MYTH AND MYSTERIES OF

QUANTUM PHYSICS

Dr.P.Srinivasan
Asst Prof
Department of Physics
UCEP
Research is to see what
everybody else has seen

And to do what nobody

else has done

De broglie shiv kera

The prime aim of researchers is
to see further what previous
researchers were able to see

How to do this

Not by rejecting them

But by relying on it and
Building on it

If I Have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of

giants -Sir Isaac Newton
INTERACTION OF EM WITH MEDIUM

F = kx + k'x2 + k"x3 + k"'x4 + . . .

SECOND HARMONIC
GENERATION

The process of transformation of light

with frequency into light with double
frequency is referred as SHG
 • SHG, or frequency doubling, generation of
Second harmonic light with a doubled frequency (half the
generation wavelength);

Sum frequency • generation of light with a frequency that is

the sum of two other frequencies .SHG is a
generation special case of this

Difference Frequency • (DFG) generation of light with a frequency

that is the difference between two other
generation frequencies

Third harmonic • generation of light with a tripled frequency (one-third the

wavelength) (usually done in two steps: SHG followed by
generation SFG of original and frequency-doubled waves

• Amplification of a signal input in the presence of a higher

Parametric amplification frequency pump wave

•Generation of a signal and idler wave using a parametric

Parametric Oscillation amplifier in a resonator (with no signal input)

• Like parametric oscillation but without a

Parametric generation resonator

Optical rectification • Generation of quasi static electric fields

Transparent
portion of
Benzimidazole
 Diameter = 1.8cm

Length = 3 cm
 Top and side view of the
polished single crystal

Device quality
single crystal
 WHAT IT TAKES?

 Creativity
 Open mind
 Curiosity
 Patience
 Persistence
 Positive Attitude
 Discipline and focus
கண்டதை கற் க பண்டிைன் ஆவான்
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 Who was involved?
 Which experiments were used to help us
understand?
 Which equations are fundamental?
 Which ones are handy to know?!
 What have been the successes of quantum
theory?
 What are the future applications?
ALBERT EINSTEIN 1879-1955

 We believe in the
possibility of a theory
which is able to give a
complete description of
reality, the laws of
which establish
relations between the
things themselves and
not merely between
their probabilities ...
GOD DOES NOT PLAY
DICE.
 NIELS BOHR 1885-1962

 Einstein, DON'T TELL

GOD WHAT TO DO!

 Those who are not

shocked when they first
come across quantum
mechanics cannot
possibly have
understood it.
WERNER HEISENBERG 1901-1976
 We have to remember
that what we observe is
not nature itself but
nature exposed to our
method of questioning.

 I, at any rate, am
convinced that HE IS
NOT PLAYING AT
DICE.
ERWIN SCHROEDINGER 1887-1961
 I do not like it, and I
am sorry I ever had
anything to do with it.

 Had I known that we

were not going to get
rid of this damned
quantum jumping, I
never would have
involved myself in this
business!
PRINCE LOUIS DE BROGLIE
1892-1987
 Electrons should not be
considered simply as
particles, but that
frequency must be
assigned to them also.
(1929, Nobel Prize Speech)
 MAX PLANCK 1858-1947

 Physics is finished,
young man. It's a dead-
end street.

(from an unknown teacher

to Planck considering
Physics at the turn of the
20th century!)
 THE ‘ULTRAVIOLET CATASTROPHE’
1900 - Rayleigh
This was a CLASSICAL
prediction, first made in the late
19th century, that an IDEAL
BLACK BODY at thermal
equilibrium will emit radiation
with INFINITE POWER.
Max Planck resolved this issue by
postulating that electromagnetic
energy did not follow the classical
description, but could only
oscillate or be emitted in
DISCRETE PACKETS OF
ENERGY proportional to the
frequency. He called these packets
‘QUANTA’.

E  h
Note: h  6.626 x10 34 J .s
THE PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
1905 - Einstein
The emission of electrons from
a surface (usually metallic)
upon exposure to, and
absorption of, electromagnetic
radiation.
The photoelectric effect was
explained mathematically by
Einstein who extended the
work on QUANTA as
developed by Planck.

KE  h  
 MILLIKAN’S OIL DROP EXPERIMENT
1909 - Robert Millikan

This experiment
determined the
magnitude of the
electronic charge,
and that it was
QUANTISED.
This value is
approximately
1.6 x10 19 C

Note: An electron volt (eV) is the amount of energy it takes

to accelerate one electron through a potential of one volt.
Thus, 1eV  1.6 x10 19 J
 DE BROGLIE WAVELENGTH
Prince Louis de Broglie - 1932

De Broglie
discovered that all
particles with
momentum have
an associated
wavelength.
h h
 
p mv

What is the wavelength of a human being, assuming he/she

weighs 70 kg, and is running at 25 m/s?
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT EQUATIONS
hc
 Energy and frequency: E  h 


 The photoelectric effect: KE  h  

 De Broglie wavelength: h h
 
p mv

 Angular frequency:   2f

EQUATIONS OF INTEREST
(NON-EXAMINABLE!)
h
 Planck’s constant: 
2

Wave vector:
2


k 

 Schroedinger:

 2 2
i     V
t 2m
RICHARD FEYNMAN 1918-1988

 Anyone who has not

been shocked by
quantum physics has
not understood it.

 The word 'quantum'

refers to this peculiar
aspect of nature that
goes against common
sense.
GROUCHO MARX 1890-1977
 Very interesting theory -
it makes no sense at all!
QUANTUM THEORY
Uses Explains

 LASERs  Tunnelling
 Semiconductors
 Radioactive decay
 Transistors
 Periodic table
 LED
(Pauli Exclusion
 Night Vision Goggles
Principle explanation
 CCD
to Mendeleev’s chart)
 MRI / PET
THE FUTURE OF QUANTUM?
 Dot LASERs
 Logic gates

 Computing

 Cryptography / Encryption

 Cloning

 Teleportation
BASICS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS
- WHY QUANTUM PHYSICS? -
 Classical mechanics (Newton's mechanics) and
Maxwell's equations (electromagnetics theory)
can explain MACROSCOPIC phenomena such as
motion of billiard balls or rockets.
 Quantum mechanics is used to explain
microscopic phenomena such as photon-atom
scattering and flow of the electrons in a
semiconductor.
 QUANTUM MECHANICS is a collection of
postulates based on a huge number of
experimental observations.
 The differences between the classical and
quantum mechanics can be understood by
examining both
 The classical point of view
 The quantum point of view
BASICS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS
- CLASSICAL POINT OF VIEW -
 In Newtonian mechanics, the laws are written in terms of
PARTICLE TRAJECTORIES.
 A PARTICLE is an indivisible mass point object that has a
variety of properties that can be measured, which we call
observables. The observables specify the state of the particle
(position and momentum).
 A SYSTEM is a collection of particles, which interact among
themselves via internal forces, and can also interact with the
outside world via external forces. The STATE OF A SYSTEM is a
collection of the states of the particles that comprise the system.
 All properties of a particle can be known to infinite precision.

 Conclusions:
 TRAJECTORY  state descriptor of Newtonian physics,
 EVOLUTION OF THE STATE  Use Newton's second law
 PRINCIPLE OF CAUSALITY  Two identical systems with the
same initial conditions, subject to the same measurement will yield
the same result.
BASICS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS
- QUANTUM POINT OF VIEW -
 Quantum particles can act as both particles and
waves  WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY
 Quantum state is a conglomeration of several
possible outcomes of measurement of physical
properties  Quantum mechanics uses the
language of PROBABILITY theory (random
chance)
 An observer cannot observe a microscopic system
without altering some of its properties. Neither
one can predict how the state of the system will
change.
 QUANTIZATION of energy is yet another
property of "microscopic" particles.
 BASICS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS
- BLACKBODY RADIATION -
• Known since centuries that when a material is heated, it
radiates heat and its color depends on its temperature
• Example: heating elements of a stove:
– Dark red: 550ºC
– Bright red: 700ºC
– Then: orange, yellow and finally white (really hot !)
 The emission spectrum
depends on the material
 Theoretical description:
simplifications necessary
Blackbody
BLACKBODY?
• A material is constantly exchanging
heat with its surrounding (to remain at a
constant temperature):
– It absorbs and emits radiations
– Problem: it can reflect incoming
radiations, which makes a theoretical
description more difficult (depends on
the environment)
 A blackbody is a perfect absorber:
– Incoming radiations is totally
absorbed and none is reflected
THE DOUBLE SLIT EXPERIMENT

particle? wave?
RESULTS
 The pattern on the screen is an interference
pattern characteristic of waves
 So light is a wave, not particulate

 But repeat the experiment one photon at a time

 Over time, the photons only land on the

interference peaks, not in the troughs
 consider the fact that they also pile up in the middle!
 pure ballistic particles would land in one of two spots
WAVE OR PARTICLE? NEITHER; BOTH; TAKE YOUR
PICK

 Non-intuitive combination of wavelike and particle-like

 Appears to behave in wavelike manner. But with low
intensity, see the interference pattern build up out of

42
individual photons, arriving one at a time.
 How does the photon know about “the other” slit?
 Actually, it’s impossible to simultaneously observe interference
and know which slit the photon came through
 Photon “sees”, or “feels-out” both paths simultaneously!
 Speak of wave-part describing probability distribution of
where individual photons may land