Talk:Atomic electron transition

Previous discussion while the article was still titled Quantum leap is now at Talk:Quantum leap.

Physics Stub‑class Mid‑importance

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"few nanoseconds or less"

First, the timing depends on the energy gap value. Second, it is generally not correct to suggest a picture like

the "↑" state before $T 0$
transition started at $T 0$
intermediate state between $T 0$ and $T 1$
transition ended at $T 1$
the "↓" state after $T 1$ .

In the Schrödinger picture, we will always see some superposed state with the ↑ amplitude gradually decreasing and ↓ amplitude increasing. More general, the moment of a transition is always uncertain, and speculation such as "transition started at… and ended at…" do not have a sense. Incnis Mrsi (talk) 20:03, 22 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The moment (on the time scale) of a transition is uncertain (Poissonian statistics for a single atom/ion). Nevertheless the time for a transition (jump) is always shorter then statistical period of jumping cycle (interval between jumps) - obtained from density matrix ("superposition"). You can see (experimental - not speculation) it in wiki reference[1] (page 3). 195.113.87.138 (talk) 13:09, 2 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]