Cairo University

Faculty of Engineering
Modern Physics Sheet_3
De Broglies Hypothesis & Heisenberg Uncertainty
me = 9.1 x 10-31 kg
Eo (electron) = 0.511 M eV
h = 6.63 x 10-34 J.s
c = 3 x 108 m/s

mp = 1.67 x 10-27 kg
Eo (proton) = 938 M eV
e = 1.6 x 10-19 C
= 1.05 x 10-34 J.s

(1)Compute the de Broglie wavelength of the following:

(a) A 1000 kg car traveling at 100 m/s.
(b) A 10 g bullet traveling at 500 m/s.
(c) An electron with a kinetic energy of 1 eV.
(d) An electron with a kinetic energy of 5 MeV.
(2) Find the kinetic energy of a proton whose de Broglie wavelength is 1 fm.
(use relativistic calculations)
(3) An electron moves in the x direction with a speed of 3.6 x 10 6 m/s. We
can measure its speed to a precision of 1 %. With what precision can we
simultaneously measure its position?
(4) Repeat the calculations of the previous problem in the case of a baseball
( m= 0.145 kg) moving at a speed of 42.5 m/s.
(5)Estimate the minimum errors in determining the velocity of an
electron, proton and a ball of mass of 1.0 mg if the coordinates of the
particles and of the center of the ball are known with uncertainty 1.0
m .
(6) An electron is confined to a region of space of the size of an atom (0.1
nm). (a) What is the uncertainty in the momentum of the electron?
(b) What is the kinetic energy of an electron with a momentum equal to p?
(7) What is the uncertainty in the location of a photon of wavelength 300
nm if this wavelength is known to an accuracy ) of one part in a
million.
(8) What is the minimum uncertainty in the energy state of an atom if
an electron remains in this state for 10-8 s?