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(a) The uncertainty in the \(y\) -component of a proton's position is \(2.0 \times 10^{-12} \mathrm{m}\) . What is the minimum uncertainty in a simultaneous measurement of the \(y\) -component of the proton's velocity? (b) The uncertainty in the \(z\) -component of an electron's velocity is 0.250 \(\mathrm{m} / \mathrm{s}\) . What is the minimum uncertainty in a simultancous measurement of the \(z\) -coordinate of the electron?

Short Answer

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01

Understand the Context

We are dealing with the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which states that the uncertainty in position and momentum of a particle cannot both be arbitrarily small. The principle can be mathematically expressed as: \[ \Delta x \Delta p \geq \frac{\hbar}{2} \]where \(\Delta x\) is the uncertainty in position, \(\Delta p\) is the uncertainty in momentum, and \(\hbar\) is the reduced Planck's constant (\(\hbar = 1.0545718 \times 10^{-34} \text{Js}\)).

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Uncertainty in Position
When discussing quantum particles, like protons and electrons, it's crucial to understand the concept of uncertainty in position. According to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, we cannot know the exact position of a particle with absolute precision if we also want to know its momentum precisely. This is not due to experimental limitations but is instead a fundamental property of quantum mechanics. The uncertainty in position, often denoted as \(\Delta x\), represents the range within which the true position of the particle is likely to be found. For instance, if you have an uncertainty in the proton's position measured to be \(2.0 \times 10^{-12} \text{m}\), this means that the proton's actual position is somewhere within this tiny interval. It's a minuscule distance when compared to everyday scales, highlighting the microscopic nature of quantum mechanics.
  • Uncertainty is a natural limit, not just measurement error.
  • Knowing position precisely means momentum is less certain, and vice versa.
Uncertainty in Velocity
Just as there is an uncertainty in measuring a particle’s position, there is also uncertainty in measuring its velocity. Velocity, in simple terms, is the speed of a particle in a particular direction. In quantum mechanics, the uncertainty in velocity is directly linked to the uncertainty in the particle's momentum, since momentum \(p\) is mass \(m\) times velocity \(v\), \(p = mv\).Uncertainty in velocity is crucial when utilizing the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. The principle tells us that if the position is measured precisely, the velocity becomes more uncertain and vice versa. For a proton's velocity in your exercise, we calculate the minimum uncertainty in its velocity using the known values of its position's uncertainty. Similarly, for an electron, if the given uncertainty in its velocity is 0.250 \(\text{m/s}\), we calculate the resulting position uncertainty.
  • Velocity uncertainty arises from fundamental quantum limits.
  • Determining exact velocity reduces certainty in position.
Proton
Protons are subatomic particles found in the nucleus of an atom. They are much more massive than electrons, which plays a significant role when using the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Specifically, the mass of the proton affects the scale of the resulting uncertainties in position and velocity. Protons have a positive electric charge and contribute to the nucleus's overall positive charge. This characteristic makes protons crucial to understanding atomic structure and chemical behavior. In our exercise, we deal with the y-component of a proton's position's uncertainty. When applying the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the proton's mass significantly influences the uncertainty in its velocity. This is because the calculation involves the formula for momentum, where the mass is a multiplier.
  • Protons are heavier than electrons, influencing quantum uncertainty.
  • Massive particles exhibit noticeable uncertainty distinctions.
Electron
Electrons are negatively charged subatomic particles that orbit an atom's nucleus. They are much lighter compared to protons, and this difference in mass leads to different outcomes when applying quantum principles like the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.In the context of your exercise, the electron's velocity component uncertainty is given as 0.250 \(\text{m/s}\). This allows us to calculate the uncertainty in the position of the electron's z-coordinate. Since electrons have a tiny mass, even small uncertainties in their velocity can lead to relatively large uncertainties in their position. This significant variation is due to the way that mass inversely affects the range of uncertainties under consideration.Understanding electrons helps to deepen our grasp of chemical reactions and physical properties as their movements and arrangements determine an atom's behavior.
  • Electrons are much lighter than protons, leading to greater position uncertainty.
  • Mass difference between electrons and other particles affects quantum properties.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

The \(\psi\) (psin) particle has a rest energy of 3097 MeV \(\left(1 \mathrm{MeV}=10^{6} \mathrm{eV}\right) .\) The \(\psi\) particle is unstable with a lifetime of \(7.6 \times 10^{-21} \mathrm{s}\) . Estimate the uncertainty in rest energy of the \(\psi\) particle. Express your answer in MeV and as a fraction of the rest energy of the particle.

A beam of electrons is accelerated from rest through apotential difference of 0.100 \(\mathrm{kV}\) and then passes through a thin slit. The diffracted beam shows its first diffraction minima at \(\pm 11.5^{\circ}\) from the original direction of the beam when viewed far from the slit. (a) Do we need to use relativity formulas? How do you know? (b) How wide is the slit?

An electron has a de Broglie wavelength of \(2.80 \times 10^{-10} \mathrm{m}\) . Determine (a) the magnitude of its momentum and \((b)\) its kinetic energy (in joules and in electron volts).

A 10.0 -g marble is gently placed on a horizontal tabletop that is 1.75 \(\mathrm{m}\) wide. (a) What is the maximum uncertainty in the horizontal position of the marble? (b) According to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. what is the minimum uncertainty in the horizontal velocity of the marble? (c) In light of your answer to part (b), what is the longest time the marble could remain on the table? Compare this time to the age of the universe, which is approximately 14 billion years. (Hint Can you know that the horizontal velocity of the marble is exactly zero?)

The wave nature of particles results in the quantum- mechanical situation that a particle confined in a box can assume only wavelengths that result in standing waves in the box, with nodes at the box walls, (a) Show that an electron confined in a one- dimensional box of length \(L\) will have energy levels given by $$E_{n}=\frac{n^{2} h^{2}}{8 m L^{2}}$$ (Hint: Recall that the relationship between the de Broglic wave- length and the speed of a nonrelativistic particle is \(m v=h / \lambda\) . The energy of the particle is \(\frac{1}{2} m v^{2}, )(b)\) If a hydrogen atom is modeled as a one-dimensional box with length equal to the Bohr radius, what is the energy (in electron volts) of the lowest energy level of the electron?

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