8.13-14 | Fall 2016 | Undergraduate

Experimental Physics I & II "Junior Lab"

Experiments

The Franck-Hertz Experiment

Description

The Franck-Hertz experiment equipment.

These experiments measure two phenomena encountered in collisions between electrons and atoms: quantized excitation due to inelastic scattering, and ionization. The excitation potential and ionization potential of the mercury atom are determined from measurements of the critical accelerating potentials at which electrons lose energy by inelastic scattering in mercury vapor.

Lab Guide

The Franck-Hertz Experiment Lab Guide (PDF)

Franck-Hertz Experiment References

Bohm, David. “Square Potential Solutions.” In Quantum Theory. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1951, pp. 229-263.

Bleuler, Ernst, and George J. Goldsmith. “Charged Particle Spectra.” In Experimental Nucleonics. New York, NY: Rinehart, 1952, pp. 342-346.

Melissinos, Adrian C. “The Franck-Hertz Experiment.” In Experiments in Modern Physics. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1966, pp. 8-17.

———. “Thermionic Emissions of Electrons from Metals.” In Experiments in Modern Physics. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1966, pp. 65-80.

Schiff, Leonard I. “Ramsauer-Townsend Effect.” In Quantum Mechanics. 3rd ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1968, pp. 108-110.

Harnwell, Gaylord P., and J. J. Livinwood. “Experiments on Excitation Potentials,” and “Experiments in Ionization Potentials.” In Experimental Atomic Physics. Huntington, NY: R. E. Krieger, 1978, pp. 314-320. ISBN: 9780882756004.

Rapior, G., K. Sengstock, and V. Baeva. “New Features of the Franck-Hertz Experiment.” American Journal of Physics 74 (2006): 423-428.

Ramsauer-Townsend Effect Experiment References

Bohm, David. “Ramsauer-Townsend.” In Quantum Theory. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1951, pp. 564-573.

Richtmyer, F. K., E. H. Kennard, and T. Lauritsen. Introduction to Modern Physics. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1955, pp. 274-279.

Mott, N. F., and H. S. W. Massey. “Ramsauer-Townsend.” In The Theory of Atomic Collisions. 3rd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965, pp. 562-579. ISBN: 9780198512424.

Kukolich, Stephen G. “Demonstration of the Ramsauer-Townsend Effect in a Xenon Thyratron.” American Journal of Physics 36, no. 8 (1968): 701-703.

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Fall 2016
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