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Electron jump?

  1. Mar 22, 2006 #1
    How many time take to the electron to "Travel" from a lower orbit to a higher one? does it take the same time to travel to the next energy lever or to jump 3 or 4 when hitted by a more energetic photon??
    Or it only takes a planck time since it was hit by the photon?
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2006
  2. jcsd
  3. Mar 25, 2006 #2
    I dont think one can visualise this in terms of how long it takes to jump an energy level. An electron can never be determined to be in one place with any degree of accuracy, and thus we cant measure how long it takes to get to another place. This is of course if you think it physically changes location to raise its energy. An electron has accociated with it a quantum energy state that defines crudely where it would be in an atom say, So raising its energy would instantly put it in a higher state if the stimulant was sufficient. So getting from the ground state to the first state, or from ground to the fourth state would take the same time. Of course, this in itself is not a diffinitive answer, but the principle of associating an exact position to an electron is pointless.
  4. Mar 27, 2006 #3
    I know, when i made the post i was thinking in the electron as a wave, no as a particle.

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