National Institute of Technology, Rourkela

End Semester Examination, 2018

Session: 2018 - 19, Autumn Semester
Dept. Code: PH, Subject Code: PH1001, Subject: Physics I
Full Marks: 50, No. of Pages: 2, Duration of Exam: 3 hours

Answer all the questions.

(Constants: h = 6.62 × 10−34 Js, proton mass=1.67 × 10−27 kg)

Section A [3x10]

1. Prove that E2 = m2 c4 + p2 c2 . An electron and a photon both have momenta of 2 MeV/c.

Find the total energy of each in MeV.

2. The muon is an unstable particle that spontaneously decays into other particles. If the
number of muons at t=0 is N0 , the number N at time t is N = N0 e−t/τ , where τ = 2.20 µs
is the mean lifetime of the muon. Suppose the muons move at speed 0.95c with respect to
earth. (i) What is the observed mean lifetime of the muons measured with respect to earth
? (ii) How many muons remain after travelling a distance of 5.0 km in the earth ?

3. Show that pair production cannot occur in empty space.

4. X-rays of wavelength 10.0 pm are scattered from a target. (a) Find the wavelength of the
X-rays scattered through 300 . (b) Find the maximum wavelength present in the scattered
X-rays. (c) Find the maximum kinetic energy of the recoil electrons.

5. Show that the De Broglie wavelength of a particle of mass m and kinetic energy KE is given
hc
by λ = √ 2
KE(KE+2mc )

6. Prove that De Broglie group velocity vg = v and De Broglie phase velocity vp = c2 /v, where
v is the velocity of the particle.

7. (a) Prove that Schrodinger’s equation is linear by showing that ψ = a1 ψ1 + a2 ψ2 is also a

solution of Schrodinger equation if ψ1 and ψ2 are themselves solutions. (b) Prove that eikx
is eigen function of momentum and hence find its momentun eigen value.

8. A beam of electrons is incident on a barrier 6.00 eV high and 0.20 nm wide. Find the energy
they should have if 1.00 percent of them are to get through the barrier.

1
 9. The general form of the wave function for Harmonic Oscillator is given by
dn −x2 )
−y2 /2 n x2 dx n (e
ψn = ( 2mν
h̄
) 1/4 n
(2 n!) −1/2
H n (y)e , where the Hermite polynomial H n (x) = (−1) e .
Find the wave functions ψ0 , ψ1 , ψ2 for the Harmonic oscillator and plot them indicating their
classical limits.

10. Why should the wave function of a particle be finite and single valued ? Which of the wave
functions in Figure 1 cannot have physical significance in the interval shown ? Why not ?
Section B [4x5]

11. Derive an expression for the gravitational redshift of a photon. How gravitational redshift
is different from Doppler redshift in the spectra of distant galaxies ?

12. (a) The atoms in a solid possess a certain minimum zero-point energy even at 0 K, while
no such restriction holds for the molecules in an ideal gas. Use the uncertainty principle to
explain these statements. (b) The position and momentum of a 1.00 keV electron are simul-
taneously determined. If its position is located to within 0.10 nm, what is the percentage of
uncertainty in its momentum ?

13. What are the results of Davission and Germer’s experiment ? What would be the effect of
increasing in electron energy have on the scattering angle ?

14. The wave function of a particle in a cubical box with infinitely hard walls of edges L is
ψ = A sin (nx πx/L) sin (ny πy/L) sin (nz πz/L). (a). Find the normalization constant A.
(b). Find the possible energy of the particle. (c). Compare the ground-state energy of a
particle in a one dimensional box of length L with that of a particle in the three dimensional
box.

15. Find the wave function at region I, II, and III of a particle in finite potential well as shown
in the figure 2 and explain their significance. Why the energy levels of the particle in infinite
potetial well is higher than the particle in finite potential well of same dimension ?

Figure 1: wave functions. Figure 2: Finite potential well.