Classical Mechanics (as base

for Quantum mechanics)

Mochamad Zakki Fahmi, Ph.D

Department of Chemistry, Airlangga University
 Classical Mechanics
Quantum mechanics were developed based on atomic improvement of
classical mechanics
Classical mechanics describes the behavior of objects in terms of two
equations.
• One expresses the fact that the total energy is constant in the absence of
external forces;
• the other expresses the response of particles to the forces acting on them
 The trajectory in terms of the energy

The velocity, v, of a particle is the rate of

change of its position:

The velocity is a vector, with both direction and magnitude. The magnitude of the
velocity is the speed, v. The linear momentum, p, of a particle of mass m is
related to its velocity, v, by

In terms of the linear momentum, the total energy—the sum of the kinetic and
potential energy—of a particle is
This equation can be used to show that a particle will have a definite trajectory,
or definite position and momentum at each instant. For example, consider a
particle free to move in one direction (along the x-axis) in a region where V = 0 (so the
energy is independent of position). We will get the equation;

Solution for this differential equation is

So we can determine the linier momentum as

Hence, if we know the initial position and momentum, we can predict all later
positions and momenta exactly.

Will be debated by Heisenberg uncertainty principle

Newton’s second law
The force, F, experienced by a particle free to move in one dimension is related to its
potential energy, V, by

This relation implies that the direction of the force is towards decreasing potential
energy

The force acting on a particle is

determined by the slope of the
potential energy at each point. The force
points in the direction of lower potential
energy.
Newton’s second law of motion states that the rate of change of momentum is equal
to the force acting on the particle.

Because p = m(dx/dt) in one dimension, it is sometimes more convenient to write

this equation as

The second derivative, d2x/dt2, is the

acceleration of the particle, its rate of
change of velocity (in this instance, along
the x-axis). It follows that, if we know the
force acting everywhere and at all times,
then solving the eqn. will also give the
trajectory. This calculation is equivalent to
the one based on E, but is more suitable in
some applications. For example, it can be
used to show that, if a particle of mass m is
initially stationary and is subjected to a
constant force F for a time τ, then its kinetic
energy increases from zero to
 The harmonic oscillator
A harmonic oscillator consists of a particle that experiences a restoring force
proportional to its displacement from its equilibrium position:

The constant of proportionality k is called the

force constant. The negative sign in F
signifies that the direction of the force is opposite
to that of the displacement

The motion of a particle that undergoes

harmonic motion is found by substituting
pervious eqn.

Useful on further Schrodinger equation

A solution for the equation is

These solutions show that the position of the particle varies harmonically (that is, as
sin ωt) with a frequency ν =ω/2π. They also show that the particle is stationary (p = 0)
when the displacement, x, has its maximum value, A, which is called the amplitude of
the motion.
The total energy of a classical harmonic oscillator is proportional to the square of the
amplitude of its motion. To confirm this remark we note that the kinetic energy is

The force on the oscillator is F = −kx, so it follows from the relation F = −dV/dx that the
potential energy of a harmonic oscillator is

The total energy is therefore,

Origin of Quantum Mechanics)

Mochamad Zakki Fahmi, Ph.D

Department of Chemistry, Airlangga University
 Introduction
As described before, The basic principles of classical mechanics showed that
classical physics

(1) Predicts a precise trajectory for particles, with precisely specified

locations and momenta at each instant, and
(2) Allows the translational, rotational, and vibrational modes of motion to
be excited to any energy simply by controlling the forces that are
applied.

But ,classical mechanics fails when applied to the transfers of very

small energies and to objects of very small mass.
In classical physics, light is described as electromagnetic radiation,
which is understood in terms of the electromagnetic field, an oscillating
electric and magnetic disturbance that spreads as a harmonic wave, wave
displacements that can be expressed as sine or cosine functions
 Not fit for high λ Not fit for low λ
2ckT
I  ; k  1,38 x10 23 J / K
4

∞
𝐼𝜆 = 𝜌 𝜆, 𝑇 𝑑𝜆
0

For short wavelengths, hc/λkT >> 1 and ehc/λkT→∞

faster than λ5→0; therefore ρ →0 as λ →0. Hence, the
energy density approaches zero at high frequencies, in
agreement with observation.

For long wavelengths, hc/λkT << 1, and the denominator

in the Planck distribution can be replaced by
 Wave-particle duality
The particle character of electromagnetic radiation
The observation that electromagnetic radiation of frequency ν can possess only the
energies 0, hν, 2hν, . . . suggests that it can be thought of as consisting of 0, 1, 2, . . .
particles, each particle having an energy hν. So, if one of these particles is
present, the energy is hν, if two are present the energy is 2hν, and so on.
These particles of electromagnetic radiation are now called photons and total of
energy adjusted as
𝐸 = 𝑛ℎʋ

Question :
Calculate the number of photons emitted by
a 100 W yellow lamp in 1.0 s. Take the
wavelength of yellow light as 560 nm and
assume 100 per cent efficiency.
So far, the existence of photons is only a suggestion. Experimental evidence for their
existence comes from the measurement of the energies of electrons produced in the
photoelectric effect.
The experimental characteristics of the photoelectric effect are as follows:
1. No electrons are ejected, regardless of the intensity of the radiation, unless its
frequency exceeds a threshold value characteristic of the metal.
2. The kinetic energy of the ejected electrons increases linearly with the
frequency of the incident radiation but is independent of the intensity of the
radiation.
3. Even at low light intensities, electrons are ejected immediately if the frequency is
above the threshold.
The wave character of electromagnetic radiation
Although contrary to the long-established wave theory of
light, the view that light consists of particles had been held
before, but discarded.
The crucial experiment was performed by the American
physicists Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer, who
observed the diffraction of electrons by a crystal

Diffraction is the interference caused by an object in the path of waves. Depending on

whether the interference is constructive or destructive, the result is a region of
enhanced or diminished intensity of the wave.
Some progress towards coordinating these properties had
already been made by the French physicist Louis de
Broglie when, in 1924, he suggested that any particle,
not only photons, travelling with a linear
momentum p =mv

This joint particle and wave character of matter and radiation is called wave–
particle duality. Duality strikes at the heart of classical physics, where particles
and waves are treated as entirely distinct entities.

Question :
Estimate the wavelength of electrons that have been accelerated from rest through
a potential difference of 40 kV.
Impact of this theory on
electron microscopy
 exercises
1. To what speed must an electron be accelerated for it to have a
wavelength of 3.0 cm?
2. To what speed must a proton be accelerated for it to have a
wavelength of 15.0 cm?
3. Calculate the linear momentum of photons of wavelength 356
nm. What speed does a hydrogen molecule need to travel to
have the same linear momentum?