Some Key Ideas in Quantum Physics

References
R. P. Feynman, et al., The Feynman Lectures on Physics, v. III (Addison Wesley, 1970) A. Hobson, Physics: Concepts and Connections, 4th ed. (Prentice Hall, 2006)

Nano is (typically) Quantum Mechanical

Four quantum phenomena that classical models cannot explain
The wave-particle duality of light and matter Uncertainty of measurement Discreteness of energy Quantum tunneling

Quantum Mechanics
A new theory that replaces Newtonian physics A more fundamental level of description of the natural world Newtonian physics is an approximate form of QM, very accurate when applied to large objects
Large means large compared to the atomic scale Explains why Newtons Laws work so well for everyday phenomena

The most precisely tested scientific theory of all time!

Essential to understanding
Detailed structure of atoms
Size, chemical properties, regularities exhibited by the PT The light they emit

Structure of atomic nuclei

How protons and neutrons stick together

Structure of protons and neutrons, and other, more exotic particles

Made of smaller bits still: quarks and gluons

Structural and electronic properties of materials Transistors, electronics And a host of other phenomena

Some Key Ideas

Wave/particle duality Uncertainty principle Discrete energy levels Tunneling

A Thought Experiment
Has actually been done many times in various guises Contains the essential quantum mystery! Basic setup: particles or waves encounter a screen with two holes (or slits) First, particles

One Slit Open

Close each slit in turn and see where bullets hit the backstop The curve shows how many bullets hit at a given point Call these N1 and N2, respectively

N1

N2

Both Slits Open

Bullets are localized and follow definite paths Each goes through one slit or the other If it goes through slit 1, say, it doesnt matter whether slit 2 is open or not So the combined result is the sum of the individual ones:

N12

N12 N1 N 2

Next, Waves
Same setup, but with waves Look at a cork floating at the backstop measure the energy of its up-and-down motion Waves can be any size, not lumpy like particles

I1

One Slit Open

Call the energy of the bobbing cork I
Where I is largest, the cork bobs up and down most vigorously

I1 and I2 look just the same as N1 and N2 did

I2

Both Slits Open: Interference

With both slits open, we get an interference pattern Alternating regions of bobbing and no bobbing A result of combining the ripples from the two slits Characteristic of wave phenomena, including light Note

I12

I12 I1 I 2

Mathematics of Interference
Call the height of the wave h (can be + or ) Then

h12 h1 h2

The intensity (energy) of the wave I = h2 2 So

I12 h12

h1 h2

2 h12 h2 2h1h2

Not I1 + I2!

I1 I 2 2h1h2

Now try it with electrons

Essentially the same as with the bullets Electrons are lumpy we never find only part of one They always arrive whole at the backstop Measure how many arrive at different locations on the backstop as before

One Slit Open

Both Open: Interference!?

Notice that at some places (e.g. A) there are fewer electrons arriving with both open than there were with only one open!!!

An Implication
Proposition: Each electron either goes through slit 1 or slit 2 on its way to the backstop If so, then for those that pass through slit 1, say, it cannot matter whether slit 2 is open or closed (and vice versa) The total distribution of electrons at the backstop is thus the sum of those passing through slit 1 with those passing through slit 2 Since this is not what is observed, the proposition must be wrong!

An Implication
Electrons (and other objects at this scale) do not follow definite paths through space! They can be represented by a kind of wave, that exhibits interference like water waves They also behave like particles, in the sense that they are indivisible lumps Wave-particle duality: Is it a wave or a particle? Its both! And neither

Surely we can check this

Lets find out whether the electrons go through slit 1 or 2 Put a detector behind the slits, e.g. a light source
Electrons passing nearby scatter some light We see a flash near slit 1 or 2 tells us which one it came through

Light source

What do we see?
When we can tell which slit they go through, there is no interference!

Okay, maybe
the light hitting the electrons affects them in some way, changing their behavior? How can we reduce this effect? We can reduce the energy carried by the light; this reduces any kick that the light gives the electrons This requires that we increase the wavelength of the light

A Funny Thing
We can only see things that are comparable to or larger than the wavelength of the light When the wavelength becomes larger than the spacing between the slits, we cant tell which slit the flash is near!
We get a diffuse flash that could have come from either

The interference pattern now returns!! When we watch the electrons, they behave differently!

Another Implication
Observing a system always has some effect on it This effect cannot be eliminated
No matter how clever we are at designing experiments! With baseballs, e.g., the effect is too small to be noticeable

The observer is part of the observation!

We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning. Heisenberg

Werner Heisenberg

Quantum Mechanics
Heisenberg, Erwin Schrdinger and Max Born showed how to determine the behavior of the quantum waves Showed that the QM version of the planetary atom was stable!

Max Born

Erwin Schrdinger

Hydrogen Atom Wave Patterns

Characteristic patterns and frequencies Like musical notes! The chemical properties of the elements are related to these patterns

Hearing the Tones

Electrons can jump from one waveform to another In this process, light is emitted
Frequency = difference in waveform frequencies

Since different elements have different characteristic waveforms, each produces a different spectrum of light The fingerprints of the elements

Another Implication
If we carefully set up the electron gun so that the electrons it produces are identical, we still get the same interference pattern So the same starting conditions lead to different outcomes! What causes this? Nothing the electrons are identical! A fundamental feature of the microscopic world: randomness The overall pattern is what is predictable, not behavior of individual particles
A philosopher once said It is necessary for the very existence of science that the same conditions always produce the same results. Well, they dont! Richard Feynman

The Uncertainty Principle

In QM, particles are described by waves
Usually called the wave function

Waves for a faster-moving particle have shorter wavelength Those for a slower-moving particle have longer wavelength Faster Slower

Uncertainties
The wave is spread out in space the particle can be found wherever the wave is not zero There is an uncertainty in the location x of the particle

(Think of this as the size of the region in space where the particle is likely to be found.) A wave spread over all space would have infinite uncertainty not a real particle

Real Waves for Real Particles

To make a useful wave, we can add many of these pure waves together:

Real Waves, continued

But now we dont have a single speed (wavelength), its a mixture! So for a real particle there is an uncertainty in the speed as well:

If we measure the speed we will get a range of possible results, with a variation of about s Both the speed and location are uncertain
Remember: no definite trajectories!

The Uncertainty Principle

For any particle

(x)( s) h m
where h is a fundamental constant of nature (Plancks constant) and m is the mass of the particle
Strictly speaking, the above is h/m at a minimum; it can be larger

What does this mean?

The Range of Possibilities

Lets call the product (x)(s) the particles range of possibilities (not standard terminology!)
Speed Speed

Position

Position

The HUP says the area of the rectangle is fixed, equal to h/m

Localizing a Particle
Say we make (x) smaller; then (s) must get larger:
Speed Speed Rectangle must have the same area as before

s
s

Position

Position

And vice versa, of course

What it Means
The HUP means that the more precisely we localize a particle (know where it is), the more uncertain is its speed, and vice versa Note that heavier particles have a smaller realm of possibility
Shows why e.g. baseballs do appear to have a precise location and speed!

Baseball RoP (not to scale!!)

Electron RoP

Proton RoP

(s)( x) h m

Area of the rectangle is reduced if m is large!

Exercise
Arrange these objects in order, beginning with the object having the largest realm of possibilities and ending with the one having the smallest: proton; glucose molecule C6H12O6; helium atom; baseball; electron; grain of dust; water molecule; automobile.

Quantum Reality
Atomic-scale phenomena are weird
Particles everywhere and nowhere until found Essential randomness Influence of observer on observed

Macroscopic (big) objects dont act like this, apparently Can/does quantum weirdness extend into the macroscopic world? If so, why is it not apparent?
See Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland by G. Gamow

Schrdingers Cat
Erwin Schrdinger was an early pioneer of QM
Austrian; later moved to Ireland Nobel 1933 Basic equation governing QM waves called the Schrdinger equation

A thought experiment not actually done, at least with cats Designed to show the paradoxical nature of QM in the macroscopic world

Experimental Setup

How it Works
Lets assume that radioactive decay of the nucleus happens with probability in a minute Decay is a QM process random! Until we observe the nucleus, it goes both ways After a minute the nucleus is neither undecayed nor decayed, it is a mixture of the two
Just as the particles go neither through slit 1 or 2, but rather through both, in a sense

When we observe it, the state collapses to one or the other outcome, with probability for each

The Poor Cat

Since the nucleus is not in a definite state until we observe it, neither is the cat! It is neither dead nor alive, until we observe it!!
The rules say it is in a superposition (mixture) of the two

Schrdinger (rightly) considered this absurd Special role of observation in the theory
The Copenhagen interpretation Bohr

Is consciousness required for measurements? Is the cat conscious? Is a bug?

Modern Interpretation
Measurement occurs when the microscopic system interacts with a macroscopic object, here the Geiger counter
And of course the cat too!

Such macroscopic objects decohere very quickly

The quantum superpositions get washed out due to the enormous numbers of particles

They act classically! The basis for modern interpretations of QM

Many Worlds Interpretation

The most exotic interpretation of QM Both states persist
One with nucleus decayed/dead cat Another with nucleus intact/live cat

The decohere so they cannot interact Both go on their (merrry?) ways As though the universe splits into two Every decohering process leads to further splitting All possible outcomes are realized somewhere in this multi-verse!

The Situation Today

Rules for calculating with QM are well established, work beautifully Problems of interpretation not fully resolved Decoherence is the key to understanding the interaction of QM systems with the macroscopic world well understood Most physicists regard the problem as interesting and fundamental but not critical for most research

Some physicists would prefer to come back to the idea of an objective real world whose smallest parts exist independently in the same sense as stones or trees exist independently of whether we observe them. This however is impossible Materialism rested on the illusion that the direct actuality of the world around us can be extrapolated into the atomic range. This extrapolation, however, is not possible atoms are not things. [emphasis added] Werner Heisenberg

Energy of Quantum Systems

Particles associated with waves
Wave frequency corresponds to energy, a l E = hf

The waves are described by Schrdingers equation Solutions for bound quantum systems typically have discrete energy levels Can we understand this qualitatively?

Standing Waves
For bound systems the quantum wave must vanish outside some region Then only waves with appropriate wavelengths will fit Like standing waves on a string A discrete set of energies

Quantum Particle in a 1D Box

Higher Dimensions
Analogy: standing waves on a drumhead Discrete frequencies (energies) There may be several modes of oscillation with the same frequency degeneracy

A Caveat
In realistic situations, the quantum wave need not strictly vanish outside the bound region
It decays exponentially there

Result is still that solutions have discrete frequencies Also: tunneling

Tunneling
Roller coaster:
Classically forbidden region (KE would be < 0)

Maximum height (KE = 0) Too slow!

Quantum Mechanically
QM wave decays in the forbidden zone, but isnt zero! Leaks through to other side Hence some probability to tunnel through!

An Optical Analogy
Schrdingers equation describes a sort of wave, similar to light waves Look in window some light transmitted, some reflected Typical wave behavior