The ELECTRON: Wave Particle Duality

Graphic: www.lab-initio.com
The Dilemma of the Atom
Electrons outside the nucleus are
attracted to the protons in the nucleus
Charged particles moving in curved
paths lose energy
What keeps the atom from collapsing?
Wave-Particle Duality
JJ Thomson won the Nobel prize for describing the
electron as a particle.
His son, George Thomson won the Nobel prize for
describing the wave-like nature of the electron.
The
electron is
a particle!
The
electron is
an energy
wave!
The Wave-like Electron
Louis deBroglie
The electron propagates
through space as an energy
wave. To understand the
atom, one must understand
the behavior of
electromagnetic waves.
c = v
c = speed of light, a constant (3.00 x 10
8
m/s)
v = frequency, in units of hertz (hz, sec
-1
)
= wavelength, in meters
Electromagnetic radiation propagates through
space as a wave moving at the speed of light.
E = hv
E = Energy, in units of Joules (kgm
2
/s
2
)

h = Plancks constant (6.626 x 10-34 Js)
v = frequency, in units of hertz (hz, sec
-1
)

The energy (E ) of electromagnetic radiation
is directly proportional to the frequency (v)
of the radiation.
Long
Wavelength
=
Low Frequency
=
Low ENERGY
Short
Wavelength
=
High
Frequency
=
High ENERGY
Wavelength Table
Answering the Dilemma of the
Atom
Treat electrons as waves
As the electron moves toward the
nucleus, the wavelength shortens
Shorter wavelength = higher energy
Higher energy = greater distance
from the nucleus
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
This produces bands
of light with definite
wavelengths.
Electron transitions
involve jumps of
definite amounts of
energy.

Electron Energy in Hydrogen
|
|
.
|

\
|
=

2
2
18
10 178 . 2
n
Z
J x E
electron
***Equation works only for atoms or ions with
1 electron (H, He
+
, Li
2+
, etc).
Z = nuclear charge (atomic number)
n = energy level
Calculating Energy Change, AE, for
Electron Transitions
|
|
.
|

\
|
= A

2
2
2
2
18
10 178 . 2
initial final
n
Z
n
Z
J x E
Energy must be absorbed from a photon
(+AE) to move an electron away from the
nucleus
Energy (a photon) must be given off (-AE)
when an electron moves toward the nucleus
produces a bright line spectrum
Spectroscopic analysis of the hydrogen
spectrum
Flame Tests
strontium sodium lithium potassium copper
Many elements give off characteristic light
which can be used to help identify them.