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Exercises 117

EXERCISES

It is only the first step that takes the effort. —Marquise du Deffand

3.1 De Broglie Waves 15. Verify the statement in the text that, if the phase velocity is the
same for all wavelengths of a certain wave phenomenon (that
1. A photon and a particle have the same wavelength. Can any- is, there is no dispersion), the group and phase velocities are
thing be said about how their linear momenta compare? About the same.
how the photon’s energy compares with the particle’s total
energy? About how the photon’s energy compares with the 16. The phase velocity of ripples on a liquid surface is 兹2␲S兾␭
苶␳苶,
particle’s kinetic energy? where S is the surface tension and ␳ the density of the liquid.
Find the group velocity of the ripples.
2. Find the de Broglie wavelength of (a) an electron whose speed is
1.0  108 m/s, and (b) an electron whose speed is 2.0  108 m/s. 17. The phase velocity of ocean waves is 兹g␭兾2␲
苶, where g is the
acceleration of gravity. Find the group velocity of ocean waves.
3. Find the de Broglie wavelength of a 1.0-mg grain of sand
blown by the wind at a speed of 20 m/s. 18. Find the phase and group velocities of the de Broglie waves of
an electron whose speed is 0.900c.
4. Find the de Broglie wavelength of the 40-keV electrons used in
a certain electron microscope. 19. Find the phase and group velocities of the de Broglie waves of
an electron whose kinetic energy is 500 keV.
5. By what percentage will a nonrelativistic calculation of the
de Broglie wavelength of a 100-keV electron be in error? 20. Show that the group velocity of a wave is given by ␷g 
d␯兾d(1兾).
6. Find the de Broglie wavelength of a 1.00-MeV proton. Is a rela-
tivistic calculation needed? 21. (a) Show that the phase velocity of the de Broglie waves of a
particle of mass m and de Broglie wavelength  is given by
7. The atomic spacing in rock salt, NaCl, is 0.282 nm. Find the

冪莦莦
冢 莦冣
kinetic energy (in eV) of a neutron with a de Broglie wave- mc␭ 2

length of 0.282 nm. Is a relativistic calculation needed? Such ␷p  c 1  

h
neutrons can be used to study crystal structure.
(b) Compare the phase and group velocities of an electron
8. Find the kinetic energy of an electron whose de Broglie wave- whose de Broglie wavelength is exactly 1  1013 m.
length is the same as that of a 100-keV x-ray.
9. Green light has a wavelength of about 550 nm. Through what 22. In his original paper, de Broglie suggested that E  h␯ and
potential difference must an electron be accelerated to have this p  h兾, which hold for electromagnetic waves, are also valid
wavelength? for moving particles. Use these relationships to show that the
group velocity ␷g of a de Broglie wave group is given by dE兾dp,
10. Show that the de Broglie wavelength of a particle of mass m and with the help of Eq. (1.24), verify that ␷g  ␷ for a particle
and kinetic energy KE is given by of velocity ␷.
hc
  
兹苶
KE(KE苶 2m苶
c2) 3.5 Particle Diffraction
11. Show that if the total energy of a moving particle greatly 23. What effect on the scattering angle in the Davisson-Germer
exceeds its rest energy, its de Broglie wavelength is nearly the experiment does increasing the electron energy have?
same as the wavelength of a photon with the same total energy.
24. A beam of neutrons that emerges from a nuclear reactor contains
12. (a) Derive a relativistically correct formula that gives the neutrons with a variety of energies. To obtain neutrons with an
de Broglie wavelength of a charged particle in terms of the po- energy of 0.050 eV, the beam is passed through a crystal whose
tential difference V through which it has been accelerated. atomic planes are 0.20 nm apart. At what angles relative to the
(b) What is the nonrelativistic approximation of this formula, original beam will the desired neutrons be diffracted?
valid for eV  mc2?
25. In Sec. 3.5 it was mentioned that the energy of an electron en-
tering a crystal increases, which reduces its de Broglie wavelength.
3.4 Phase and Group Velocities Consider a beam of 54-eV electrons directed at a nickel target.
The potential energy of an electron that enters the target changes
13. An electron and a proton have the same velocity. Compare the by 26 eV. (a) Compare the electron speeds outside and inside the
wavelengths and the phase and group velocities of their target. (b) Compare the respective de Broglie wavelengths.
de Broglie waves.
26. A beam of 50-keV electrons is directed at a crystal and
14. An electron and a proton have the same kinetic energy. diffracted electrons are found at an angle of 50 relative to the
Compare the wavelengths and the phase and group velocities of original beam. What is the spacing of the atomic planes of the
their de Broglie waves. crystal? A relativistic calculation is needed for .
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118 Chapter Three

3.6 Particle in a Box for a 1.00-g insect whose speed is the same. What do these
sets of figures indicate?
27. Obtain an expression for the energy levels (in MeV) of a neu-
tron confined to a one-dimensional box 1.00  1014 m wide. 35. How accurately can the position of a proton with ␷  c be
What is the neutron’s minimum energy? (The diameter of an determined without giving it more than 1.00 keV of kinetic
atomic nucleus is of this order of magnitude.) energy?

28. The lowest energy possible for a certain particle trapped in a 36. (a) Find the magnitude of the momentum of a particle in a
certain box is 1.00 eV. (a) What are the next two higher ener- box in its nth state. (b) The minimum change in the particle’s
gies the particle can have? (b) If the particle is an electron, how momentum that a measurement can cause corresponds to a
wide is the box? change of 1 in the quantum number n. If x  L, show that
p x ប兾2.
29. A proton in a one-dimensional box has an energy of 400 keV in
its first excited state. How wide is the box? 37. A marine radar operating at a frequency of 9400 MHz emits
groups of electromagnetic waves 0.0800 ␮s in duration. The
time needed for the reflections of these groups to return
3.7 Uncertainty Principle I indicates the distance to a target. (a) Find the length of each
3.8 Uncertainty Principle II group and the number of waves it contains. (b) What is the
3.9 Applying the Uncertainty Principle approximate minimum bandwidth (that is, spread of frequen-
cies) the radar receiver must be able to process?
30. Discuss the prohibition of E  0 for a particle trapped in a
box L wide in terms of the uncertainty principle. How does 38. An unstable elementary particle called the eta meson has a rest
the minimum momentum of such a particle compare with the mass of 549 MeV/c2 and a mean lifetime of 7.00  1019 s.
momentum uncertainty required by the uncertainty principle if What is the uncertainty in its rest mass?
we take x  L? 39. The frequency of oscillation of a harmonic oscillator of mass m
31. The atoms in a solid possess a certain minimum zero-point and spring constant C is ␯  兹C兾m苶兾2␲. The energy of the
energy even at 0 K, while no such restriction holds for the oscillator is E  p2兾2m  C x2兾2, where p is its momentum
molecules in an ideal gas. Use the uncertainty principle to when its displacement from the equilibrium position is x. In
explain these statements. classical physics the minimum energy of the oscillator is
Emin  0. Use the uncertainty principle to find an expression
32. Compare the uncertainties in the velocities of an electron and a for E in terms of x only and show that the minimum energy is
proton confined in a 1.00-nm box. actually Emin  h␯兾2 by setting dE兾dx  0 and solving for Emin.
33. The position and momentum of a 1.00-keV electron are simulta-
40. (a) Verify that the uncertainty principle can be expressed in the
neously determined. If its position is located to within 0.100 nm,
form L ␪ ប兾2, where L is the uncertainty in the angular
what is the percentage of uncertainty in its momentum?
momentum of a particle and ␪ is the uncertainty in its
34. (a) How much time is needed to measure the kinetic energy of angular position. (Hint: Consider a particle of mass m moving
an electron whose speed is 10.0 m/s with an uncertainty of no in a circle of radius r at the speed ␷, for which L  m␷r.)
more than 0.100 percent? How far will the electron have (b) At what uncertainty in L will the angular position of a parti-
traveled in this period of time? (b) Make the same calculations cle become completely indeterminate?