Electronville

Electrons: what are they?

The name -electron- is derived from the ancient Greek word for Amber which they saw could attract small objects when brushed with fur. In 1897, the British Nobel physicist, JJ Thomson demonstrated that cathode rays were really invisible negatively charged particles.

Crazy Invisible Electrons

Observations of everyday life and the physical world around has been described by the classical laws of physics generated by Newton and others.  Atoms are made of electrons protons and neutrons but the classic Newton laws do not apply directly to this invisible microscopic world. Strange atom scale behavior was observed that did not follow the laws of classical physics. For example, when electrons were subjected to a double slit experiment, they behaved as like light waves, although they are thought to be particles.

Quantum physics

In the last century quantum physics has evolved to better describe the behavior of electrons and other atomic particles. Particles and their energy appears to exist in discrete quantum units related to the frequency of waves. In 1926 Erwin Schroedinger proposed an equation to describe the wave function of electrons. Equation solutions are thought to relate probability, rather than precise electron orbit location. it appears that matter and light behave as particles or waves depending on the experimental observations involved. The electron microscope is a good example of how electrons can act like light waves. We can not see electrons - only what they do.

Quantum theory is not clearly understood by the scientific community; it raises many controversial concepts that don't appear to agree with the everyday world that are our eyes see. In addition to the craziness that electron particles show wave behavior, quantum theory predicts electrons could reside in multiple places at the same time. If quantum theory is valid, is it confined only to the microscopic invisible world, like the magical genie in a bottle, or are there important implications to the macro visible world we live in? Mathematic solutions to the wave equation suggest that atom and electron behavior is probabilistically random.

A number of conflicting science based philosophical interpretations exist that propose to answer how quantum mechanics analysis translate to our apparently deterministic real world, made of atoms. The standard, but not proven, textbook version claims that observations and measurements select and define reality, not electrons.

In spite of the confusions, quantum mechanics has been critically important to understanding the behavior of atomic level particles. Quantum computing is expected to replace classical computing methods based on simple binary digital -0/1- bits of information. Important applications of quantum physics have resulted in advances in chemistry and electronics such as the i-Phone and light emitting diodes.

Waves and Particles

Energy travels from place to place on earth and in outer space as electromagnetic waves (EM). Sunlight, infrared, Ultraviolet, radio, and X-rays how are examples. Electromagnetic waves consists of two transverse waves: an oscillating electric field and a magnetic field perpendicular to it. [See image]. In 1873 James Maxwell wrote a famous treatise on electricity and magnetism that predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves, which was later confirmed experimentally by Heinrich Hurtz. EM radiation from the sun is produce by accelerating electrons and protons,that were produced in nuclear fusion. The created energy waves radiates away from the Sun, as an expanding sphere, without losses, until they encounter matter, like the earth's atmosphere. When EM radiation encounters atoms, the waves appear to be become quantum particles called photons with energy based on the originating EM frequency. The duality of matter and light as waves or particles is acknowledged in scientific literature although it is not clearly understood.

Photovoltaic Basics

Photovoltaic phenomena depends on photons from the sun to energize electrons to conduction levels in a semiconductor material like Silicon. The conductinc electrons are then driven by an electrostatic field caused by a transistor PN-junction to generate electricity. The PN-junction is formed by doping pure silicone with the phosphorus atoms to provide a surplus of electron on the negative side; the junction positive side is doped with Boron with a electroe deficit, called holes.

Only a fraction of the available solar energy is usable because semiconductors have precise defined energy gaps that electrons most overcome to go into electrical conduction. Only the photons carrying enough energy to transverse the gap will be effective. Solar photon energy transfer beyond gap value is surplus and degrades to heat. The maximume possible efficiency for Silicone PV cells is 20%. In commercial applications, the efficiency drops down to ~12%.