Tutorial 3: CHM101 (2016)

Blackbody (BB) Radiation (objective questions)

Purpose: These objective questions below (i to x) are just thought provoking. Some will be useful
for quizzes. Question 1 is for practice numerical problems. Question 2 reminds us about
quantization of the energy. Question 3 is to remind us about classical world (the particle world)
Question 4 is the tricky question, but was discussed in the class. Question 4 tests your knowledge
about the frequency of sodium lamp and work function. Question 7 and 8 are thought provoking
questions.
Purpose of question 5 is different. If you understand the answer to this question, you will realize
why Heisenberg uncertainty will be present for any waves.
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What is the average energy per mode classically?

What is the average energy of n oscillators with different frequency?
How does Raleigh-Jeans formula claim that things will glow even at low temperature?
Write the Plancks formula in wavelength rather than in frequency and plot.
When do we see color from thermal radiation?
What color of light does a human body emit?
What assumptions did Planck make to derive at his formula?
Where do we get the value of Plancks constant?
Show a typical blackbody spectrum at a particular temperature. Plot another one at a
higher temperature and show them together.
Why do we see color from a BB spectrum at T=5000 K?
Think about how Plancks introduction of quantization accounted for the properties of
black-body radiation.
Demonstrate that the Planck distribution reduces to the RayleighJeans law at long
wavelengths.

From photoelectric effect

Purpose:
1) When lithium is irradiated with light, the kinetic energy of the ejected electrons is found to
be 2.935x10-19 J for = 400.0 nm. Calculate (a) the Planck constant (b) the threshold
frequency, and (c) the work function of lithium from these data.
2) Explain why an exact amount of energy is required for the transition of electron to a higher
state whereas to release an electron from an atom, only the minimum energy of the photon
needs to be considered.
3) If light did not behave as a particle, how would the kinetic energy of the ejected electron
depend on the frequency of the light, and why?

4) Can light from Sodium lamp be used to observe photoelectric effect from sodium metal?

From Bohr-Rutherford model of atom

5) Can you use monochromatic light (one particular wavelength) to excite the electron of a Hatom from its ground state? If so, what should be the minimum value of the wavelength?
Will you still see all the different colors in the atomic spectrum?
Interference and Diffraction
6) Is it possible to use different wave equations to interfere and create a function as shown
below? If so, how?

7) What is the lower limit of the size of objects that can be measured using the diffraction
technique ?
8) Can two independent sources of light produce interference ?