Lecture 9

Einsteins Simple Illustration

Suppose that an amount of E of radiant energy is emitted from
one end of the box of mass M and length L on a frictionless
surface. The radiation carries momentum p = E/c.

initial box location
location of recoiling box
v
center of mass
c
Assuming that the box is heavy, its recoiling momentum is,
therefore, simply given by Mv.
The conservation of momentum requires Mv = E/c.
1
Lecture 9
Einsteins Illustration-Contd
initial box location
location of recoiling box
v
center of mass
c
Since the center of mass of the system cannot move, the radiation
must have the equivalent of a mass m so that Md = mL, which
leads to E = mc
2
.


When the radiation is absorbed at the other end, the recoiling box
comes to a stop. The distance that the box moves is
d = vt = E/(Mc) x L/c = E/(Mc
2
) x L.
2
Lecture 9
Equivalence of Energy and Mass
The mass of an object grows as the object gains kinetic
energy
2
mc E =
Creation of particles (e.g., an electron-positron pair) out of
nothing (e.g., light) or annihilation of matter (e.g.,
electrons) and anti-matter (e.g., positrons) to produce
gamma-rays.
Creation of heavy particles by colliding highly accelerated
light particles
Nuclear fission and fusion
3
Lecture 9
Example: Anti-Proton Production
Proton-proton collision:
p p p p p p + + + ! +
Laboratory frame:
Center-of-mass frame:
What is the minimum energy
of incident protons required
to produce anti-protons?
All protons and the anti-proton are
at rest in the center-of-mass frame.
The total energy is
2
0
4 c m
, which is equal to the rest energy of
the system in the center-of-mass frame.
4
Lecture 9
Example - Contd
4 2
0 1
2
0
2 2
0
2
0 1
2 2
1
2
1
2 2
1
2 2
0 1
2 2 2 2 2
0
2 2
) ( ) ( 2
) (
) (
c m E c m
c m c m E c p E
c p c m E
c p E c M
t t
+ =
+ + ! =
! + =
! =
In the laboratory frame, the rest energy of the system is given by
Since the rest energy of the system is Lorentz invariant, we have
2
0
2
0
4 c m c M =
2
0 1
7 c m E =
2
0 1
6 c m T =
or
Conservation laws!
5
Lecture 9
Example: Neutral Pion Production
Find the minimum energy required of a photon that strikes a
proton at rest to produce a neutral pion and a proton:
p p + ! +
0
" #
Laboratory frame:
Center-of-mass frame:
In the center-of-mass frame, the
rest energy of the final products is
2 2 2
0
c m c m c M
p
+ =
!
In the laboratory frame, the rest
mass of the final products is
2 2 2 2
0
c p E c M
t t
! =
6
Lecture 9
Example - Contd
Energy conservation:
2
c m c p E
p t
+ =
!
Momentum conservation:
!
p p
t
=
4 2 3
2 2 2 2 2
0
2 2
2
) (
c m c p m
c p c m c p c M c m c m
p p
p p
+ =
! + = = + "
#
# # $
MeV
MeV
MeV MeV MeV
c m
c m c m m
c p
p
p
7 . 144
) 938 ( 2
) 135 ( ) 135 )( 938 ( 2
2
2
2
2
4 2 4
=
+
=
+
=
! !
"
7
Lecture 9
Useful Units
Electron Volt (eV): the amount of energy gained
by an electron through a voltage of 1 V
) ( 10 6 . 1 ) ( 1 ) ( 10 6 . 1 1
19 19
J V C eV
! !
" = " " =
Atomic Mass Unit (u):
2 27
5 . 931 10 66054 . 1 1 c MeV kg u = ! =
"
Interchange of mass and energy units
8
Lecture 9
Binding Energy and Mass
When objects are bound together by attractive forces, the
mass of the system is less than the sum of the masses of its
constituents. The difference defines the binding energy (B)
of the system, i.e.,
2
2 1 0
c
B
m m m M
n
! + + + = !
which is the minimum amount of energy required to
pull the system apart.
Applications to molecules, atoms, nuclei, , on small
scales, and planetary systems, galaxies, cluster of galaxies,
, on large scales
9
Lecture 9
Nuclear Fission
( ) n Ba Kr U n U 2
142 92
*
236 235
+ + ! ! +
Binding energies:
235
U: 1797.1 MeV/c
2
92
Kr: 800.9 MeV/c
2
142
Ba: 1189.5 MeV/c
2
Energy release per event:
193.3 MeV

235
U: 235.043924 u
=3.9030 x 10
-25
kg
Therefore, the energy release per kg of
235
U is
kg MeV
kg
MeV
/ 10 95 . 4
10 9030 . 3
3 . 193
26
25
! =
!
"
200,000 tons
of TNT!
10
Lecture 9
Nuclear Fusion
n He H H + ! +
4 3 2
Atomic Masses:
2
H: 2.014102 u

4
He: 4.002602 u

n: 1.008665 u

Energy release per event:
0.018884 u =17.6 MeV
3
H: 3.016049 u

Therefore, the energy release per kg of fuel is
kg MeV
kg
MeV
m m
MeV
t d
/ 10 11 . 2
10 353 . 8
6 . 17 6 . 17
27
27
! =
!
=
+
"
11
Lecture 9
How Is the Sun Powered?
p + p !
2
H + e
+
+"
e
p + e
#
+ p !
2
H +"
e
Step 1
Step 2
2
H + p !
3
He +"
Step 3
3
He +
3
He !
4
He + p + p
3
He +
4
He !
7
Be +"
3
He + p !
4
He + e
+
+#
e
Step 4
7
Be + e
!
"
7
Li + v
e
7
Li + p "
4
He +
4
He
7
Be + p "
8
B+#
8
B"
8
Be + e
+
+$
e
8
Be
*
"
4
He +
4
He
4 p + 2e
!
"
4
He + 2#
e
+ 26.731MeV
12