In reply to David Roberson's message of Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:31:29 -0500 (EST): Hi, [snip] >>I may have calculated incorrectly, but I get a base resonant frequency for the >Ni atom in it's lattice of something like 4E11 Hz. This is obviously way more >than normal sound, but matches a photon frequency just below the bottom of the >IR, meaning that THz frequency thermal photons should be able to excite it >readily. >[snip] >Regards, > >Robin van Spaandonk > >http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html >You must be off in that calculation for some reason. The kinetic energy due >to temperature should give you a direct measure of the velocity. >Dave > > What does the velocity due to thermal energy have to do with the resonant frequency of atoms in the lattice? The atoms are in a rigid lattice. That means that at least for small deviations from their current location, they are harmonic oscillators. I derived the spring constant from the energy required to cause the lattice to melt and the normal atomic spacing. Then I derived the fundamental frequency from the spring constant and the mass of a Ni atom. The frequency I got was 4E11 Hz.
Why is this wrong? Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html
