Electromagnetic radiation wave properties

Light has a dual character - it may be described either as a wave motion or as a stream of moving particles. Since light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, its properties, as with all forms of electromagnetic radiation, are... 

Electromagnetic radiation of which visible light is but one example has the properties of both particles and waves The particles are called photons, and each possesses an amount of energy referred to as a quantum In 1900 the German physicist Max Planck proposed that the energy of a photon (E) is directly proportional to its frequency (v)... 

Thus, for electromagnetic radiation of frequency, V, the wavelength in vacuum is longer than in other media. Another unit used to describe the wave properties of electromagnetic radiation is the wavenumber, V, which is the reciprocal of wavelength... 

Two additional wave properties are power, P, and intensity, I, which give the flux of energy from a source of electromagnetic radiation. 

The various forms of spectroscopy find widespread application in kinetic studies. They are usually well suited for application to in situ studies of the characteristics of the reaction mixture. The absorption by a reacting system of electromagnetic radiation (light, microwaves, radio-frequency waves, etc.) is a highly specific property... 

Electromagnetic radiation has its origins in atomic and molecular processes. Experiments demonstrating reflection, refraction, diffraction and interference phenomena show that the radiation has wave-like characteristics, while its emission and absorption are better explained in terms of a particulate or quantum nature. Although its properties and behaviour can be expressed mathematically, the exact nature of the radiation remains unknown. 

The sensor systems outlined in the present chapter use evanescent electromagnetic radiation to monitor various analytes in aqueous solutions. Therefore, as a beginning, the basic properties of evanescent electromagnetic waves and the so-called TIR phenomena are summarized. Afterwards, two types of waveguide modes will be briefly discussed guided and leaky modes, which both generate evanescent waves at a solid/liquid boundary. 

In the early development of the atomic model scientists initially thought that, they could define the sub-atomic particles by the laws of classical physics—that is, they were tiny bits of matter. However, they later discovered that this particle view of the atom could not explain many of the observations that scientists were making. About this time, a model (the quantum mechanical model) that attributed the properties of both matter and waves to particles began to gain favor. This model described the behavior of electrons in terms of waves (electromagnetic radiation). 

De Broglie s hypothesis of matter waves received experimental support in 1927. Researchers observed that streams of moving electrons produced diffraction patterns similar to those that are produced hy waves of electromagnetic radiation. Since diffraction involves the transmission of waves through a material, the observation seemed to support the idea that electrons had wave-like properties. 

Electromagnetic radiation can be absorbed or emitted. The absorption of ultraviolet radiation by our skin may cause sunburn. When we cook food in a microwave oven, the absorption of microwave radiation by the water in the food causes the water molecules to vibrate, generating heat that cooks the food. However, when electromagnetic radiation is absorbed or emitted by matter, it behaves more like a stream of particles than as a wave motion. These particles are called photons and so electromagnetic radiation can be considered both as a stream of photons and as waves with characteristic properties, such as wavelength (1) and frequency (/). Therefore we say that electromagnetic radiation has a dual nature wave motion and streams of photons. 

A significant change in the theoretical treatment of atomic structure occurred in 1924 when Louis de Broglie proposed that an electron and other atomic particles simultaneously possess both wave and particle characteristics and that an atomic particle, such as an electron, has a wavelength X = h/p = h/mv. Shortly thereafter, C.J, Davisson and L.H. Germer showed experimentally the validity of this postulate. Dc Broglie s assumption that wave characteristics are inherent in every atomic particle was quickly followed by the development of quantum mechanics, in its most simple form, quantum mechanics introduces the physical laws associated with the wave properties of electromagnetic radiation into the physical description of a system of atomic particles. By means of quantum mechanics a much more satisfactory explanation of atomic structure can be developed. 

A full explanation of the properties of light requires both the wave theory of electromagnetic radiation and the quantum theory. Most photochemical processes are best understood in terms of the quantum theory, which says that light is made up of discrete particles called quanta or photons. Each quantum carries an amount of energy, S, determined by the wavelength of the light, A. Equation 13.1, in which h is Planck s constant and c is the speed of light in a vacuum,... 

In the study of chemistry, the properties and composition of matter are investigated, along with the nature of electromagnetic radiation and how it affects matter. Electromagnetic radiation is radiant energy that exhibits wave properties and travels at the speed of light (when in a vacuum). 

It turns out that electromagnetic waves exhibit properties of both waves and particles, or equally valid, electromagnetic waves are neither waves nor particles. This fundamental paradox is at the heart of quantum theory. You can perform experiments that unequivocally demonstrate light is definitely a wave. You can also perform experiments that unequivocally demonstrate light is definitely a particle. Nonetheless, there is one important relationship that allows the energy of electromagnetic radiation to be calculated if the frequency or wavelength is known ... 

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