......Page 242
5.8.1 Double Slit Experiment for Particles......Page 243
5.8.2 Chasing the Electron......Page 244
5.9 THE QUANTUM REALITY......Page 246
5.10 LIVING IN THE QUANTUM WORLD......Page 248
5.11 SUMMARY......Page 250
5.12 ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS......Page 251
6: THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF AN EQUATION......Page 252
6.2 THE SCHR Ö DINGER WAVE EQUATION......Page 253
6.3 THE SCHR Ö DINGER EQUATION FOR A FREE PARTICLE......Page 259
6.4 SCHR Ö DINGER EQUATION FOR A PARTICLE IN A BOX......Page 261
6.4.1 Setting Up and Solving the Schr ö dinger Equation......Page 262
6.4.2 Here Comes the Energy Quantization......Page 263
6.4.3 Exploring the Solutions of the Schr ö dinger Equation......Page 266
6.4.4 The Uncertainty and Correspondence Principles: Revisited......Page 268
6.4.5 Quantum Mechanical Tunneling......Page 270
6.5 A PARTICLE IN A THREE - DIMENSIONAL BOX......Page 274
6.6.1 Understanding Harmonic Motion......Page 276
6.6.2 Harmonic Motion in Quantum Mechanics......Page 280
6.7 UNDERSTANDING THE WAVE FUNCTIONS OF A HARMONIC OSCILLATOR......Page 285
6.8 COMPARING QUANTUM MECHANICAL OSCILLATOR WITH CLASSICAL OSCILLATOR......Page 289
6.9 LIVING IN THE QUANTUM WORLD......Page 292
6.11 ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS......Page 294
7: QUANTUM MECHANICS OF AN ATOM......Page 296
7.1 INTRODUCTION......Page 297
7.2 APPLYING THE SCHRÖDINGER EQUATION TO THE HYDROGEN ATOM......Page 299
7.3.1 Separating the Variables in the Schrödinger Equation......Page 302
7.3.2 Solution of the Azimuthal Equation......Page 304
7.3.4 Solutions of the Radial Equation......Page 306
7.3.5 Solutions of the Schrödinger Equation for the Hydrogen Atom: Putting It All Together......Page 309
7.4 FINDING THE ELECTRON......Page 312
7.5.1 The Principal Quantum Number and Energy Radiations......Page 315
7.5.2 The Orbital Quantum Number......Page 318
7.5.3 Magnetic Quantum Number......Page 322
7.7 LIVING IN THE QUANTUM WORLD......Page 324
7.8 SUMMARY......Page 326
7.9 ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS......Page 328
8: QUANTUM MECHANICS OF MANY - ELECTRON ATOMS......Page 329
8.1 INTRODUCTION......Page 330
8.2 TWO CHALLENGES TO QUANTUM MECHANICS: THE PERIODIC TABLE AND THE ZEEMAN EFFECT......Page 331
8.2.1 The Periodic Table of Elements......Page 332
8.2.2 The Split Spectral Lines and the Zeeman Effect......Page 333
8.3 INTRODUCING THE ELECTRON SPIN......Page 334
8.4 EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE......Page 337
8.5.1 Understanding Shells, Subshells, and Orbitals......Page 340
8.5.2 Understanding the Electron Confi guration of Atoms......Page 343
8.6 UNDERSTANDING THE PHYSICAL BASIS OF THE PERIODIC TABLE......Page 349
8.6.1 General Trends Across Groups and Periods......Page 352
8.6.3 Transition Metals......Page 354
8.6.5 Halogens......Page 355
8.7 COMPLETING THE STORY OF ANGULAR MOMENTUM......Page 356
8.8 UNDERSTANDING THE ZEEMAN EFFECT......Page 359
8.9 LIVING IN THE QUANTUM WORLD......Page 361
8.10 SUMMARY......Page 363
8.11 ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS......Page 364
9: QUANTUM MECHANICS OF MOLECULES......Page 366
9.1 INTRODUCTION......Page 367
9.2 A SYSTEM OF MOLECULES IN MOTION......Page 369
9.3 BOND: THE ATOMIC BOND......Page 371
9.4 DIATOMIC MOLECULES......Page 376
9.5 ROTATIONAL STATES OF MOLECULES......Page 378
9.6 VIBRATIONAL STATES OF MOLECULES......Page 382
9.7 COMBINATION OF ROTATIONS AND VIBRATIONS......Page 386
9.8 ELECTRONIC STATES OF MOLECULES......Page 392
9.9 LIVING IN THE QUANTUM WORLD......Page 393
9.10 SUMMARY......Page 395
9.11 ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS......Page 396
10: STATISTICAL QUANTUM MECHANICS......Page 398
10.1 INTRODUCTION......Page 399
10.2 STATISTICAL DISTRIBUTIONS......Page 400
10.3 MAXWELL – BOLTZMANN DISTRIBUTION......Page 402
10.4 MOLECULAR SYSTEMS WITH QUANTUM STATES......Page 411
10.5 DISTRIBUTION OF VIBRATIONAL ENERGIES......Page 413
10.5.1 Vibrational Energy......Page 414
10.5.2 Population Probability of Vibrational States......Page 415
10.5.3 Correspondence with Classical Mechanics......Page 418
10.6.2 Population Probability of Rotational States......Page 420
10.6.3 Correspondence with Classical Mechanics......Page 422
10.7 DISTRIBUTION OF TRANSLATIONAL ENERGIES......Page 423
10.8 QUANTUM STATISTICS OF DISTINGUISHABLE PARTICLES: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER......Page 426
10.9 QUANTUM STATISTICS OF INDISTINGUISHABLE PARTICLES......Page 428
10.10 PLANCK ’ S RADIATION FORMULA......Page 433
10.11 ABSORPTION, EMISSION, AND LASERS......Page 436
10.12 BOSE – EINSTEIN CONDENSATION......Page 438
10.13 LIVING IN THE QUANTUM WORLD......Page 441
10.14 SUMMARY......Page 442
10.15 ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS......Page 444
11: QUANTUM MECHANICS: A THREAD RUNS THROUGH IT ALL......Page 447
11.1 INTRODUCTION......Page 448
11.2.1 Sciences behind Nanoscience......Page 449
11.2.2 You Need to See Them before You Could Control Them......Page 452
11.3.1 Buckyballs......Page 457
11.3.2 Carbon Nanotubes......Page 461
11.3.3 Nanocrystals......Page 462
11.3.4 Quantum Dots......Page 463
11.3.5 Quantum Mechanics for Nanostructures......Page 465
11.3.7 Fruits of Quantum Confinement......Page 467
11.4.1 Microelectronics: A Hindsight......Page 468
11.4.2 Basics of Microchips......Page 470
11.5 QUANTUM COMPUTING......Page 474
11.6 QUANTUM BIOLOGY......Page 476
11.6.1 Four Fundamental Nanostructures of Life......Page 477
11.6.2 Central Dogma of Molecular Biology......Page 483
11.6.3 Sizes of Biological Particles......Page 484
11.6.4 Diving Deeper into the Cell with Quantum Mechanics......Page 486
11.8 LIVING IN THE QUANTUM WORLD......Page 491
11.10 ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS......Page 493
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 495
INDEX......Page 497