MODULE 3

QUANTUM MECHANICS
Up to 19th century, the old classical mechanics proposed by Newton was enough to
explain all motion of bodies . In 1900 Max plank explained black body spectrum .In order to
understand the world of atomic or subatomic scale, a new branch in physics is
necessary.Quantum mechanics is the science of microscopic world
COMPARISON BETWEEN NEWTONIAN MECHANICS & QUANTUM
MECHANICS
NEWTONIAN MECHANICS

1. Related to macroscopic universe

2. Deals with motion under applied forces
3. Predicted values agrees with the observed values
4. Gives the correct behavior of moving bodies
5. Based on Newton’s laws
QUANTUM MECHANICS
1. Related to microscopic universe
2. Based on uncertainty principle
3. Gives the relation between predicted value and observed value
4. Gives the probable value.
5. Schrodinger equation is the fundamental of Q.M
MATTER WAVES OR DE BROGLIE WAVES
Louis de Broglie introduced the concepts of matter waves.De Broglie argued that
nature was symmetrical,then the fundamental quantities matter and energy should display
symmetrical characters. If light shows dual nature then matter also shows particle nature
and wave nature.
De Broglie hypothesis says that every moving matter exhibit wave like properties. The
wave associated with a moving particle is called matter wave .
DE BROGLIE WAVELENGTH
Let c be the velocity of light. consider a photon of momentum p and frequency ϑ

mc2=hϑ

The momentum of the photon, p= mc =hϑ/c

𝝑 𝟏
=
𝒄 𝝀

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 𝒉 𝒉
p= ie λ=
𝝀 𝒑

If mis the mass and v is the velocity of the particle, then

De Broglie wavelength is
h h
= =
p mv

This is known as de Broglie wave equation.

DE BROGLIE WAVELENGTH FOR ELECTRONS

Consider an electron of mass m and charge e subjected to a potential difference of V
volts.If v is the velocity acquired by the electron, then

1 2
mv = eV
2

then wavelength

h 150 0 12.3 0
= =  = 
2meV V V

The wavelength of electron is inversely proportional to the square root of accelerating

potential.

A WAVE PACKET

According to De Broglie hypothesis a wave is associated with a moving

particle . Hence a particle can be represented by a wave confined is space .
A Wave that is confined to a small region of space in the vicinity of the particle is called a
wave packet. It is the envelope of number of wave superimposed.In Quantum mechanics a
particle can be represented by a wave packet. They are not electromagnetic waves.The
velocity of matter waves is not constant and it is always greater than the velocity of light

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WAVE PACKET, PHASE VELOCITY AND GROUP VELOCITY
The velocities of the individual waves which superimpose to produce the
wave packet representing the particle are different - the wave packet as a whole has a
different velocity from the waves that comprise it

Phase velocity, v : The velocity of individual waves that forming a wave packet.

Group velocity,u: The velocity with which wave packet moves .

c2
U=
v

WAVE FUNCTION

(r , t)

I. Gives character about matter waves.

II. Gives the probability of finding the particle at particular point and time

PHYSICAL CONCEPT (significance) OF WAVE FUNCTION

The quantity whose variation makes up the matter waves is called the
wave function Ψ.The quantity that undergoes periodic changes of a body is Ψ.

Ψ=Aei(kx-ωt)
Ψ is a complex valued function and itself has no physical meaning. The
square of the absolute magnitude/ Ψ/2 or Ψ Ψ*dxdydz gives the probability of finding
the particle in the volume element dxdydz. We can obtain the physical properties of
the system if we know the wave function.

Since  * dxdydz is proportional to the probability of finding the particle

with in the volume element, the integral  * dxdydz must be finite if the particle is
somewhere there. If  * dxdydz is zero, the particle does’nt exist and if it is
infinity, the particle is everywhere simultaneously.

Since the probability of finding the particle in the volume element is a surety, then

  dxdydz = 1
*

The wave function which obeys thiscondition is called normalized wave function.

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REQUIREMENTS OF WAVE FUNCTION
1. Ψ must be finite, single valued and continuous.
2. ∂ Ψ∕∂x ∂ Ψ∕∂y, ∂ Ψ∕∂z must also be continuous and single valued everywhere.
3. Ψ can be normalized

HEISENBERG’S UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE

According to the classical mechanics the position and momentum of a
particle can be determined simultaneously with accuracy. In Newtonian mechanics
every particle has a fixed position in space and has a definite momentum at any time.
But the concept of dual nature, particle and wave , inspired Heisenberg to state the
principle of uncertainty.

According to this principle it is impossible to have an accurate

measurement of the position and momentum of particles simultaneously.

or

The Uncertainty Principle states that the simultaneous determination of the

exact position and momentum of a moving particle is impossible

The product of uncertainty (error) in the measurement of position of the

particle (Δx) and the uncertainty in the momentum(ΔPx) of the particle is of the order of
Planks constant.

Δx. Δ Px =ħ (ħ= h/2π )

Δy. Δ Py =ħ

Δz. Δ Pz =ħ

If Δx is small, Δ Px will be large and vice versa. If one quantity is measured

accurately, the other quantity become less accurate. If Δx=0 ΔPx=infinity; that is if we know
the exact position of a particle we shall never know its momentum with certainty. If ΔPx =0
Δ x=infinity; that is if we know the momentum of particle , its position is not known.

Position & momentum

h
xp x =
2

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Similarly in the simultaneous measurement of energy and time, if ΔE and Δt are the uncertainties we
have ΔEΔt =ħ

Energy & time

h
E t =
2

Angular position and angular momentum

h
J =
2

APPLICATIONS OF UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE

1. Uncertainity in frequency of light emitted by an atom

An electron exists in an excited state only for a short interval of time.Thus Δ t is small ,then
Δ E must be large

Δt=10-8s
ΔE*Δt=ħ
The uncertainty in energy, ΔE=ħ/10-8
E=hϑ
ΔE=hΔϑ
Δϑ=ΔE/h

 h 
  1 =1.67*107Hz
 =  2
−8 
*
10  h
 

2.Non existence of electron in the nucleus

The nuclear diameter is of the order of 10-15m .If an electron exists in the nucleus, the
maximum uncertainity, Δx,in position is of the order of the diameter .

So the uncertainly in the momentum,

 6.626 x10 −34

p = =
x 2 x3.14 x10 −15
= 1.055 x10 −19 kgm / s

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The energy of electron is given by

E = pc = 1.055x10-19x3x108
=3.165x10-11 J
=3.165x10-11/1.6x10-19 eV
=1.98x108eV
=198MeV
For an electron to exist in the nucleus, it should have an energy of this order. Energy of an
electron is of the order of only a few MeV .So it is not possible for electron to exists inside
nucleus

3. Natural line broadening

The average time period that takes between the excitation of an atom and the time it
radiates is 10-8. Thus the photon energy is uncertain by the amount
ΔE= ħ /Δt
-26
= 1.055 x 10 J
It means that the excited energy levels have a finite energy spread. Thus the energy
levels of the atom must have a finite width or in other words the spectral lines can never be
sharp but have some broadening in frequency, called natural line broadening.

OPERATORS
An operator transforms one function to another function. If the operator A
transforms f(x) into the function g(x), then we can write
g(x)= A f(x)

In Q.M each dynamic variable is represented by an operator which acts on a wave

function to give a new wave function.

The operators associated with some of the dynamical variables is given below

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TIME DEPENDENT SCHRÖDINGER EQUATION FOR A FREE PARTICLE
Schrodinger’s equation is the basic expression in quantum mechanics. We
can derive it by considering the plane wave equation and combining with Einstein’s
eqn for quantum energy and de Broglie expression for wavelength.

A particle in motion is associated with a wave function that contains the information
about the motion.

A plane wave that propagates along x- direction is given by

Ψ=Aei(kx-ωt)

where k is the wave vector, k= 2π/λ

ω is the angular frequency, ω= 2πϑ

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In three dimension it becomes for a free particle,

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TIME INDEPENDENT SCHRÖDINGER EQUATION (STEADY STATE EQUATION)
According to Schrodinger, de- Broglie’s wavelength holds good for any particle
moving in any field of force with potential energy V.

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Substituting the wavelength in eqn (12)

For the case of a free particle (V=0), the Schrodinger equation becomes

2mE
2 + =0
2

QUANTUM MECHANICAL TUNELLING

Consider particle of mass m incident on the barrier from left

Classically

If E <V0 all the particle will be reflected at the barrier

If E>V0 all will be transmitted in to the region III
Quantum mechanically
If E<V0 there will be a finite probability for the particle to be transmitted in to the

region III

This phenomenon of tunnelling through the barrier is known as quantum mechanical

tunnelling or barrier penetration . The solution of the schrodinger equation for the particle
gives the wave function for the three region

Region I
wave function corresponds to two wave - one wave for the incident particle &other is
for the reflected particle by the barrier

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Region II
two solution are possible – an exponentially increasing function & an

exponentially decreasing function

Region III
wave travelling from left to right
The concept is used to explain a number of phenomena in physics

1. The emission of αparticles from the radioactivenuclei

2. Barrier penetration in tunnel diode and josephson junction
3. Electron tunnelling in scanning tunnelling microscope

ONE DIMENSIONAL INFINITE SQUARE WELL POTENTIAL

Consider the motion of a particle of mass m confined to move in a one dimensional square
well of infinite depth.

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k2=2mE/ħ2

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 En as the energy corresponding to n.The quantity n is called quantum number. The
different values of energy for n are called Eigen values. Since n is restricted, the particle
cannot have any value of energy but will be restricted to certain values.

Eigen wave functions

The wave functions associated with different Eigen values of energy are called Eigen
Functions.
By applying the normalization condition,
  dxdydz = 1
*

On integration and applying limits we get

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 NANOTECHNOLOGY
Study of matter at atomic level is Nano technology . One nanometer(nm) 10 -9(or one
billionth) of a meter. Generally nanotechnology deals with structures of size 100 nm or
smaller.

Nanofabrication
Nanofabrication involves 2 ways

• ‘Top-down’ fabrication: Starting with a chunk of materials and cutting it to nano scale.
• ‘Bottom-up’ fabrication: Starting with individual atoms and building up to
nanostructure.
The theoretical predictions of the present Nanotechnology were made by Richard
Feynman in 1959. In a talk entitled “there is plenty of room at the bottom” . Molecular self
assembly is the science of automatically arranging molecules themselves into some useful
structures through a “bottom up “ approach. The ability of one molecule to attract and bind
to another is referred to as molecular recognition

Increase in surface to volume ratio

Nano material have a relatively larger surface area to volume ratio when compared
to bulk solids. Consider a sphere of radius ‘r’ .
The surface area =4π r2
𝟒
Its volume = 𝟑 𝝅r3
𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂 𝟑
Ratio = =
𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒓
Thus when the radius of the sphere decreases, its surface area to volume
ratio increases. Hence as the particle size decreases a greater number of atoms are found
at the surface compared to those inside. Thus nano material have more surface area per
given volume compared with larger particles. It makes material more chemically reactive
as chemical reaction occurs at surfaces.

When the size of the bodies decrease, physical properties of the bodies change.
A number of physical properties(mechanical, electrical, optical ) change like this.

Examples of physical change at nanosize

o When nano scale is reached, the colour of gold changes, its melting point and
chemical properties changes.
o Nano gold does not act like bulk gold
o Copper which is opaque become transparent.

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 o Stable materials like aluminium turn combustible.
o Solids turn into liquid at room temperature(gold)
o Insulators become conductors (silicon)
o Chemically inert materials like gold become good catalyst (reactive) at nano
scales.
SIGINIFICANCE OF NANO SCALE

The important factors that cause significant change in the properties of nano materials are

• Increased surface to volume ratio

• Quantum confinement effects
Quantum Confinement Effects

When electron gets excited in a semi conductor due to thermal excitation, an

electron-hole pair is created. The electron in the conduction band and hole in the valence
band can be bound when the, approach each other at a finite distance. This bound pair is
called EXCITON. Bulk material have continuous energy levels. In the case of nano range, the
energy level become discrete. As the size reduces energy level changes from continuous to
discontinuous. This increases the band gap energy. Motion of the electron become restricted.
the band gap and wavelength are inversely related to each other. Wavelength decrease with
the decrease in size and proof is the emission of blue radiation

To understand this effect we break the word like quantum and confinement. The
word confinement means to confine the motion of randomly moving electron to restrict its
motion in specific energy levels. Quantum reflects the atomic domain of particles. The
quantum confinement effects is observed when the size of the particle is too small to be
comparable to the de-broglie wavelength of the electron

Quantum confinement is the restricted motion of randomly moving electron in

specific energy levels when the dimensions of a material approach the de Broglie wavelength
of electron

When the material size is sufficiently small(10nm or less) the electrons and holes are
squeezed into a dimension that approaches a quantum measurement called “Exciton Bohr
Radius”. When the particle size approaches the Bohr exciton radius, the quantum
confinement effect increases .

Nanostructured materials

The material which have at least one dimension in the order of nanometer are called
nanostructured materials

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 Based on number of dimensions that are confined, nano structure is classified in to 4
categories

1. Zero dimensional (0D)nano structured material:- If all the three dimensions

become nanometer range, we obtain a Zero dimensional nano structure called
nano particles
2. One dimensional (1D)nano structured material:- If two dimensions are
restricted and one dimension remains large, then the resulting structure is one
dimensional nano structure called nano wires,nano rode and nano tube
3. Two dimensional (2D)nano structured material:-If one dimension is reduced to
the nano range while the other two dimensions remain large, then a two
dimensional nano structured material are obtained (nano sheet)
4. Three dimensional(3D) nano material:-all the 3 dimensions become large(bundles
of nano wires)
• Zero dimensional (0D)nano structured material - 3 D confinement
• One dimensional (1D)nano structured material - 2 D confinement
• Two dimensional (2D)nano structured material - 1 D confinement
• Three dimensional(3D) nano material – 0 D confinement
Quantum sheets

Quantum sheets are two dimensional structure in which quantum confinement act
only in one direction. Quantum confinement act along the thickness of the film. Electrons are
free to move in xy plane of the film. So quantum confinement is in one dimension and are
free to move in 2 dimensions. They are now used to make semiconductor lasers, LEDs and
solar cell .

Quantum wires

A nano wire or quantum wire is a wire of dimensions of the order of nanometers.

Quantum wire is a one dimensional structure. Quantum wires are formed when 2 dimensions
of the system are confined ie by making a thin wire of semiconductor. Two direction have
quantum confinement. It is only free to move along one dimension that is along the wire. A
quantum wire is an electrically conducting wire in which quantum effects influence the
transport properties. Such effects appear in the dimension of Nano meters. So they are called
Nano wires. Electrical conductance of wire is found to be quantized in multiples of 2e 2/h.
quantum wires can be used as an electron wave guide. It is used to make high speed lasers.

Quantum dots

Quantum dots are zero dimensional structure in which the electron is confined in all
three dimensions. Their energy states are quantized in all three directions. consider a tiny dot

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of semi conductor material then we have a 3D quantum confinement of charge carriers. That
is there are no freely moving electrons or holes in any direction .This is called “quantum dot”.
Although this quantum dot consists of thousands of atoms it behaves like a single atom with
discrete energy levels rather than many atoms. When the size of the crystal become so small
that it approaches the size of exiton bohr radius, then the electron energy levels will change
from continuous to discrete values. That is their is a finite separation between energy levels.
The energy gap increases with the decreases in the diameter of the dot. So quantum dot can
emit any colour from blue to red depending on the size of the dot.

Variation of properties of nano materials

1.Physical properties
2.Chemical properties
3.Electrical properties
4.Optical properties
5.Magnetic properties
6.Mechanical properties
Electrical properties

 Ionization potential at nano sizes are higher than that at bulk solids.
 The change in electrical properties is not the same in all nano materials.
 In nano ceramics the electrical conductivity increases with the decrease
in particle size.
 But in metals it decreases.
 In the case of bulk metals the energy level of electron is continuous
where as in nano sized metals the energy levels are discrete.
Optical properties

 Depending on the particle size, same substance shows different colours.

 Gold spheres of 100 nm size appears orange while that of 50 nm size
appears green
The particles can be made to emit or absorb specific wavelength of light by
varrying it’s size
Mechanical properties

• Nano crystalline nickel is as strong as hardened steel. Because of nano size

many mechanical properties such as hardness, elastic modulus, fracture
toughness, scratch resistance and fatigue strength are modified
• 30-50 % lower elastic moduli than conventional materials
• 2-7 times higher hardness
• Super plastic behaviour in brittle ceramics

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NANOCLUSTERS
Their size is in between bulk materials and their atoms or molecules. Their properties
are fundamentally different from those of discrete molecules and bulk solids

Fullerenes

They are spheroidal in structure. They are the largest molecules formed by the same
atoms. A carbon molecule with chemical formula C60 containing 60 carbon atoms in the
shape of a soccer ball . A mass number of 720 consisting of 60 carbon atoms ,each of mass 12
was seen. Named after the architect buckminister fuller. Solid state: FCC structure.

CARBON NANOTUBE

When a single sheet of sp2 hybridized graphite (graphene ) is curled in the form of a
cylinder, carbon nanotubes are formed

Applications of Nanotechnology

Nanomedicine

 Cell imaging
 Treating cancer
 For diagnostic purposes
 The drug consumption and side effects can be reduced significantly by targeted
medicine.
 This is done depositing the medicine in the affected region only and in the
correct doze
 NT helps to reproduce or repair damaged tissue.
In Energy
Applications in the field of energy are

1. By reducing energy consumption

by designing LEDs or Quantum Caged Atoms(QCAs) etc.
2. By increasing energy production efficiency
by designing specific catalysts to improve the combustion efficiency in IC
engines
3. By using more environmentally friendly energy systems
such as fuel cells powered by hydrogen
4. By recycling batteries
rechargeable batteries using nanomaterials
chemistry and Environment
 Chemical catalysts from nanoparticles are highly useful
 Filtration : Nanofiltration helps

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 1. Waste water management
2. Air purification
3. Energy storage devices
Information and communication
 Memory storage devices such as Nano-RAM is developed using nanotubes
 Food
 There are more than thousand nanoproducts in the market.
 Eg. of food products are canola cooking oil, nanotea etc.
Textiles
 Clothes made of nanofibers are stain-repellent and wrinkle-free
 These textiles can be washed less frequently
Implication of Nanotechnology
• Nano Pollution
• Lack of Privacy
• Nano Weapons

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