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This open access textbook introduces beginning undergraduate students and high school students to the world of quantum mechanics and atomic spectroscopy. Requiring no previous knowledge of physics and no math beyond basic algebra and sines and cosines, this book focuses on concepts to make the excitement of atomic physics more accessible for learners than ever before. It comes replete with learning goals, exercises and solutions, and an optional experimental component, making this text readily adoptable for both the classroom and the undergraduate lab.
The book takes the reader on a lively and engaging tour through topics at the forefront of current science, including photons, quantum numbers, atomic energy levels, some different spectroscopy techniques, electronic structure, atomic notation, angular momentum, hyperfine structure, isotope shifts, the strong force, an introduction to the Standard Model of Particle Physics, and more.
This is an open access book.
List of contents
Chapter 1. Introduction to Atoms and Light.- Chapter 2. Natural Light.- Chapter 3. Atoms at rest.- Chapter 4. Atoms in Motion.- Chapter 5. Saturated Absorption Spectroscopy.- Chapter 6. Quantum Mechanics vs. Classical Physics.- Chapter 7. Angular Momentum.- Chapter 8. Electronic Structure and Atomic Notation.- Chapter 9. Hyperfine Structure.- Chapter 10. Isotope Shifts, Radioactive Decay, and the Nuclear Forces.- Chapter 11. The Standard Model of Particle Physics.
About the author
Will Raven is an experimental atomic physicist at Smith College. He has been doing research in atomic physics for over 20 years and has taught quantum mechanics for over 10 years. He won the National Science Foundation Early CAREER award, both student nominated teaching awards at Smith College, and is driven to make physics more accessible and appealing to learners from all backgrounds.
