Modern Physics: October 24, 2013

Solutions for the Homework 3

Problem 3.1: A photon and a particle have the same wavelength. Can anything be said about how
their linear momenta compare? About how the photon’s energy compares with the particle’s
total energy? About how the photon’s energy compares with the particle’s kinetic energy?
Solution:
p Their linear momenta are same as p = h/λ, However, the total energy of electron,
(me c ) p+ (pc)2 , is greater than the total energy of photon, pc. From these, kinetic energy of
2 2

electron, (me c2 )2 + (pc)2 − me c2 is less than the energy of photon, pc.

Problem 3.4: Find the de Broglie wavelength of the 40keV electrons used in a certain electron
microscope.
Solution: Lets find the momentum of electron first.
p
(K + me c2 )2 − (mc c2 )2
p = = 210keV /c.
c
Now, use the definition of de Broglie wavelength. Then,
h
λ = = 6.0 × 10−12 m.
p
Problem 3.9: Green light has a wavelength of about 550nm. Through what potential difference
must an electron be accelerated to have this wavelength?
Solution: Simply this problem is reverse of previous problem. But if you calculate pc of the
electron,
hc
pc = = 2.25eV ,
λ
which is extremely less than the rest energy of electron. So, we can treat this case as nonrela-
tivistic. Then,
p2 h2
K = = = 4.97 × 10−6 eV .
2me 2me λ2
p
Problem 3.16: The phase velocity of ripples on a liquid surface is 2πS/λρ, where S is the surface
tension and ρ the density of the liquid. Find the group velocity of the ripples.
Solution: We know the phase velocity is given by
s
ω 1 k3 S
vp = = ,
k k ρ
p
which means that ω = k 3 S/ρ from the relation k = 2π/λ. So, the group velocity is
dw 3
vg = = vp .
dk 2

1
 Modern Physics: October 24, 2013

p
Problem 3.17: The phase velocity of ocean waves is gλ/2π, where g is the acceleration of gravity.
Find the group velocity of ocean waves.
Solution: Similar to the previous problem,
ω 1p
vp = = gk,
k k
and so,
dw 1
vg = = vp .
dk 2
Problem 3.26: A beam of 50keV electrons is directed at a crystal and diffracted electrons are found
at an angle of 50◦ relative to the original beam. What is the spacing of the atomic planes of the
crystal? A relativistic calculation is needed for λ.
Solution: Similar to the problem 3.4, we can get de Broglie wavelength of given electron.
h
λ = = 5.4 × 10−12 m.
p
Now, consider the beam with incident angle θ0 . Then, by the reflection rule,

θ + 2θ0 = 180◦ ⇒ θ0 = 65◦

. Use the Bragg equation with n = 1 to get the spacing of crystal planes, d, as follows:
λ
d = = 3.0 × 10−12 m.
2 sin θ0

Problem 3.31: The atoms in a solid possess a certain minimum zero-point energy even at 0K, while
no such restriction holds for the molecules in an ideal gas. Use the uncertainty principle to
explain these statements.
Solution: For the solid, there is a restriction for the position of each atoms and so we can’t set
∆x as infinity. It means the momentum is finite and so there should be an energy even if the
temperature is 0K. But there is no restriction for the position of ideal gas, so it can has zero
energy when 0K.

Problem 3.32: Compare the uncertainties in the velocities of an electron and a proton confined in a
1.00nm box.
Solution: Let ∆x = 1.00nm. Then,
~
∆p ≥ = 5.27 × 10−26 kg · m/s.
2∆x
For each case, we can treat as classical particles and so the uncertainties of velocities are
~
∆ve ≥ = 5.79 × 104 m/s for electron,
2me ∆x
~
∆vp ≥ = 3.15 × 101 m/s for proton.
2mp ∆x

2
 Modern Physics: October 24, 2013

Problem 3.33: The position and momentum of a 1.00keV electron are simultaneously determined. If
its position is located to within 0.100nm, what is the percentage of uncertainty in its momentum?
Solution: Since the energy of electron is nonrelativistic scale,
∆p ~
= √ = 3.1%.
p 2∆x 2me K
Problem 3.34: (a) How much time is needed to measure the kinetic energy of an electron whose
speed is 10.0m/s with an uncertainty of no more than 0.100 percent? How far will the electron
have traveled in this period of time? (b) Make the same calculations for a 1.00g insect whose
speed is the same. What do these sets of figures indicate?
Solution: (a) From the uncertainty principle, ∆E∆t ≥ ~/2,
∆E ~
= = 0.100%,
E 2E∆t
and so,
~
∆t = = 1.16 × 10−3 s.
me × 10−3
v2
Then, the electron will travel 1.16 × 10−2 m.
(b) Use the result of (a).
~
∆t = = 1.06 × 10−30 s,
M v2 × 10−3
and will travel 1.06 × 10−29 m. These result indicate that the time to measure the kinetic energy
of object with good precision is easier for massive case than light mass case.
Problem 3.37: A marine radar operating at a frequency of 9400M Hz emits groups of electromagnetic
waves 0.0800µs in duration. The time needed for the reflections of these groups to return
indicates the distance to a target. (a) Find the length of each group and the number of waves it
contains. (b) What is the approximate minimum bandwidth (that is, spread of frequencies) the
radar receiver must be able to process?
Solution: (a) From the duration of groups, the length of each group is
c∆t = 24.0m.
Now, divide the result of (a) by the wavelength of given wave to get the number of waves in each
group. Then,
c∆t
= ν∆t = 752.
λ
(b) Simply,
1
∆ν = = 12.5M Hz.
∆t
Problem 3.38: An unstable elementary particle called the eta meson has a rest mass of 549M eV /c2
and a mean lifetime of 7.00 × 10−19 s. What is the uncertainty in its rest mass?
Solution: From the uncertainty principle,
∆M ∆E ~
= = = 8.56 × 10−7 .
M E 2E∆t