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CP An electron beam and a photon beam pass through identical slits. On a distant screen, the first dark fringe occurs at the same angle for both of the beams. The electron speeds are much slower than that of light. (a) Express the energy of a photon in terms of the kinetic energy \(K\) of one of the electrons. (b) Which is greater, the energy of a photon or the kinetic energy of an electron?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The energy of a photon can be expressed as \(E_{ph}=2K\). Therefore, the energy of a photon is greater than the kinetic energy of an electron.

Step by step solution

01

Identify the equation

The de Broglie wavelength states that all particles can have wave properties and it's given by \(\lambda = \frac{h}{p}\) where \(λ\) is the de Broglie wavelength, \(h\) is Planck's constant and \(p\) is momentum, let's use this equation to solve the problem.
02

Find the Momentum for photon and electron

Knowing the speed of light \(c\) and the rest mass \(m_0\) of an electron, the momentum of a photon can be expressed by \(p_{ph} = \frac{h}{λ}\), and the momentum of an electron at non-relativistic speeds can be expressed by \(p_e = \frac{h}{λ} = m_0v\). Because both photons and electrons produce the same angle in the single-slit diffraction pattern, their momentums must be equal.
03

Express the energy

The photon energy is derived from \(E_{ph} = hν =\frac{hc}{λ}\), replacing \(λ\) by the earlier derived equation, gives \(E_{ph} = c\cdot p_{ph} = c \cdot m_0v\). Now, express the kinetic energy of the electron \(K\) in terms this energy using the relationship \(K = \frac{1}{2}m_0v^2\), shows \(E_{ph}=2K\).
04

Conclude the result

From here it's clear that the energy of a photon is twice the kinetic energy of an electron. Therefore, the energy of a photon is greater than the kinetic energy of an electron.

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Key Concepts

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

Photon Energy
Let's first understand what photon energy is. Photons are the fundamental particles of light and other electromagnetic radiation. They are unique because they have energy but no mass and travel at the speed of light. The energy of a photon is directly related to its frequency, denoted by \( u \), and can be calculated using the formula:
  • \( E_{ph} = hu \)
Here, \( h \) represents Planck’s constant, approximately \( 6.626 \times 10^{-34} \text{ Js} \). The relationship can also be expressed with the photon's wavelength \( \lambda \), using the speed of light \( c \):
  • \( E_{ph} = \frac{hc}{\lambda} \)
This formula tells us that higher frequency light has more energetic photons. In the context of our problem, the photon's energy is twice the kinetic energy of an electron, which indicates a much higher energy per particle for photons compared to electrons, despite both having wave-like properties.
Kinetic Energy
Kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses due to its motion. For objects with mass, such as electrons, kinetic energy is calculated using their velocity and mass. The standard formula is:
  • \( K = \frac{1}{2} mv^2 \)
Where \( m \) is the mass and \( v \) is the velocity of the object. In our discussion, we focus on electrons, which have mass but move much slower than light. Their kinetic energy is less straightforward when compared to photons because electrons also exhibit wave-like properties. Despite having a much slower speed, when electrons exhibit this behaviour, their kinetic energy is a small fraction of what their photon counterparts hold in energy.The exercise further shows that the relationship between photon energy and electron kinetic energy is such that the photon's energy, given by \( c \cdot m_0 v \), is twice the kinetic energy of the electron, \( K = \frac{1}{2} m_0 v^2 \). This illustrates that photon energy surpasses the kinetic energy of the electron even though both create the same diffraction pattern.
Momentum
Momentum is a crucial concept when discussing the behavior of particles, especially in quantum mechanics. Classical momentum is simply the product of an object's mass and velocity, \( p = mv \). However, in the context of quantum particles like photons and electrons, we often use their wave-like properties to define momentum.For photons, which lack mass, the momentum \( p_{ph} \) derives from their wave characteristics:
  • \( p_{ph} = \frac{h}{\lambda} \)
This shows how momentum is directly linked to wavelength and, thus, energy. For non-relativistic electrons, momentum is traditionally given as:
  • \( p_e = m_0 v \)
Given that both photon and electron display the same angular diffraction pattern, their momenta equal each other at certain incidences, directly tying into their wavelength relationship in de Broglie's equation \( \lambda = \frac{h}{p} \). Understanding this, we realize that the different forms of momentum allow us to compare the energies and understand why photon energy is greater than the kinetic energy of electrons, indicating a fascinating crossover of classical and quantum mechanics.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

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