Most difficult part of the material
I dont really understand the Franck-Condon principle, especially the final paragraph in 12.7 about dissociating of molecules if the excited electronic state is not bound.
Most interesting part of the material
How the abundance of isotopes can be accounted for by the spectra of the vibrational states. THe spectrum for different isotopes will differ in the vibrational frequencies. What was more interesting was that we can see the relative abundance of each of the isotopes by looking at the intensities of the spectral lines.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
Reading Assignment 17
Most interesting part of the material
That there will be more energy levels for molecules because of the extra degrees of freedom. I also found it interesting that these different states also emit different radiation corresponding to transitions between molecular and quantum states.
Most difficult part of the material
12.4 mainly how the orbital angular momentum is no longer conserved, though I do understand that a diatomic molecule will give rise to a force that is not centered.
That there will be more energy levels for molecules because of the extra degrees of freedom. I also found it interesting that these different states also emit different radiation corresponding to transitions between molecular and quantum states.
Most difficult part of the material
12.4 mainly how the orbital angular momentum is no longer conserved, though I do understand that a diatomic molecule will give rise to a force that is not centered.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Reading Assignment 16
Most difficult part of the material
12.3 on covalent bonds was hard to understand, especially when they start talking about antiparallel spins etc. ALso, how the Hartree theory relates to all, I'm not 100% sure.
Most interesting part of the material
It was interesting how we are now looking at the chemistry side of things, and how the physics we have been learning about applies to things like covalent and ionic bonds. I also understood the bits on indistinguishability in the H2 atom.
12.3 on covalent bonds was hard to understand, especially when they start talking about antiparallel spins etc. ALso, how the Hartree theory relates to all, I'm not 100% sure.
Most interesting part of the material
It was interesting how we are now looking at the chemistry side of things, and how the physics we have been learning about applies to things like covalent and ionic bonds. I also understood the bits on indistinguishability in the H2 atom.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Reading Assignment 15
Most difficult part of the material
Trying to understand the spin orbital and momenta coupling - I still don't know what is meant by 'coupling' and this stopped me from understanding a fair amount of section 10.3.
Most interesting part of the material
How the different forces are more/less important at different radii of the atom. I thought it was interesting how this gave rise to the different optical excitation levels. I mostly understand how the shielding works but if this could be explained in more detail (just the basics) it would be great.
Trying to understand the spin orbital and momenta coupling - I still don't know what is meant by 'coupling' and this stopped me from understanding a fair amount of section 10.3.
Most interesting part of the material
How the different forces are more/less important at different radii of the atom. I thought it was interesting how this gave rise to the different optical excitation levels. I mostly understand how the shielding works but if this could be explained in more detail (just the basics) it would be great.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Reading Assignment 14
Most interesting part of the material
Finally less maths! I sort of understand the ground state energies, and how higher shells (in terms of quantum number) can have a lower energy. It is interesting how we can study some materials using the x-ray line spectra, and how we can observe the selection rules working. Can't wait to look at this!
Most difficult part of the material
I don't really understand teh Hartree theory, and how we can approximate the (Z-2) factor, if that is indeed what we are doing. It all seems a little inaccurate and im not sure about the reasoning behind it. I hope this is what we will focus on in the lecture.
Finally less maths! I sort of understand the ground state energies, and how higher shells (in terms of quantum number) can have a lower energy. It is interesting how we can study some materials using the x-ray line spectra, and how we can observe the selection rules working. Can't wait to look at this!
Most difficult part of the material
I don't really understand teh Hartree theory, and how we can approximate the (Z-2) factor, if that is indeed what we are doing. It all seems a little inaccurate and im not sure about the reasoning behind it. I hope this is what we will focus on in the lecture.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Reading Assignement 12
Most difficult part of the material
I don't understand why we ignore the Coulomb interaction, and why this would help us. Also, I found the exchange forces a little confusing along with antisymmetric eigenfuncitons. The singlet and triplet states are associated with the angular momentum, but im not sure how this ties in with our wavefunciton.
Most interesting part of the material
Even though i didn't completely understand it, the symmetries of the wavefunctions seem like they are pretty strange. To be honest it was hard to find much more interesting, since most of it was a little hard for me to comprehend.
I don't understand why we ignore the Coulomb interaction, and why this would help us. Also, I found the exchange forces a little confusing along with antisymmetric eigenfuncitons. The singlet and triplet states are associated with the angular momentum, but im not sure how this ties in with our wavefunciton.
Most interesting part of the material
Even though i didn't completely understand it, the symmetries of the wavefunctions seem like they are pretty strange. To be honest it was hard to find much more interesting, since most of it was a little hard for me to comprehend.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Reading Assignement 11
Most interesting part of the material
I put the most interesting bit first, since the most difficult part follows on from this.
The indistinguishability between the identical particles is always interesting, by using the uncertainty principle to see that it is impossible to identify the particles using quantum mechanics, but using classical they can easily be labelled.
Most difficult part of the material
The problem lies in writing the eigenfunctions such that they reflect the properties that multielectrons have. It appears that this is done using linear combinations of the eigenfunctions, and the maths looks very messy and difficult. If this could be simplified the understanding would be much easier.
I put the most interesting bit first, since the most difficult part follows on from this.
The indistinguishability between the identical particles is always interesting, by using the uncertainty principle to see that it is impossible to identify the particles using quantum mechanics, but using classical they can easily be labelled.
Most difficult part of the material
The problem lies in writing the eigenfunctions such that they reflect the properties that multielectrons have. It appears that this is done using linear combinations of the eigenfunctions, and the maths looks very messy and difficult. If this could be simplified the understanding would be much easier.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Reading Assignment 8
Most difficult part of the material
Using Ampere's Law, and thinking about the orbit of the electron as a current loop? I don't understand how this gives us the actual magnetic field (if it does). I thought that the electrons did not orbit the nucleus in perfect circles. I guess this is just a different way of looking at it.
Most interesting part of the material
Looking at the Hydrogen energy level predictions, and how they are split and the errors that Bohr, Sommerfield and Dirac made in their work. they seem to represent the energy levels quite well, even though they are just very approximate values.
Using Ampere's Law, and thinking about the orbit of the electron as a current loop? I don't understand how this gives us the actual magnetic field (if it does). I thought that the electrons did not orbit the nucleus in perfect circles. I guess this is just a different way of looking at it.
Most interesting part of the material
Looking at the Hydrogen energy level predictions, and how they are split and the errors that Bohr, Sommerfield and Dirac made in their work. they seem to represent the energy levels quite well, even though they are just very approximate values.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Reading Assignment 7
Most difficult part of the material
I am not sure how the torque associated with the dipole moment works. I have studied torque in other systems, but it would be good to go through it more closely in class, possibly covering the basics of torque again to see how it applies to the one electron atom.
Most interesting part of the material
From the studies of plasma physics, I found it easier to understand section 8.2 and the magnetic dipole moment, due to the mention of the Larmour radius, which I also used in one of my lab experiments.
I am not sure how the torque associated with the dipole moment works. I have studied torque in other systems, but it would be good to go through it more closely in class, possibly covering the basics of torque again to see how it applies to the one electron atom.
Most interesting part of the material
From the studies of plasma physics, I found it easier to understand section 8.2 and the magnetic dipole moment, due to the mention of the Larmour radius, which I also used in one of my lab experiments.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Reading Assignment 6
Most difficult part of the material
Branching the Schroedinger equation out from one dimension to three, so that we may include angular momentum. I'm not sure how to incorporate it yet, whether we completely reinvent the equation, or if we are simply adding on an extra term that we did not have before. The maths in 7.8 wasn't very easy to follow...actually alot of the maths up to now hasn't been that simple.
Most interesting part of the material
The quantisation of angular momentum and how it is represented with no definite x or y coordinate ie the vector model. I'm not really sure how this corresponds to reality, nor how this behaves with the classical prediction.
Branching the Schroedinger equation out from one dimension to three, so that we may include angular momentum. I'm not sure how to incorporate it yet, whether we completely reinvent the equation, or if we are simply adding on an extra term that we did not have before. The maths in 7.8 wasn't very easy to follow...actually alot of the maths up to now hasn't been that simple.
Most interesting part of the material
The quantisation of angular momentum and how it is represented with no definite x or y coordinate ie the vector model. I'm not really sure how this corresponds to reality, nor how this behaves with the classical prediction.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Reading Assignment 5
Most difficult part of the material
Section 7.6 on eigenfunctions I found to be difficult. Books always talk about 'extracting' information out of them, or from equations, and I don't completely understand how this works (using operators perhaps?). It will be useful to slowly go through the maths involved, and exactly what an eigenfunction is (in physics).
Most interesting part of the material
Definitely the probability densities in section 7.7. These I find more tolerable and easier to understand, since some of it is similiar to work from second year chemistry. The graphs I could understand, though I fear I may have trouble once we start looking at multielection atoms instead of the much easier hydrogen atom.
Section 7.6 on eigenfunctions I found to be difficult. Books always talk about 'extracting' information out of them, or from equations, and I don't completely understand how this works (using operators perhaps?). It will be useful to slowly go through the maths involved, and exactly what an eigenfunction is (in physics).
Most interesting part of the material
Definitely the probability densities in section 7.7. These I find more tolerable and easier to understand, since some of it is similiar to work from second year chemistry. The graphs I could understand, though I fear I may have trouble once we start looking at multielection atoms instead of the much easier hydrogen atom.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Reading Assignment 4
Most difficult part of the material
Applying the separation of variables multiple times in order to solve the the time-independent Schroedinger equation. I understood it to an extent when we did it last lecture, however I am still not sure how to apply it multiple times. This is made more complicated with the introduction of spherical polar coords into the mix, it would be good if these were explained a bit slower in the lecture so that I do not get lost when we go over them.
Most interesting part of the material
I much prefer to look at one dimensional atoms and their potentials. I recognise the coulomb potential equation but am still not 100% sure on how to apply it. It is good to finally see what the solutions to the Schroe eqn look like, as seen with eqn 7-24.
Applying the separation of variables multiple times in order to solve the the time-independent Schroedinger equation. I understood it to an extent when we did it last lecture, however I am still not sure how to apply it multiple times. This is made more complicated with the introduction of spherical polar coords into the mix, it would be good if these were explained a bit slower in the lecture so that I do not get lost when we go over them.
Most interesting part of the material
I much prefer to look at one dimensional atoms and their potentials. I recognise the coulomb potential equation but am still not 100% sure on how to apply it. It is good to finally see what the solutions to the Schroe eqn look like, as seen with eqn 7-24.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Reading Assignment 3
Most difficult part of the material
Some of the reading reminded me of finding solutions to the Schroe eqn in computation lab last year. I had found this difficult, since I did not understand the maths involved at the time. Section 5.7 was long and very difficult to read without getting confused, since they keep swapping between the derivative explanation and the geometric side of it.
Most interesting part of the material
The probability density functions for the SH oscillators were easier to understand and the way they related it to classical mechanics was interesting, particularly how the probability for classical is very large at the edges of the osciallator - hopefully this is will be covered in lectures.
Some of the reading reminded me of finding solutions to the Schroe eqn in computation lab last year. I had found this difficult, since I did not understand the maths involved at the time. Section 5.7 was long and very difficult to read without getting confused, since they keep swapping between the derivative explanation and the geometric side of it.
Most interesting part of the material
The probability density functions for the SH oscillators were easier to understand and the way they related it to classical mechanics was interesting, particularly how the probability for classical is very large at the edges of the osciallator - hopefully this is will be covered in lectures.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Reading Assignment 2
most difficult part of the assignment
Definitely the section on the time-independent Schroedinger equation. I have always struggled with the Schroe eqn and what exactly it means - ie how it is able to explain everything about the wavefunction. I have never really understood how you 'find solutions' to it.
Similarly, the following section on eigenfunctions was a bit confusing, and I always seem to need a refresher course in eigenvalues each time I learn about them.
most interesting part of the assignment
The fact that the systems mentioned can be explained by one equation, and that even though I still find it very complicated, the simplicity of it all (once I get my head around the maths) is quite astonishing. The Schrow can be simplified down to just a set of ODEs, and some parts of it can actually be compared to the classical wave equation even though it relies so heavily on quantum mechanics.
I found section 5 to be very hard to understand, but am determined to get my head around it all before the semester has a chance to let me fall behind! Some research may also have to be done on PDEs and ODEs so i can cope with some of the maths a bit easier.
Definitely the section on the time-independent Schroedinger equation. I have always struggled with the Schroe eqn and what exactly it means - ie how it is able to explain everything about the wavefunction. I have never really understood how you 'find solutions' to it.
Similarly, the following section on eigenfunctions was a bit confusing, and I always seem to need a refresher course in eigenvalues each time I learn about them.
most interesting part of the assignment
The fact that the systems mentioned can be explained by one equation, and that even though I still find it very complicated, the simplicity of it all (once I get my head around the maths) is quite astonishing. The Schrow can be simplified down to just a set of ODEs, and some parts of it can actually be compared to the classical wave equation even though it relies so heavily on quantum mechanics.
I found section 5 to be very hard to understand, but am determined to get my head around it all before the semester has a chance to let me fall behind! Some research may also have to be done on PDEs and ODEs so i can cope with some of the maths a bit easier.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Reading Assignment 1
Most difficult part of the material
Primarrily understanding why the reduced mass is used for an electron. The book says "it is not difficult to show that in such a planetary like system the electron moves relative to the nucleus as though the nucleus were fixed and the mass m of the electron were slightly reduced" (pg 105)
I still do not completely understand the 'series limit' in the atomic spectra section, however will review it again soon.
Most interesting part of the material
The Bohr model seemed much more complicated than when I first studied it, however on closer inspection it appears the book just words it in such a way that I found difficult to understand. The extra detail regarding the Lyman, Balmer and Paschen series was valuable and I coped with this section quite easily.
After doing some chemistry previously, I found the the Atomic Spectra section the most interesting, particularly regarding spectroscopy. Would like to know more about its uses. Bohrs postulates were easily explained and found it interesting how they mix classical physics with non-classical (such as the quantisation of angular momentum).
Primarrily understanding why the reduced mass is used for an electron. The book says "it is not difficult to show that in such a planetary like system the electron moves relative to the nucleus as though the nucleus were fixed and the mass m of the electron were slightly reduced" (pg 105)
I still do not completely understand the 'series limit' in the atomic spectra section, however will review it again soon.
Most interesting part of the material
The Bohr model seemed much more complicated than when I first studied it, however on closer inspection it appears the book just words it in such a way that I found difficult to understand. The extra detail regarding the Lyman, Balmer and Paschen series was valuable and I coped with this section quite easily.
After doing some chemistry previously, I found the the Atomic Spectra section the most interesting, particularly regarding spectroscopy. Would like to know more about its uses. Bohrs postulates were easily explained and found it interesting how they mix classical physics with non-classical (such as the quantisation of angular momentum).
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