Microscopic Explanation

The explanation of the hydrogen atom spectmm and the photoelectric effect, together with other anomalous observations such as the behaviour of the molar heat capacity Q of a solid at temperatures close to 0 K and the frequency distribution of black body radiation, originated with Planck. In 1900 he proposed that the microscopic oscillators, of which a black body is made up, have an oscillation frequency v related to the energy E of the emitted radiation by... 

Usually, the molecular strands are coiled in the glassy polymer. They become stretched when a crack arrives and starts to build up the deformation zone. Presumably, strain softened polymer molecules from the bulk material are drawn into the deformation zone. This microscopic surface drawing mechanism may be considered to be analogous to that observed in lateral craze growth or in necking of thermoplastics. Chan, Donald and Kramer [87] observed by transmission electron microscopy how polymer chains were drawn into the fibrils at the craze-matrix-interface in PS films [92]. One explanation, the hypothesis of devitrification by Gent and Thomas [89] was set forth as early as 1972. 

To further elaborate on this last point, it should be noted that once corpuscular theory is introduced it should provide students with meaningful descriptions, explanations and predictions of macroscopic phenomena and relationships in terms of sub-microscopic entities such as atoms, molecules and electrons. But, alas, according to the foram of experts in chemical education, it does not (Van Berkel et al., 2000). Not only students, but also teachers as well as textbook writers make mistakes with regard to the macro/sub-micro/symbolic levels. Here are some examples mentioned by the international and Dutch fomm. 

The distinction between the macroscopical and microscopical levels of description certainly exists. However, it is not adequately stressed in school chentistry books. Indeed, the descriptive language used in these books does not maintain that distinction. Phrases such as nitrogen has a triple bond illustrate the point nitrogen is a colourless, odourless umeactive gas the nitrogen molecule has a triple bond. The triple bond provides the explanation of the unreactive nature of the substance ... 

It is known that the use of this type of sub-microscopic explanatory model is very challenging to matty learners (Harrison Treagust, 2002). Indeed, failing to fully appreciate the way quanticles have different properties to famihar particles, students cotranonly adopt a type of pseudo-explanation where they explain the properties of bulk matter in terms of the properties to be explained being properties of the atoms or molecules of which the bulk material is composed. This is represented in Fig. 4.4 which illustrates the tautological nature of these kinds of pseudo-explanations they can only explain the properties if we just accept that the qrranticles have these very properties. 

This provides a very strong tool for communicating explanations, as the teacher can move between discussing the bench phenomena and the (sub-microscopic) explanatory models readily. By presenting an equation that describes the reaction (a macroscopic phenomena that students can see etc.) in a form that directly links to the molecules or other quanticles (ions, etc.) considered to be present at the sub-microscopic level, the symbolic representation acts as a referent to both levels and so at a meta-level also represents the relationship and mapping between substances and quanticles. 

The section on tests for eations is used to illustrate the QATP. Students need to have tacit knowledge of the phenomena involved in qualitative analysis, reagents and apparatus, and to eonstruet explanations of the phenomena at the sub-microscopic level and to write equations to deseribe them. To help students understand precipitate formation, they are instraeted to compare the behaviom of two solutions, sodium chloride and iron(lll) ehloride when aqueous sodium hydroxide is added to the solutions (Fig. 6.1). The students will observe that there is no visible reaction with the sodium chloride solution, but a brown precipitate will be formed in the... 

Treagust, D. F., Chittleborough, G. D., Mamiala, T. L. (2003). The role of sub-microscopic and symbolic representations in chemical explanations. International Journal of Science Education, 25(11), 1353-1369. 

A model is one of the main outcomes of ary scientific enquiry and hence is a major contributor to philosophy of science. A model may be defined as a simplified representation of a phenomenon (an object, system, event, process) or idea produced for the specific purpose of providing an explanation of that entity, the most important outcomes of which are the production of successful predictions of how it will behave under a range of circumstances (Gilbert, Boulter, Elmer, 2000). Entities can be modelled at the three levels at the macroscopic, by representing some of the aspects of the entity that can be seen at the sub-microscopic, by representing the ideas produced to explain the constitution and behaviour of the particles that constitute the entity and at the symbolic, by representing the symbols created to simplify the reference to such particles (as, for instance, chemical formulae and chemical equations). 

In many macroscopic systems, the massive behavior is a convoluted answer to many microscopic features of the system. For example, the catalysis of the electrooxidation of an organic molecule may be generated by some local arrangement of atoms on a catalyst, defined at the atomic level. If some hypotheses are available to explain the enhancement of the reaction, this can be checked by inserting these hypotheses in the model. In a first approximation, a qualitative explanation is often sought. If this is... 

In the Taupo volcanic zone of New Zealand, the 26.5 ka Oruanui eruption was studied by Charlier and Zellmer (2000). Three fractions of zircons (sub 63 pm 63-125 pm 125-250 pm) were extracted from the rhyolitic pumice, which together with the whole rock respectively define three ages from 5.5 to 12.3 ka before eruption (Fig. 12b). Microscopic observation of the zircons showed that they are composed of a core surrounded by euhedral rims, and the preferred explanation of the authors is that zircons represent mixtures in variable proportions of old crystal cores crystallized 27 ka before eruption and crystal rims crystallized just before eruption. 

The model proposed by Anderson and Phillips gives a phenomenological explanation of the properties of the amorphous materials without supplying a detailed microscopic description [42]. Low-temperature measurements of the specific heat of amorphous solids have however shown that instead of a linear contribution as expected from the TLS theory, the best representation of data is obtained with an overlinear term of the type [43,44] ... 

As has been suggested in the previous section, explanations of solvent effects on the basis of the macroscopic physical properties of the solvent are not very successful. The alternative approach is to make use of the microscopic or chemical properties of the solvent and to consider the detailed interaction of solvent molecules with their own kind and with solute molecules. If a configuration in which one or more solvent molecules interacts with a solute molecule has a particularly low free energy, it is feasible to describe at least that part of the solute-solvent interaction as the formation of a molecular complex and to speak of an equilibrium between solvated and non-solvated molecules. Such a stabilization of a particular solute by solvation will shift any equilibrium involving that solute. For example, in the case of formation of carbonium ions from triphenylcarbinol, the equilibrium is shifted in favor of the carbonium ion by an acidic solvent that reacts with hydroxide ion and with water. The carbonium ion concentration in sulfuric acid is greater than it is in methanol-... 

As indicated in Fig. 7.2, X-rays are among the by-products in an electron microscope. Already at the beginning of this century, people knew that matter emits X-rays when it is bombarded with electrons. The explanation of the phenomenon came with the development of quantum mechanics. Nowadays, it is the basis for determining composition on the submicron scale and, with still increasing spatial resolution, is used in the technique referred to as Electron Microprobe Analysis (EMA), Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) or Energy Dispersive Analysis of X-rays (EDAX, EDX) [21]. 

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