Light… What is it? What is it made of?
How does it interact with atoms?
The first video of this series discussed the energy of an atom within the scope of the model defined by Niels Bohr. This model describes an atom as being a central nucleus with electrons in circular orbit around it.
In this video, we came to realize that when we talk about the energy of an atom, we are actually discussing the energy of its electrons. We will prove in detail in episode 4 that for a hydrogen atom (1 electron in orbit around a nucleus made of a single proton), the radius of the electron’s orbit is directly linked to the energy of the atom. Change the orbit of the electron, and the energy of the atom changes accordingly.
But how can this be done? How can one change the energy of an atom?
Well, this can be done with light. Light is a carrier of energy. We will see in episode 3 that if the energy carried corresponds exactly to the energy required to move an electron from an orbit to the other, the light will get absorbed by the atom!
It goes both ways: an atom can emit light carrying the exact amount of energy released when an electron moves back from an orbit of high energy to an orbit of low energy.
But before we go in detail about that, it is important to know what light is actually made of:
Is it a wave? Is it a particle?
Click the video below and get the answer!
Enjoy the ride!
This video series aims at providing an introduction to the quantum world to non-scientists and high school students preparing for their high school exams.
If you wish to deepen your understanding, please explore @lemouth 's quantum mechanics series. A relevant chapter to this specific video is Quantization of the electromagnetic radiation and the birth of the photons.
Credits: Friezes and the main illustration are based on illustrations found on Pixabay.
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I’m @muphy,
My life revolves around music production, teaching sciences, and discovery through travel.
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