Monday, April 23, 2007

What I put together about Chemiluminescence and Pauli

So I have to get ready for my Organic Chem. Final. Just had my last Orgo Lab of my life. I liked the course, and actually I learned a lot. I had the coolest thought when I had to write a paper on chemioluminescene so I thought I'd share.

Now I realize a lot of this might not make sense, but I will do my best. The pauli exclusion principle is the reason why matter can not occupy the same space as other matter yet radiation and light can be absorbed by it. ISN'T THAT REVOLUTIONARY? Now I'll try to explain it. Every electron that orbits an atom, orbits in a predicable pattern. Using three quantum numbers to specify how the orbital is arranged determining the distance from the center of the atom and the shape of the orbital. The fourth quantum number is what is important though.

This tells whether the atom spins right or left. Why so important you ask? Well due to the laws of physics a rotation causes a magnetic field, that attracts 1 other electron spining the oppostie direction. These are called a lone electron pair.

Now back to the Pauli exclusion principle. It states that no two electrons can share the same space. (I can't have two right spining electrons in the same space, but I can have a right and left spinning electron in the same space.) Radiation causes the excitation of electrons into a higher energy, but still the electron is spining either to the right or left and thus can not be next to another electron with the same spin state (as would occur if you tried to fit two tables into the same space of matter.

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