Electronic Energy Levels and Photons

Short Description of Topic

The Main Idea

Electrons can be excited by absorbing energy from photons. Electrons can only be excited to certain electronic energy levels. Each electronic energy level is a number that represents the sum of the kinetic and potential energy (K+U). Because electrons are only stable at those energy levels, an electron can only absorb certain energies from photons. After the electron is excited, it drops down and releases a photon. It can drop to any energy level below it, and thus the resulting photons can be of several energies.

A Mathematical Model

For example, the electronic energy levels for a hydrogen atom can be modeled by the equation: [math]\displaystyle{ {\frac{-13.6}{N^2}} = {K+U} }[/math] where p is the momentum of the system and F is the net force from the surroundings.

A Computational Model

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