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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999  > October  >
In the Classroom
Franck-Condon Factors and Their Use in Undergraduate Quantum Mechanics
John C. Wright
Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706

Theresa Julia Zielinski
Department of Chemistry, Medical Technology & Physics, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ 07764

Cover
October 1999
Vol. 76 No. 10
p. 1367
Abstract
Symbolic mathematics software makes it possible for undergraduates to model the expansion of a wave function using the Hermite polynomials of a simple harmonic oscillator. The probabilities for transitions between the vibrational states of two electronic states with different equilibrium displacements are directly determined by the Franck-Condon factors, which are simply the coefficients of the expansion of one state in terms of the other stateÕs basis functions. Exercises are described that allow students to explore and understand the Franck-Condon factors and to apply their understanding to interpreting simple spectra including the octatetraene and iodine absorption spectra. These exercises are used to promote active learning in physical chemistry courses.
More Information
*  Citation
 Wright, John C.; Zielinski, Theresa Julia. J. Chem. Educ. 1999 76 1367.
*  Keywords
 Physical Chemistry; Teaching/Learning Theory/Practice; Computer Assisted Instruction; UV-Vis Spectroscopy; Theoretical Chemistry
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 September 6, 1999
June 23, 2005
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