(a) What is the energy of a photon of green light that has a...

(a) What is the energy of a photon of green light that has a wavelength of $525 \mathrm{~nm}$ ? Give your answer in joules and electron volts. (b) What is the wave number of the photon? Example $22-5$

Key Concepts

Wave Number

The wave number is a concept that describes the number of wave cycles per unit distance, and it is defined as the reciprocal of wavelength (often given in inverse centimeters in spectroscopy). It provides a measure of spatial frequency and plays an important role in fields such as spectroscopy, where it helps in analyzing the energy levels and transitions associated with different wavelengths.

Electron Volt Conversion

The electron volt (eV) is a unit of energy commonly used in atomic and particle physics. It is defined as the amount of kinetic energy gained or lost by an electron when it is accelerated through an electric potential difference of one volt. Converting energy expressed in joules to electron volts involves dividing by the conversion factor (approximately 1.602 × 10?¹? joules per electron volt), making it easier to work with energies on atomic scales.

Photon Energy

Photon energy is a fundamental concept in quantum mechanics that quantifies the energy carried by a single photon. It is given by the relation E = hc/?, where h is Planck's constant, c is the speed of light, and ? is the wavelength of the photon. This relation shows that energy is inversely proportional to wavelength, meaning shorter wavelengths correspond to higher-energy photons.

Planck's Constant and Speed of Light

Planck's constant (h) and the speed of light (c) are two key constants in physics used to relate the energy of a photon to its wavelength. Planck's constant represents the quantum of action and is fundamental in quantizing energy, while the speed of light is a universal constant denoting how fast light travels in a vacuum. Their product forms the numerator in the photon energy formula, linking classical electromagnetism to quantum phenomena.

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