Use of the Vreeland Spectroscope in the Quantum Chemistry Laboratory

Abstract

Although quantum mechanics is probably the most powerful and potentially useful area of physical chemistry, much of it involves describing and solving physical problems in terms of mathematics. The wave function description of atomic orbitals, the physical significance of quantum numbers, and angular momentum are central concepts, yet most students find them difficult to assimilate. The laboratory should be the arena not only for teaching basic lab techniques but for illustrating the ideas and concepts to which students are exposed in the lecture. I have shown that the quantum mechanistic ideas describing the structure of atoms can be effectively demonstrated in the laboratory using the Vreeland direct-reading spectroscope. Although this spectroscope is customarily employed in geological and geophysical applications and in the mining industry, many colleges and universities use it for teaching mineralogy and geochemistry. I resurrected a Vreeland spectroscope from the earth science department and successfully employ it to illustrate the concepts of atomic structure and spectra in the quantum chemistry laboratory.