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When an electron absorbs a photon, the energy it gains can cause it to change orbitals. The result is ionization. The electron can then emit a photon in the process of "falling back" into its original orbit. Note that electrons won't absorb a photon that cannot give them enough energy to reach a higher orbital. There are no "half measures" in this aspect of quantum mechanics as electrons cannot be shifted "half way" to the next higher orbital. The proof of the pudding here is that we can use lasers of a given frequency to stimulate the electrons in orbit around given atoms. By knowing how much energy a certain electron needs to move to the next higher orbital, we can tune our laser to that photonic energy. Then when we point our laser at a bunch of these atoms, we'll see a bunch of electrons being kicked up to higher orbitals and then emitting photons to return to their previous orbital. There is a bit more to this, but the essentials are here, and are a first step to understanding the subtle ways photons and electrons interact.
Sherwood Ritchie
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoWhen an electron absorbs a photon, the energy it gains can cause it to change orbitals. The result is ionization. The electron can then emit a photon in the process of "falling back" into its original orbit. Note that electrons won't absorb a photon that cannot give them enough energy to reach a higher orbital. There are no "half measures" in this aspect of quantum mechanics as electrons cannot be shifted "half way" to the next higher orbital. The proof of the pudding here is that we can use lasers of a given frequency to stimulate the electrons in orbit around given atoms. By knowing how much energy a certain electron needs to move to the next higher orbital, we can tune our laser to that photonic energy. Then when we point our laser at a bunch of these atoms, we'll see a bunch of electrons being kicked up to higher orbitals and then emitting photons to return to their previous orbital. There is a bit more to this, but the essentials are here, and are a first step to understanding the subtle ways photons and electrons interact.
Wiki User
∙ 6y agoAn electron that absorbs a photon of light will move from its original energy level to a higher energy level. Note that the energy of the photon must match the difference in energy levels between the electron's original level and the one to which it moves. Following that, the electron may emit a photon of light to return to its previous energy level.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoIf the photon has enough energy, it will cause the electron to 'jump' to the next higher energy orbital state. This is an excited electron. The electron will not remain in this state for long, and will return to its original state, emitting a photon of exactly the same amount of energy between the two states.
If the photon is of enough energy to move the electron up two states, then as the electron returns to its original state, it can jump immediately back to the original state, or it may stop at a between state, then continue back to the original. If this happens, then two photons each corresponding to the amount of energy given up are emitted.
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoIt drops from a higher energy level back down to a lower energy level (most likely its ground state.)
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoThe electron falls back to its ground state.
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoThe energy of the electron is lowered.
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Why is the energy of a photon greater than that of an electron?
It does not. A photon has no rest mass an electron has mass and therefore more energy
What happens at the atomic level when light is absorbed?
When an electron absorbs a single photon of light it moves from its current shell to an outer shell.
When does an atom produce light?
When light (a photon) collides with an atom, the energy contained by it is absorbed and it bumps one of the electrons orbiting it up to a higher energy level. ( there are several energy levels, think of it as stories of a building) Later when the electron falls down 1 or more energy levels, The energy is released as another photon. If the electron drops down to the original energy level, the same intensity photon is released as was absorbed. If it drops down in 2 or more steps, several photons will be released of varying intensity, depending on the amount of levels dropped.
What happens when an atom loses energy?
When an electron gains energy it is considered to be in an excited state. At that point the electron jumps out to a level that is further from the nucleus of the atom. the further out the electron the more higher energy the electron has. Once it jumps out a level it then LOSES the extra energy and falls back to its original level, and in doing so emits a photon of light. Depending on the frequency of this light the atom emits a certain color matching that frequency.
What happens when a positron and a electron collide?
They annihilate each other to produce energy, in the form of gamma rays.
An atom can be excited if it?
thermal agitation, electron impact, and photon impact
What is the process in which an electron returns to a lower energy level and emits a photon?
line emission
When an electron in H changes it's spin from the same to the opposite direction as the proton?
emits radio wave photon.
What happens to an electron during an electron transition?
Drops to a lower energy level and emits one photon of light.
What happens to excess energy when the electron jumps from a higher energy orbit to a lower energy orbit in the hydrogen atom?
The electron emits a photon of light which we can see in a spectrograph as color. Four colors are normally seen in a hydrogen atom subjected to energy.
When the electron emits lights does the electron move up to a higher energy level or down to a lower energy level?
In the Bohr model of the atom, an electron emits a photon when it moves from a higher energy level to a lower energy level.
What happend when an electron in a hydrogen atom moves to a higher level?
It immediately falls back to the ground state and emits a photon of light.
What is the difference between linear and non linear optics?
In the case of linear optical transitions, an electron absorbs a photon from the incoming light and makes a transition to the next higher unoccupied allowed state. When this electron relaxes it emits a photon of frequency less than or equal to the frequency of the incident light (Figure 1.3a). SHG on the other hand is a two-photon process where this excited electron absorbs another photon of same frequency and makes a transition to reach another allowed state at higher energy. This electron when falling back to its original 39 state emits a photon of a frequency which is two times that of the incident light (Figure 1.3b). This results in the frequency doubling in the output.
What happens when an electron returns to its ground state from it's excited state?
A photon will be released!
Which subatomic particle is most easily lost from an atom?
The photon probably may be the answer. Every time an electron of an atom gets "excited" after gaining energy, it emits a photon to reach, or rather obtain the ground state(energy levels)
Describe what happens when a positron and an electron collide?
They destroy each other and create a gamma photon.
What happens when an electron returns to its lower energy level?
it emits different colours. Hope it helps.
