The conception of lasers and optoelectronic devices such as solar cells
have been made possible, thanks to the modern day mastery of processes
that harness the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter.
This first volume is dedicated to thermal radiation and experimental
facts that reveal the quantification of matter. The study of black body
radiation allows the introduction of fundamental precepts such as
Planck�s law and the energy-related qualities that characterize
radiation. The properties of light and wave-particle duality are also
examined, based on the interpretation of light interferences, the
photoelectric effect and the Compton effect. This book goes on to
investigate the hydrogen atomic emission spectrum and how it dovetails
into our understanding of quantum numbers to describe the energy,
angular momentum, magnetic moment and spin of an electron. A look at the
spectroscopic notation of the states explains the different wavelengths
measured from the splitting of spectral lines. Finally, this first
volume is completed by the study of de Broglie�s wave theory and
Heisenberg�s uncertainty principle, which facilitated the advancement of
quantum mechanics.