Physics of the electron

George R. Welch, Stephen F. Jacobs, Frank A. Narducci

The 40th Winter Colloquium on the Physics of Quantum Electronics (PQE) was held in Snowbird, Utah, USA from January 3 to 7, 2010. PQE is one of the longest running conferences in laser physics, com...

Ernst Grimsehl, Rudolf Tomaschek, L. A. Woodward

David L. Bergman

A mathematical model (the Schrodinger Equation) and a physical model (Spinning Charged Ring Model) of the electron are compared for their ability to predict waves emitted by electrons. Although it is a fundamental postulate of Quantum Mechanics, the Schrodinger Equation does not allow for an interpretation of wave-functions as physical waves, cannot be a com- plete theoretical description of a micro physical system, neglects intrinsic characteristics of particle motion, and fails in several other ways to correspond to physical reality. The Ring Model of Electrons makes accurate and complete predictions of fields and waves by using the locations and internal motions of charge elements that make up the electron in order to determine the external fields of the electron. The physical Ring Model, compli- ant with the law of cause and effect, explains the meaning of Planck's Constant and accu- rately predicts the Photoelectric Effect, wavelengths of hydrogen line spectra, blackbody radiation, and the Compton Wavelength. An unbiased assessment of these facts implies that electrons are small physical particles that closely resemble the Spinning Charged Ring Model, and these electrons are a source of electromagnetic waves.

Jing Kong

A physically motivated equation that determines the number of electrons of a molecule is proposed based on some generally accepted basic chemical knowledge. It permits a complete local definition of molecules and shows that all molecules are entangled in the number of electrons. It also results in the extensivity and convexity of molecular energy, which underpin molecular quantum mechanics. The proposed physical principle includes the molecular size consistency principle as a special case and reveals an intrinsic relationship between molecular locality, size consistency, and energy convexity. Application of wavefunction theory to the new principle shows that an individual molecule with a noninteger number of electrons is locally physical. The energy of a molecule is piecewise linear with respect to its number of electrons. The realness of the number of electrons allows the definition of the electronic chemical potential of a single molecule. A state function equivalent to the energy of a molecule can be defined using the chemical potential as a variable and used to express the physical principle as a simple additivity. The latter also shows that the quantum entanglement in the number of electrons can be viewed as all molecules sharing one chemical potential. When the energy of a molecule with a definite number of electrons is not convex with respect to the number of electrons, the state of the molecule is not always locally determinable even with a known number of electrons.