This page contains a list of useful videos on quantum physics aimed at 16-19 students.

Double slit experiment explained

 

Waves of uncertainty

 

Extreme lasers

 

Laser cooling

 

Magnets and quantum mechanics

 

A brief history of quarks

 

The photon

 

The photoelectric effect

In this page we have listed a range of experiments and simulations that students could do at home when working with the quantum and nuclear physics topics in their specifications. 

Lasers

This simulation from PhET will help students learn about how a traditional laser works and what population inversion means. To run this simulation the java file needs to be downloaded and run locally on your device, so unfortunately most tablets will not be able to support this activity.

The simulation has two settings:

1. One atom laser - although this is highly simplistic, it is possible to achieve lasing from a single atom in this simulation. This is useful to learn the basics of stimulated emissions and population inversion. The key is to ‘play’ with the lifetime in energy levels 2 and 3 to really start to understand how population inversion can be achieved.
   
    
2. Multiple atoms laser - this is a more realistic simulation setting that contains a number of atoms that can absorb and emit photons. So, once students are ready to move from the basic principles to more complex systems they can explore the simulation settings to achieve lasing and maintain the power output at a steady level.

By clicking on the link “For teachers” below the simulation thumbnail, you can access a range of worksheets and activities that will guide students in their learning about lasers with this simulation. You can see an example here.

Alpha particles scattering

This simulation from PhET is suitable for both 14-16 and 16-19 students and it will help them learn about the famous Rutherford’s experiment of alpha particles scattering. It is developed in HTML5, so it should work with most devices directly from a web browser. There are two settings that can be used:

1. Plum pudding model of the atom - this will not deflect alpha particles and show that the traces go straight through
   
    
2. Rutherford atom - this setting shows a few atoms of gold by default and all the positive charge concentrated at the nucleus. You can also change the number of protons and neutrons in the atoms, as well as the energy of the incident alpha particles

A range of activities could be developed for students using this simulation. For example, they could take screenshots of different interactions of alpha particles with gold atoms (or other atoms) and write a paragraph for each observation to support Rutherford’s model of the atom.

Line emission spectra

This is a really useful activity set up in a Google Spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is view only, so to allow your students to edit the spreadsheet and work on the activity, you will need to copy and paste all the cells in a new spreadsheet on your Google Drive, or Google Classroom. By clicking on the link in cell A2, you will open a beautiful simulation made in GeoGebra that illustrates the orbitals and the electron transitions between different orbitals. The transitions will also give the wavelength of the photon emitted, which the students need to complete the activity.

VPLab Simulations

Suggested file download guidance:

1. Download the file you want.
2. Right-click on the downloaded file, and select “extract all files” (make a note of which folder it is extracting the files to so that you can find them again!)
3. When it finishes extracting all the files, search for the “.exe” file and double-click on it
4. The simulation will run on your computer for 7 days. 
5. If your computer is a MAC, you will need to run the simulation through Wine Bottler 

Here are some useful simulations in VPL for Quantum and Nuclear physics:

• Inverse Square Law (Radioactivity) – students move the detector away from the source and store ‘readings’ which are plotted on a graph, with ‘distance’ ‘1/distance’ and ‘1/distance squared’ as the axis options. [approximate expiration date for this link 26th May 2020]
• Photoelectric Effect – students use 2 target materials; for each one, they choose various values of colour/wavelength of the radiation and then use a variable resistor to ‘stop’ the photoelectric current. Results are plotted on a graph of stopping voltage v frequency; which is then used to obtain h (as far as I can see, the students don’t have to do the calculations). [approximate expiration date for this link 26th May 2020]
• Young’s Slits Experiment – you can actually pick any number of slits from 1 to 10, adjust the brightness of the laser (red, green or blue) beam and adjust slit width and separation. The result is shown on a screen, with an option for intensity graph along with a handy pop-up window to show the geometry and the standard equation that appears on exam specs. [approximate expiration date for this link 30th May 2020]

Photoelectric Effect

This Phet simulation is suitable for A level students and is found in the STEM Learning Library. To access you will need a free account with a password. In this simulation, students can see how light knocks electrons off a metal target, and recreate the experiment that spawned the field of quantum mechanics. Students could also predict the results of experiments of the photoelectric effect, e.g. how changing the intensity of light will affect the current and the energy of electrons, how changing the wavelength of light will affect the current and the energy of electrons, how changing the voltage will affect the current and the energy of electrons, how changing the material of the target will affect the current and the energy of electrons.

Black Body Radiation

This is another Phet simulation that is not included in the STEM Learning library.

It offers an opportunity for pupils to study how the blackbody spectrum of the sun compares to visible light. They can also learn about the blackbody spectrum of Sirius A, the sun, a light bulb, and the earth as well as adjust the temperature to see the wavelength and intensity of the spectrum change and view the colour of the peak of the spectral curve.

Questions that could be used with this simulation include:

• Describe what happens to the blackbody spectrum as you increase or decrease the temperature. What happens to the shape of the curve and the peak of this curve?
• Describe the blackbody spectrum of a light bulb. Why do light bulbs get hot? Do they seem efficient? 
• Imagine that you see 2 hot, glowing objects - one is glowing orange and the other is glowing blue. Which one is hotter?
• Find the relationship between the temperature and the wavelength at the peak of the curve.

Health and Safety Guidance

These experiments have been selected by trained teachers as appropriate for use at home, but we have not specifically tested them for home use.

All experiments are carried out at your own risk.

To avoid risk of injury or damage, we recommend that you follow the instructions as shown, and that a responsible adult supervises all practical activity and considers the suitability of each task for their child.

Teachers proposing to recommend any resources to their students should:

1. work within safety policies established by their school;
2. use their professional judgement to assess the suitability of experiments for their own students;
3. direct students and their parents/guardians to follow all stated instructions.

In this page we have listed a range of websites and resources containing useful questions on quantum and nuclear physics topics for students.



Isaac Physics

Concept Collections (key points and questions to test understanding) and Question Boards (a variety of online questions with automatic checking of answers). They can be accessed without signing up for an account, but the free teacher and student accounts allow you to set assignments for your classes. 

Concept collections: 

• Photoelectric Effect
• Radioactive Decay

Examples of the 16-19 Quantum and Nuclear question boards:

• Isaac Physics Board ‘Nuclear Equations’
• Isaac Physics Board  ‘Activity and Decay’ 
• Isaac Physics Board ‘Nuclear Decay with time’ 
• Isaac Physics Board ‘Nuclear Equations’

Physics And Maths Tutor

The website PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com has a repository of past paper questions, solutions and mark schemes for all awarding bodies. You can download an example question set for Quantum Physics (photoelectric effect, energy levels, de Broglie wavelength) and the Mark Scheme.

AS Physics Exam Questions: Quantum Phenomena DrPhysA

These excellent videos demonstrate examples of Physics AS level exam questions for Quantum Phenomena covering Edexcel, AQA and OCR material.

Plank’s constant should be 6.63 x 10-34, not 6.3 x 10-34, which gives quite a different answer.

Electricity, sensing, waves and quantum physics: multiple choice question (MCQ) quiz

A multiple choice quiz on electricity, sensing, waves and quantum physics. Although it is written for OCR AS/A level physics (H156, H556, H157, H557) it can be edited to suit your scheme of work.

A level Quantum Physics Quizlet

Quantum Mechanics flashcards, diagrams and study guides.

Study Quantum Mechanics sets on Quizlet for free. Learn what you need to get good grades in your classes; memorise important Quantum Mechanics terms, definitions, formulas, equations and concepts and prepare for Quantum Mechanics homework and exams with Quizlet’s free online flashcards, diagrams, study guides and practice tests. 

Quantum Technology - laser cooling

This resource developed by STEM Learning is a synoptic student activity that guides students towards an understanding of laser cooling through questions relating to a wide range of the 16-19 physics specifications. It is a useful activity to help students prepare for exam papers through an engaging and realistic context. The teacher notes and answers can be downloaded here.

Wave Particle Duality

This is a very simple revision clip from BBC Bitesize Physics with questions to go with it.

The photoelectric effect shows that light is made up of individual photons. It begins by noting that photoemissions will take place if photons have a high enough frequency and enough energy. These are basic questions but good revision before the start of A level. 

High Energy Laser

This is a video clip from BBC Sounds which has been available for some time. Lasers can produce the kinds of extreme temperatures, pressures and magnetic fields only found inside stars. Dr Ceri Brenner shows us the high-energy laser she uses for her research, based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxford. Length of video 3mins 30sec.

Quantum worlds

Listen to a 43 min radio programme, “The Infinite Monkey Cage”. Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by comedian Katy Brand and physicists Sean Carroll and Jim Al-khalili as they explore our strange and bizarre Quantum world.