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# Franck-Hertz Experiment for Neon and Argon

Abstract

The quantization of energy states of neon and argon are measured and analyzed in the Franck-Hertz experiment. The results of the Franck-Hertz experiment is consistent with the Bohr model. The main idea of the Franck-Hertz experiment is that the Franck-Hertz curves are linearly increasing curves but their minimas are not equally spaced due to the mean free path dependence. And this idea that an atom occupies one of the atom’s ”quantum energy levels” is consistent with Niel Bohr’s model. Our experiment precisely illustrates the key concept of the Franck-Hertz Experiment. We found the discrete energy levels of neon to occur at $$19.4993\pm 0.6$$ eV; whereas, for argon it occurs at $$10.7991\pm 0.02$$ eV.

## Aims

The goal of the Franck-Hertz experiment is to demonstrate that electrons occupy only discrete, quantized energy states for neon and argon atoms.

## Introduction

Bohr’s theory is one of the early models in quantum mechanics, and it was first confirmed experimentally by James Franck and Gustav Hertz in 1914. Bohr model suggests that electrons only occupy discrete energy levels, which is a significant modification of classical physics. The purpose of this lab is to reproduce the Franck Hertz experiment with argon and neon atoms, and to see whether the lab results are consistent with the theoretical values.