Lecture 12

Discovery of Electrons
When a sufficiently high voltage is applied to the electrodes in
a vacuum tube (with pressure < 0.001 mm Hg), the glass
opposite to the cathode begins to glow, presumed to be due to
cathode rays emitted from the cathode.
J. J. Thomson set up the entire experiment in a vacuum tube,
which included a cathode, an anode with a narrow slit to focus
the cathode rays, a second set of electrodes to deflect any
charged particles in cathode rays, and, finally, a fluorescent
screen for measuring the deflection. (See textbook p. 120).
Lecture 12
x
1

x
2

y
2

y
1

u
+ + + + + + + + + + +
- - - - - - - - - - -
A voltage is applied to the parallel plates such that the electric
field between the plates points downward. From the direction
of deflection one can deduce that the particles are negatively
charged.
Schematics of J.J. Thomson Experiment
Lecture 12
Experimental Procedures
At the beginning, a magnetic field is generated with the field lines
pointing into the screen. The negatively charged particles will then
experience an additional magnetic force in the opposite direction
to the electrostatic force. The electric field and magnetic field are
then adjusted so that the particles are undeflected. The velocity
of the particles can be derive from
B
E
u eE euB = ! =
Now, turning off the magnetic field, the trajectory of the particles
is deflected by the electric field, as shown in the schematics.
Lecture 12
Derivation
The amount of deflection between the plates is given by
2
1
2
1 1
2
1
2
1
!
"
#
$
%
&
= =
u
x
m
eE
at y
The amount of deflection outside the plates is given by
2
2 1 2 1
2 1 2 2
u
x x
m
eE
u
x
u
x
m
eE
t at t u y
y
=
!
"
#
$
%
&
!
"
#
$
%
&
= = =
Therefore, the overall deflection is
!
"
#
$
%
&
+
!
!
"
#
$
$
%
&
=
!
"
#
$
%
&
+ =
2 1
2
1
2
2 1
2
1
2
2
1
2
1
x x x
E
B
m
e
x x x
mu
eE
y
Lecture 12
Results
kg C
m
e
/ 10 7588 . 1
11
! =
The value of (e/m) obtained is independent of the nature of
the gas used; nor is it dependent of the metal electrodes or
anything else.
The measured charge-mass ratio of cathode rays is
The charge seen represents the fundamental quantum of
electric charge, as deduced by Faraday and others earlier.
kg m C e
31 19
10 1 . 9 10 6 . 1
! !
" = # " =
Lecture 12
Blackbody Radiation
T
Imagine a cavity whose wall is
heated up to a temperature T. The
radiation emitted by the wall is
trapped inside the cavity. If the
temperature is uniform over the
wall, the system is said to be in
thermodynamic equilibrium.
The radiation leaks through a tiny hole on the wall has the
characteristics of blackbody radiation.
Lecture 12
Spectral Distribution, Emissivity, and
Coefficient of Absorption
The spectral distribution (or spectrum) of radiation shows
the distribution of the flux of the radiation at different
wavelengths. Denoting the spectral distribution R(!), the
flux between the wavelengths ! and !+d! is R(!) d!.
The emissivity of the wall is defined as the rate at which
radiation power is emitted per unit area. Denoting the
emissivity e
!
, the total power radiated between the
wavelengths ! and !+d! is e
!
d!.
The rate at which the power of radiation between the
wavelengths ! and !+d! is absorbed per unit area of the
wall is a
!
R(!)

d!, where a
!
is the coefficient of absorption.
Lecture 12
Kirchhoffs Law
At each wavelength, the rate at which energy is emitted
from the wall is equal to the rate at which energy is
absorbed by the wall, i.e., e
!
= a
!
R(!,T)
.
While e
!
and a
!
may depend on the temperature and wavelength,
as well as on other properties of the wall, R can depend only on
the temperature and, of course, wavelength, i.e., R = R(!,T), if
the wall is in thermodynamic equilibrium.

For a perfect absorber, a
!
= 1, we have e
!
= R(!,T)
.
Such an
absorber is referred to as blackbody and the radiation it
emits as blackbody radiation.

Lecture 12
Blackbody Spectrum
Stephan-Boltzmann law: R = "T
4
, where R is the integral of
blackbody spectrum R(!,T) over all wavelengths, and " is
the Stephan-Boltzmann constant.
Wien Distribution:
R(!,T) = b !
-5
exp(-a/!T), where a
and b are constants to be determined
experimentally. This function fits the
experimental measurement only at
short wavelengths.
Wiens displacement law:
!
m
T = b
Lecture 12
Distribution at Long Wavelengths
R(!, T) =
b
!
5
1
exp(a !T) "1
At very long wavelengths, ! >> a/T
exp(a !T) " 1 + a !T # R(!, T) " ba
$1
T!
$4
Rayleigh-Jeans law: R(!,T) = 2#ckT!
-4
, where c is the speed
of light and k is Boltzmann constant. This functional form
agrees with the experimental measurement only at very long
wavelengths, and diverges toward short wavelengths (UV
catastrophe).
Planck Distribution:
Lecture 12
Quantization of Energy
Planck proposed that the energy of the oscillating charges,
which emit the radiation observed, could only take on
discrete values that are integer multiples of a fundamental
energy unit, and the energy unit was proportional to the
frequency of the oscillators and, thus, the radiation, i.e.,
, 2 , 1 , 0 , = = = n nh n E
n
! "
where h is called Plancks constant.