Particle in a Box and Nanocrystals

[Janis 3B]

Hi! So I understand the Particle in a Box concept in that it explains the behavior of a particle as a wave when getting to a quantum scale, and I understand nanoparticles and how they behave like the Particle in a Box. However, I do not understand, and hope someone can explain, how this related to the release of photons, how photons are related to electrons, or how these concepts connect back to nanocrystals.

[Annabel Preston]

Hi! Photons are basically related to electrons in that they are a form of energy that electrons can absorb to excite them into different energy levels (absorption spectrum). Then once they are excited to the next energy level, they have to release the photon and jump back to their original energy level (emission spectrum). Electrons are also small enough particles that they are affected when hit by photons, unlike something like a baseball for example. And then I'm sorry but I don't think I can help with your question about nano crystals- that is confusing to me as well. Hope this helped!