Absolutely Small - Michael D. Fayer [0]
Title Page
Copyright Page
Preface
Chapter 1 - Schrödinger’s Cat
SCHRÖDINGER’S CAT
NOT LIKE FLIPPING COINS
REAL PHENOMENA CAN BEHAVE LIKE SCHRÖDINGER’S CATS
Chapter 2 - Size Is Absolute
SIZE IS RELATIVE IN EVERYDAY LIFE
OBSERVATION METHOD CAN MATTER
BIG OR SMALL—IT’S THE SIZE OF THE DISTURBANCE
CAUSALITY FOR BIG OBJECTS
NONNEGLIGIBLE DISTURBANCES MATTER
THERE IS ALWAYS A DISTURBANCE
SIZE IS ABSOLUTE
CAN’T CALCULATE THE FUTURE—ONLY PROBABILITIES
Chapter 3 - Some Things About Waves
WHAT ARE WAVES?
WAVES HAVE VELOCITIES AND FREQUENCIES
OCEAN WAVES
SOUND WAVES
CLASSICAL LIGHT WAVES
VISIBLE LIGHT
ADDING WAVES TOGETHER—INTERFERENCE
INTERFERENCE PATTERNS AND THE OPTICAL INTERFEROMETER
Chapter 4 - The Photoelectric Effect and Einstein’s Explanation
THE PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
THE WAVE PICTURE DOESN’T WORK
EINSTEIN GIVES THE EXPLANATION
RED LIGHT EJECTS SLOWER ELECTRONS THAN BLUE LIGHT
VERY RED LIGHT DOES NOT EJECT ELECTRONS
HOW FAST IS AN EJECTED ELECTRON
Chapter 5 - Light: Waves or Particles?
CLASSICAL DESCRIPTION OF INTERFERENCE DOESN’T WORK FOR PHOTONS
A NEW DESCRIPTION OF PHOTONS IN THE INTERFEROMETER
A PHOTON INTERFERES WITH ITSELF
A PHOTON CAN BE IN TWO PLACES AT ONCE
BACK TO SCHRÖDINGER’S CATS
BACK TO THE PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
Chapter 6 - How Big Is a Photon and the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
PARTICLES HAVE WAVELENGTHS
WHAT A FREE PARTICLE WAVEFUNCTION LOOKS LIKE
A PARTICLE WITH WELL-DEFINED MOMENTUM IS SPREAD OVER ALL SPACE
INTERFERENCE OF WAVES WITH DIFFERENT WAVELENGTHS
THE SUPERPOSITION PRINCIPLE
WHERE IS A PARTICLE WHEN IT IS IN A MOMENTUM SUPERPOSITION STATE?
THE HEISENBERG UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE
Chapter 7 - Photons, Electrons, and Baseballs
WAVES OR PARTICLES?
DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT
ELECTRONS AND PHOTONS ARE PARTICLES AND WAVES, BUT BASEBALLS ONLY PARTICLES
Chapter 8 - Quantum Racquetball and the Color of Fruit
THE PARTICLE IN A BOX—CLASSICAL
PARTICLE IN A BOX—QUANTUM
ENERGIES OF A QUANTUM PARTICLE IN A BOX
PARTICLE IN A BOX RESULT RELATED TO REAL SYSTEMS
Chapter 9 - The Hydrogen Atom: The History
THE SOLAR BLACK BODY RADIATION SPECTRUM
BOHR’S HYDROGEN ATOM THEORY—NOT QUITE THERE
Chapter 10 - The Hydrogen Atom: Quantum Theory
THE SCHRÖDINGER EQUATION
WHAT THE SCHRÖDINGER EQUATION TELLS US ABOUT HYDROGEN
THERE ARE FOUR QUANTUM NUMBERS
HYDROGEN ATOM ENERGY LEVELS
HYDROGEN ATOM s ORBITALS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF s ORBITALS
THE RADIAL DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION
THE SHAPES OF THE p ORBITALS
THE SHAPES OF THE d ORBITALS
Chapter 11 - Many Electron Atoms and the Periodic Table of Elements
HYDROGEN IS DIFFERENT
THE ORBITAL SHAPES MATTER FOR ATOMS LARGER THAN HYDROGEN
MANY ELECTRON ATOM ENERGY LEVELS
THE THREE RULES FOR PUTTING ELECTRONS IN ENERGY LEVELS
THE PERIODIC TABLE OF ELEMENTS
Chapter 12 - The Hydrogen Molecule and the Covalent Bond
TWO HYDROGEN ATOMS THAT ARE FAR APART
TWO HYDROGEN ATOMS BROUGHT CLOSE TOGETHER
THE BORN-OPPENHEIMER APPROXIMATION
FORMING BONDING MOLECULAR ORBITALS
BONDING AND ANTIBONDING MOLECULAR ORBITALS
PUTTING ELECTRONS IN MOLECULAR ORBITALS
THE HYDROGEN MOLECULE EXISTS BUT THE HELIUM MOLECULE DOESN’T
Chapter 13 - What Holds Atoms Together: Diatomic Molecules
SIGMA (σ) AND PI (π) BONDS
SIGMA MOLECULAR ORBITALS
PI MOLECULAR ORBITALS
BONDING IN DIATOMIC MOLECULES: THE FLUORINE MOLECULE
THE NEON MOLECULE DOESN’T EXIST
THE OXYGEN MOLECULE: HUND’S RULE MATTERS
THE NITROGEN MOLECULE
SINGLE, DOUBLE, AND TRIPLE BONDS
HETERONUCLEAR DIATOMICS
VISUAL MODELS OF MOLECULES
Chapter 14 - Bigger Molecules: The Shapes of Polyatomic Molecules
MOLECULAR SHAPES—TETRAHEDRAL METHANE
PROMOTING ELECTRONS
HYBRID ATOMIC ORBITALS—LINEAR MOLECULES
HYBRID ATOMIC ORBITALS—TRIGONAL MOLECULES
HYBRID ATOMIC ORBITALS—TETRAHEDRAL MOLECULES
HYDROCARBONS WITH SINGLE BOND
LARGE HYDROCARBONS HAVE MULTIPLE