Re: quantization

["Rick Tarara" <rbtarara@sprynet.com>]

The energy of certain systems is quantized (like the hydrogen atom or a
given frequency of light) but energy itself is not.  Take the light example,
you can change the frequency of the light in as fine a step as you want to
produce any particular energy photon, but at a fixed frequency, you have hf
energy per photon and can collect hf, 2hf, 3hf....... in total energy.

I'll stay out of the philosophical argument (for now).

rick

-----Original Message-----
From: LUDWIK KOWALSKI <KOWALSKIL@alpha.montclair.edu>
To: phys-L@atlantis.uwf.edu <phys-L@atlantis.uwf.edu>
Date: Friday, May 08, 1998 9:34 PM
Subject: Re: quantization


> Leigh wrote"

> > .... Charge is quantized; energy is not....
>
> This calls for an elaboration. We do teach about energy levels in
> molecules and atoms. What is quanized by the principle quantum number
> n in the theory of hydrogen atom? Are some forms of energy quantized
> whil others are not? I am probably missing something important.
>
>                                              Ludwik Kowalski