Absolutely Small - Michael D. Fayer [149]
superconductivity
superconductors
superposition
superposition of momentum eigenstates
Superposition Principle
superposition state
surface area of a sphere
surfactant
symmetric stretch
table salt
temperature
temperature of stars
tetradecane
tetrahedron
thermal energy
thermal excitation of electrons
thermal vibrations
trajectory
trans
trans conformation
trans double bond
trans fats
transition metals
transition metals second series
transitions
triglycerides
trigonal molecules
triple bond
ultraviolet
Ultraviolet Catastrophe
Uncertainty Principle, Heisenberg
uncertainty relation
unsaturated
unsaturated fats
valence band
valence electrons
vector
velocity
velocity of light
vibration
vibrational energy levels
vibrational modes
vinegar
water
water hydrogen bonding
water vapor
wave, electro-magnetic
wave, ocean
wave amplitude
wavefunction
discontinuous
wavefunction, free particle
wavefunction collapse
wavefunction overlap
wavefunctions, continuous
wavelength
wave packets
waves
waves, light
waves, sound
wave velocity
weak acid
white crystals
wood alcohol
Table of Contents
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