1

GENERAL PHYSICS 2
SELF-LEARNING MATERIAL

Semester 2,Quarter 4
Week 9
SY 2020-2021

REFERENCES:

Websites:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z2b9hv4/revision/2
https://nustem.uk/activity/
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/
Books
Beiser, A. Fundamentals of Modern Physics. Fourth Edition
Halliday, D., Resnick, R. at al., Fundamentals of Physics Extended. 6th
Edition. Wiley. USA
Resnick, R. H. (n.d.). Physics, 5th Edition. USA.
Serway, R., Hewett,J. Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern
Physics.6th Edition.USA
Simpson, D. (2019, September 11). General Physics I: Classical
Mechanics. Largo, MA
Recommended videos: I f internet connection is available, you can
watch the topics discussed and further explanations in videos by Michel
van Biezen on: http:www.ilectureonline.com/lectures/subject/PHYSICS
( by Michel van Biezen)
Or you may w atch through Y outube by keying a keyw ord and
Michael van Biezen Ex. “Vectors Michael van Biezen”

INSTRUCTIONS

Activity Sheets and Assessment pages (page 13) must be answered, filed
neatly and submitted after two weeks. Please fasten these
documents inside a white, long -size paper folder with a fastener on top
of the folder. On the outside top part of the folder is your name and
section in black permanent marker, PRINTED IN ALL CAPS , each letter
not taller than 1 inch.
 2

Week 9: Physical Optics, Relativity and Quantum Physics

WEEK 9 DAY 1-4

(240 MINS)

Most Essential Learning Competencies ( MELCs)

1. Determine the conditions 4. State the postulates of Special

(superposition, path and phase Relativity and their consequences
difference, polarization, amplitude) for
5. Apply the time dilation, length
interference to occur emphasizing the
contraction and relativistic velocity
properties of a laser as a
addition to worded problems
monochromatic and coherent light
source 6. Calculate kinetic energy, rest energy,
momentum and speed of objects
2. Relate the geometry of the two-slit
moving with speeds comparable to the
experiment set-up (slit separation and
speed of light
screen-slit distance) and properties of
light ( wavelength) to the properties 7. Explain the photoelectric effect using
of the interference pattern (width, the idea of light quanta or photons
location, and intensity)
8. Explain qualitatively the properties of
3. Relate the geometry of the diffraction atomic emission and absorption
experiment set-up ( slit size, and spectra using the concept of energy
screen-to-slit distance) and properties levels
of light ( wavelength) to the proper-
9. Calculating radioisotope activity using
ties of the diffraction pattern ( width,
the concept of half-life
location and intensity of the fringes)

WEEK 7 DAY 1-2

(120 mins)

Objectives: After this lesson, learners should be able to:

1. Describe the interference of light experiment and light properties to

interference patterns
2. Determine the conditions for
interference of light 5. Describe diffraction of light
3. Describe the characteristics of a 6. Relate the geometry of the diffraction
LASER experiment set-up and light
properties to diffraction patterns
4. Relate the geometry of the two-slit

Concepts:  Interference of Light

 Light The superposition of light as they
interfere with each other at the same
Light is an electromagnetic location. The interference may be
wave with electromagnetic fields constructive or destructive
propagating through space carrying
electromagnetic radiant energy  LASER
 Huygen’s Principle An acronym for Light Amplification
by Stimulated Emission of Radiation,
States that all points of a wave front of also refers to a device that emits light
light in a vacuum or transparent through a process of optical
medium may be regarded as new amplification based on the stimulated
sources of wavelets that expand in emission of electromagnetic radiation
every direction at a rate depending on
their velocities.  Diffraction of Light
Proposed by the Dutch mathematician, The spreading of waves around
physicist, and astronomer, Christiaan obstacles.
Huygens, in 1690, it is a powerful
method for studying various optical
phenomena. ( britannica.com)
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Week 9: Physical Optics, Relativity and Quantum Physics

Interference of Light
Light is a wave. For it to be called a wave, it The observation of interference effects
must exhibit the behaviours and definitively indicates the presence of
characteristics of a wave. Christiaan overlapping (superposition of)
Huygens,a Dutch mathematician, waves. Thomas Young postulated
and physicist, in 1690, devised an approach that light is a wave and is subject to
to the behaviour of waves of all kinds that is the superposition principle; his great
particularly convenient to use and concerns experimental achievement was to
a wavefront. A wavefront is an imaginary demonstrate the constructive and
surface representing corresponding points destructive interference of light.
of a wave that vibrate in unison. To imagine this experiment:
Look at a light, such as a street lamp
or incandescent bulb, through the
narrow gap between two fingers held
close together. What type of pattern
do you see? How does it change when
you allow the fingers to move a little
farther apart?

Plane and spherical wavefronts

Huygen’s Principle emphasized these two Young’s double- slit experiment set-up
points:
a) Each point on a wave front acts as a
source of new disturbance and emits
its own set of spherical waves called
secondary wavelets. The secondary
wavelets travel in all directions with
the velocity of light so long as they
move in the same medium.
b) b) The envelope or the locus of these
wavelets in the forward direction gives
the position of new wave front at any
subsequent time.
The fact that Huygens’s principle worked
was not considered evidence enough to
prove that light is a wave. The acceptance
of the wave character of light came many
years later when, in 1801, the English Young’s experiment shows light
physicist and physician Thomas Young passing through one slit, So and then
(1773–1829) did his now-classic double slit two slits, S1 and S2 . The interference
experiment . of light waves creates a pattern of
alternating bright (B) and dark (D)
 Young’s Double Slit Experiment
fringes which can be projected into a
The Young’s double slit experiment screen. In accord with Huygen’s
describes the behaviour of light as it passes principle, each slit acts as a source of
between two vertical slits. The existence of secondary wavelets
interference phenomena is perhaps our
most convincing evidence that light is a
wave-because interference cannot be
explained other than with waves.
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Week 9: Physical Optics, Relativity and Quantum Physics

Conditions for Interference of Light

The following conditions must be met If the paths differ by a whole wave
for interference to occur: length, then the w aves arrive in
phase (crest to crest) at the screen,
1. The sources of the waves must be
coherent, which means they emit interfering constructively as
identical waves with a constant phase shown in Figure b.
difference.
2. The waves should be monochromatic -
they should be of a single wavelength.
3. The source must be small enough that
it can be considered a point source of
light.
4. The source and screen must be far
enough to produce wide fringes.
5. The sources must emit light in the
same state of polarization.
6. Amplitudes and intensities must be
nearly equal to produce sufficient
contrast between maxima (bright
fringe) and minima (dark fringe).

In present-day recreation of Young’s

double-slit experiment, a laser light is used
as a light source because it is coherent and
monochromatic. LASER- an acronym for
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission
of Radiation-a device that stimulates atoms
Generally, if the paths taken by the
or molecules to emit light at particular
two waves differ by any half-integral
wavelengths and amplifies that light,
number of wavelengths [(1/2)λ, (3/2)
typically producing a very narrow beam
λ, (5/2)λ, etc.], then destructive
of radiation which are always in-phase.
interference occurs. Similarly, if
To understand the double slit interfer-
the paths taken by the two waves
ence pattern, we consider how two waves
differ by any integral number of
travel from the slits to the screen, as illus-
wavelengths (λ, 2λ, 3λ, etc.), then
trated in the figure below.
constructive interference occurs.
Each slit is a different distance from a
given point on the screen. Thus different
The figure below shows how to
numbers of wavelengths fit into each path.
determine the path length difference
Waves start out from the slits in phase
(Δl) for waves traveling from two slits
(crest to crest), but they may end up out of
to a common point on a screen. If the
phase (crest to trough) at the screen if the
screen is a large distance away
paths differ in length by half a wavelength,
compared with the distance between
interfering destructively as shown in
the slits, then the angle θ between the
Figure a.
path and a line from the slits to the
screen (see figure below) is nearly
the same for each path. The difference
between the paths is shown in the
figure; simple trigonometry shows it
to be d sin θ, where d is the distance
between the slits.
Δl=d sinθ

Waves follow different paths from the slits

to a common point on a screen.
(a) Destructive interference occurs here,
because one path is a half wavelength
longer than the other.
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Week 9: Physical Optics, Relativity and Quantum Physics

Interference of light Diffraction

To obtain constructive interference for a When light passes through a narrow
double slit, the path length difference must aperture (opening), propagating in a
be an integral multiple of the wavelength, specific direction, it tends to spread
or out. Light passing through a single slit
forms a diffraction pattern somewhat
d sin θ = mλ ,
different from those formed by double
for m = 0, 1, −1, 2, −2, . . . slits.
To obtain destructive interference for a
double slit, the path length difference must
be a half-integral multiple of the
wavelength, or
d sin θ=(m+1/2)λ ,
for m=0,1,−1,2,−2,…
where :
λ is the wavelength of the light,
d is the distance between slits, and
(a) Monochromatic light passing
θ is the angle from the original direction of through a single slit has a central
the beam maximum and many smaller and
m-is the order of the interference dimmer maxima on either side.

The equations for double slit interference To obtain destructive interference for
imply that a series of bright and dark lines a single slit,
are formed . D sin θ = mλ ,
For vertical slits, the light spreads out for m =1,−1,2,−2,3, . . .
horizontally on either side of the incident where D is the slit width, λ is the
beam into a pattern called interference light’s wavelength, θ is the angle
fringes. relative to the original direction of the
For fixed λ and m, the smaller d is, the light, and m is the order of the
larger θ must be, since minimum.
sin θ=mλ/d The narrower we make the slit, the
greater the spreading is.
Sample Problem:
Suppose you pass light from a He-Ne
laser through two slits separated by 0.0100
mm and find that the third bright line on a
screen is formed at an angle of 10.95º
relative to the incident beam. What is the
wavelength of the light?
Solution:
The third bright line is due to third-order
constructive interference, which means
that m = 3. We are given d = 0.0100
mm and θ = 10.95º. The wavelength can Slit width=3 times the wavelength of
thus be found using the equation d sin θ incident light
= mλ for constructive interference.
Solving for the wavelength, λ
gives λ=d sin θ/m
Substituting known values yields
λ=(1.00 x10-5 m )(sin10.950)/3
λ=6.33 x10-7 m
λ=633 nm (nanometer)
To three digits, this is the wavelength of More diffracted. Slit width=1.5 times
light emitted by the common He-Ne laser. the wavelength of incident light
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Week 9: Physical Optics, Relativity and Quantum Physics

WEEK 7 DAY 3-4

(120 mins)

Objectives: After this lesson, learners should be able to:

1. State the postulates of Special 5. Explain qualitatively properties of

Relativity and their consequences atomic emission and absorption using
the concepts of energy levels
2. Solve problems involving time dilation,
length contraction and relativistic 6. Calculate radioisotope activity using
velocity for objects travelling at speeds the concept of half-life
approaching the speed of light
3. Calculate kinetic energy, rest energy,
momentum and speed of objects
approaching the speed of light
4. Describe photoelectric effect using the
photon theory of light

Concepts:
 Relativity  Photon Theory of Light
Relativity is the study of how different A photon is a particle of light defined
observers measure the same event in as a discrete bundle (or quantum) of
space and time. electromagnetic (or light) energy.
 Special Relativity Photons travel at the vacuum speed of
light (more commonly just called the
Special relativity deals with observers speed of light) of c = 2.998 x 108 m/s.
who are moving at constant velocity.

 General Relativity  Half-life

General relativity deals with observers Half-life is the interval of time

who are undergoing acceleration. required for one-half of the atomic
nuclei of a radioactive sample to

Postulates of Special Relativity

Albert Einstein who proposed the Theory of  Relativity of Simultaneity
Relativity advanced two postulates:
If observers who move relative to
The Relativity Postulate: The law s of each other measure the time interval
physics are the same for observers in all between two events, they generally
inertial reference frames. get different results. Why? Because
The Speed of Light Postulate: The the spatial separation of events can
speed of light in vacuum has the same affect the time intervals measured by
value, c, in all directions and in all inertial the observers.
reference frames. If two observers are in relative
Special Relativity implies that space and motion, say, one observer of events
time are not independent of one another on Earth and one travelling in space
and must be considered as the same object, observing the same event, will not
which we shall denote as space-time. The agree as to whether two events are
consequences of space/time mixing are: simultaneous. One observer may find
them simultaneous in his frame of
 Time dilation reference and the other will find them
not in his own frame of reference. We
 Length contraction can not say that one observer is right
and the other wrong, because
 Speed of light in vacuum as the
simultaneity is not an absolute
ultimate speed concept but a relative one, depending
 Relativity of simultaneity on the motion of the observer.
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Week 9: Physical Optics, Relativity and Quantum Physics

Relativity of Time
The time interval between two events Illustration of the problem:
depends on how far apart they occur,
in both space and time, that is their
spatial and temporal separations are
entangled.
Proper time Δt0 is the time measured
by an observer at rest relative to the event
being observed.
Measurements of the same time interval in
any other inertial reference frames are
always greater or longer. This phenomenon
is called time dilation.
Time dilation (Δt) is the phenomenon of
time passing slower for an observer who is
moving relative to another observer.
Credits: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/physics

Solution:
A clock moving with the system being
measured observes the proper time, so the
time we are given is Δt0 = 1.52 μs. The
Earth-bound observer measures Δt as given
by the equation Δt = γΔt0 and so, since
v = 0.950c, Δt0 = 1.52 μs

Where
v-relative velocity of the object
c-speed of light in vacuum

γ– Lorentz factor

Sample problem:
Cosmic rays are high-energy particles
arriving on Earth from outer space. Some
collisions of these particles with nuclei in
the upper atmosphere result in short-lived
particles called muons. The half-life
(amount of time for half of a material to The Earth-bound observer measures
decay) of a muon is 1.52 μs ( microsecond, the half-life of the muon traveling at a
1μs = 1x10-6 s) when it is at rest relative to relativistic speed of 95% the speed of light in
vacuum to be longer ( Δt=4.87 μs) than its
the observer who measures the half-life.
half-life when it is at rest relative to an observer
This is the proper time Δt0 . Suppose a (Δt0 =1.52 μs ).
cosmic ray colliding with a nucleus in the
One implication of the preceding example is
Earth’s upper atmosphere produces a muon that for an astronaut moving at 95.0% of the
that has a velocity v = 0.950c. The muon speed of light relative to the Earth, everything
then travels at constant velocity and lives he does takes 3.20 times longer when observed
1.52 μs as measured in the muon’s frame of from the Earth. Does the astronaut sense this?
Only if she looks outside her spaceship. All
reference. (You can imagine this as the methods of measuring time in her frame will be
muon’s internal clock.) How long does the affected by the same factor of 3.20. This
muon live as measured by an Earth-bound includes her wristwatch, heart rate, cell
observer? metabolism rate, nerve impulse rate, and so on.
She will have no way of telling, since all of her
clocks will agree with one another.
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Week 9: Physical Optics, Relativity and Quantum Physics

Relativity of Length
Length is also a relative quantity for (For ease of visualization, we often choose
to measure u in our reference frame, while
observers stationary with respect to the
someone moving at v relative to us
length measured and for observers moving
measures u′.)
relative to it.
Velocities cannot add to greater than
Let Lo be the length when observer and
the speed of light, provided that v is
object are in the same reference frame and
less than c and u′ does not exceed c.
L be the length observed by an observer
moving relative to the object whose length
is being measured. At relativistic speed v, Sample Problem:
the length observed, L, is given by
Suppose a spaceship heading directly
towards the Earth at half the speed of
light sends a signal to us on a laser-
produced beam of light. Given that the
light leaves the ship at speed c as
Since the Lorentz factor ,У, is always observed from the ship, calculate the
greater than unity, L is always less than Lo, speed at which it approaches the
this phenomenon is called length Earth.
contraction. Length contraction L is the
shortening of the measured length of an
object moving relative to the observer’s
frame.
Sample Problem:
A particle is traveling through the Earth’s
atmosphere at a speed of 0.750 c. To an
Earth-bound observer, the distance it Solution:
travels is 2.50 km. How far does the particle
travel in the particle’s frame of reference?
Solution:

The length, L, is shorter than the Lo for an

object travelling at 75% the speed of light,
c.
The Relativity of Velocities
Two observers in different inertial reference
frames , S and S’ would measure different
velocities for an object moving at speed v.

Where : v- is the relative velocity between two

observers
Velocities cannot add to greater than
u- is the velocity of an object relative to one the speed of light, provided that v is
observer,
less than c and u′ does not exceed c.
u′ is the velocity relative to the other observer
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Week 9: Physical Optics, Relativity and Quantum Physics

Momentum, Kinetic Energy and Rest

Energy of Objects Travelling at And energies are usually measured in
Speeds Approaching The Speed of electron-volts (eV) or multiples of it,
Light where
 Momentum 1eV=1.60 x10-19 J
For an object travelling at speeds close to 1 MeV= 1.602 x10-13 J
the speed of light, the momentum,p, is
and
given by
c2 =931.5 MeV/u
p=γmv
where: p-momentum of the object
Sample Problem:
γ-Lorentz factor
What is the total energy, E, of a 2.53
m-mass of the object MeV electron?
v– speed of the object Solution: The total energy, E of an
electron is equal to the sum of its rest
Relativistic momentum approaches an
energy and its kinetic energy.
infinite value as v approaches c.
E= mc2+ KE
The 2.53 MeV is the electron’s kinetic
 Rest Energy
energy. We need to find out its rest
An object’s mass, m, and energy energy, E0.
equivalent, E0, are related by
So, KE=2.53 MeV
2
E0=mc
E0=mc2
This implies that a particle of mass, m has
E0=(9.109 x10-31 kg) (2.998
energy, E0 , at rest. Furthermore, that mass
x108 m/s)2
can be destroyed to release energy. How?
E0=8.187 x10-14 J
Experimental fusion reactors can change
mass to energy. Nuclear reactors are proof Converting this to MeV:
of the relationship between energy and
(8.187 x10-14 J)( 1 MeV/1.602 x10-13 J)
matter.
E0=8.287 x10-14 J =0.511 MeV
Substituting this in our equation:
 Kinetic Energy
E= mc2+ KE
The kinetic energy of a particle of mass, m,
moving at speeds, v, close to or E= 0.511 MeV+2.53 MeV
approaching the speed of light in a E= 3.04 MeV
vacuum, c, is given by
The total energy of a 2.53 MeV
KE= mc2 (γ-1) electron.
where
m-mass of the object

γ– Lorentz factor
 Total Energy
The total energy of an object moving
at speed, v, approaching the speed of light
in vacuum c, is given by:

E= mc2+ KE; since KE=mc2 (γ-1)

E=γmc2
In relativistic physics, SI units are rarely
used, because they are too large to be
convenient. Masses are usually measured in
atomic mass units, u, where Fusion reactions release energy
1u=1.66 x10-27 kg
 10

Week 9: Physical Optics, Relativity and Quantum Physics

Quantum Physics Photoelectric Effect

Quantum Physics is a science dealing For many years light had been
with the behaviour of matter and light on described using only wave
the atomic and subatomic scale. It attempts concepts, until Albert Einstein
to describe and account for the properties of proposed that light be described as
molecules and atoms and their quanta of energy that behave as
constituents—electrons, protons, neutrons, particles. This wave-particle duality of
and other more esoteric particles such as light seems a difficult idea to accept
quarks and gluons. Largely a study of the at first until Einstein proposed the
microscopic world, where there are many photoelectric effect to support this
quantities found only in certain amounts or dual property of light.
integer multiples of those elementary
amounts and which are said to be
quantized. The elementary amount that is
associated with such quantity is called the
quantum of that quantity (quanta is the
plural).
In 1905, Einstein proposed that
electromagnetic radiation ( or simply light)
is quantized and exists in elementary
amounts (quantum of light) that we now
call photons.
According to Einstein’s proposal, the
quantum of a light wave of frequency ,f, has
an energy
When light is directed onto a metal
E=hf surface ( Potassium surface), it
Where h is the Planck’s constant which has causes the ejection of electrons from
a value of that metal. It was observed that only
certain frequencies ( not intensity or
h=6.63 x10-34 J.s=4.14 x10-15 eV.s brightness) of light are able to
The least energy a light wave of frequency, cause the ejection of electrons. This
f, can have is hf -the energy of a single phenomenon is called photoelectric
photon. If the wave has more energy, its effect.
total energy must be an integer multiple of This phenomenon can not be
hf. explained by the wave theory of light.
Einstein further proposed that when If light is viewed as a wave, we must
light is absorbed or emitted by an object expect that no matter how low the
(matter) the absorption or emission event frequency of the incident light is, as
occurs at the atoms of the object. When long as its intensity or brightness
light of frequency f, is absorbed by an atom, increased, ( Energy of a wave as
the energy, hf of one photon is transferred dependent on Amplitude, remember?)
from the light to the atom. In this it will be able to eject an electron. But
absorption event, the photon vanishes in photoelectric effect, this is not the
and the atom is said to absorb it. When case. There is a certain cut off
light of frequency f is emitted by an atom, frequency, f0, for photoelectric effect
an energy, hf is transferred from the atom to occur. Below this cut off frequency,
to the light. In this emission event, a photoelectric effect does not happen,
photon suddenly appears and the atom is no matter how bright or intense the
said to emit it. Thus, we can have photon light is.
absorption ad photon emission by an atom This minimum energy required to
in an object. extract one electron from a metal is
For an object consisting of many atoms, called its work function, Ф. For
there can be many photon absorptions photoelectric effect to occur, the
(such as with sunglasses ) or photon energy, hf of the incident light must
emissions ( such as with lamps). However, be equal to the maximum KE of the
each absorption or emission event still electron plus the work function,Ф.
involves the transfer of energy equal to hf. hf=KEmax +Ф
( photoelectric equation)
 11

Week 9: Physical Optics, Relativity and Quantum Physics

Atomic Spectra
When atoms are excited they emit Every element has its own unique electronic
light of certain wavelengths which corre- structure. Therefore, the radiation absorbed
spond to different colors. The emitted light represents a unique property of each
can be observed as a series of colored lines individual element.
with dark spaces in between; this series of Both AA (atomic absorption) or AE (atomic
colored lines is called a line or atomic emission) spectrometer are used to analyze
spectra. Each element produces a the atoms within a sample.
unique set of spectral lines. Since no two
elements emit the same spectral lines,  Radioactivity
elements can be identified by their line
spectrum. Radioactivity is the process of
spontaneous disintegration of unstable
 Atomic Emission Spectra atomic nuclei into a more energetically
stable atomic nuclei.
The electrons in an atom tend to be
arranged in such a way that the energy of An unstable nucleus will decompose
the atom is as low as possible. spontaneously, or decay, into a more stable
The ground state of an atom is the configuration but will do so only in a few
lowest energy state of the atom. When specific ways by emitting certain particles or
these atoms are given energy, the electrons certain forms of electromagnetic energy.
absorb the energy and move to a higher
The rate at which a radioactive
energy level. These energy levels of the
element decays is expressed in terms of
electrons in atoms are quantized, meaning
its half-life. Half-life (T1/2) is the time
again that the electron must move from one
required for one-half of any given quantity
energy level to another in discrete steps
of the isotope to decay. The half-life cf a
rather than continuously.
given isotope can be calculated by
An excited state of an atom is a state
where its potential energy is higher than the T1/2 = ln 2/λ =τ ln2
ground state. An atom in the excited state where :
is not stable. When it returns back to the
ground state, it releases the energy that it λ– decay constant (in inverse second)
had previously gained often in the form of (is a characteristic value of every
electromagnetic radiation (or sometimes, radionuclide)
heat).
λ=0.693/T1/2
Electric current and flames can be used to
excite atoms. During a flame test τ– mean life=1/λ
experiment, metal chlorides are directly
placed into a flame. The intense heat will The total decay rate of a sample of one or
promote the metal's electrons to an excited more radionuclides is called the activity of
state. Upon emission, this extra energy is that sample. The SI unit for activity is the
released in the form of visible light. If a becquerel, name after Henri Becquerel,
reference panel is provided, the flame color the discoverer of radioactivity.
can be used to identify a metal atom. 1 becquerel=1Bq=1 decay per second
 Atomic Absorption Spectra An older unit, the curie, is also commonly
used, where
Within an atom, there are electrons at
various energy levels. During the 1 curie=1Ci=3.7 x1010 Bq
spectroscopy process, the absorption of
The decay rate, R, at any time, t is given by
energy moves electrons to a more energetic
level. The radiant energy the electrons R=Roe-λt
absorb is directly related to the transition where:
that occurs during this process. The atoms
absorb light in an excited state. Ro-decay rate at a time t=0
Atomic absorption measures the e=Euler’s number=2.71828
amount of light at a resonant wavelength,
which passes through a cloud of atoms and λ-decay constant
is absorbed by them. t- given time
Once the excited electrons start to
relax again, they emit energy in the form of The decay rate, R and the remaining
photons. sample, N of a radionuclide is related by
R=λN
 12

Week 9: Physical Optics, Relativity and Quantum Physics

Radioactivity: Half-life Credits: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/physics

We can also calculate the amount of a

radioactive isotope remaining, N, after a
given number of half-lives, n, by laboratories, each being given four pieces of
N= N0/2n cloth, with only one unidentified piece from
the shroud, to avoid prejudice. All three
where: N-amount of remaining nuclide laboratories found samples of the shroud
No– original amount of nuclide contain 92% of the 14C found in living
tissues, allowing the shroud to be dated.
n-number of half-life elapsed Calculate the age of the Shroud of Turin
If the given time, t, is not a multiple of a given that the amount of 14C found in it is
radionuclide’s half-life, the remaining 92% of that in living tissue.
amount, N, can be calculated as
Solution:
N=No e-λt
where: Knowing that 92% of the 14C remains mean
that : N/N0=0.92. Therefore, the equation
No-original amount at t=0
e=Euler’s number=2.71828 N=N0e−λt can be used to find λt.
λ-decay constant
We also know that the half-life of 14C is
t- given time 5730 y, and so once λt is known, we can
use the equation
Sample Problem:
1. The half-life of fluorine-20 is 11.0 s. If λ=0.693/T1/2 to find λ and then find t .
a sample initially contains 5.00 g of
fluorine-20, how much remains after Here, we assume that the decrease in 14C is
solely due to nuclear decay.
44.0 s?
(a) Using the equation
Solution N = N0e−λt for N/N0
If we compare the time that has N/N0=e− λt
passed to the isotope’s half-life, we −λt
note that 44.0 s is exactly 4 half-lives, Thus, 0.92 = e
so using the previous expression,
(b) Taking the natural logarithm of both
n = 4. Substituting and solving sides of the equation yields
results in the equation:
N= N0/2n ln 0.92 = −λt so that

N=5.00 g/24 −0.0834 = −λt

N=0.313 g Rearranging to isolate t gives

Less than one-third of a gram of t=0.0834/λ

fluorine-20 remains.
Now, the equation λ=0.693/T1/2 can be
2. One of the most famous cases of used to find λ for 14C.
carbon-14 dating involves the Shroud
of Turin, a long piece of fabric (c) Solving for λ and substituting the known
purported to be the burial shroud of half-life gives
Jesus. This relic was first displayed
λ=0.693/T1/2=0.693/5730 y
in Turin in 1354 and was denounced
as a fraud at that time by a French λ=0.0001209/y
bishop. Its remarkable negative
(d) We enter this value into the previous
imprint of an apparently crucified body
equation to find t:
resembles the then-accepted image of
Jesus, and so the shroud was never t=0.0834/λ
disregarded completely and remained
t=0.0834/(0.0001209/y)=690 y
controversial over the centuries.
Carbon-14 dating was not performed This dates the material in the shroud to
on the shroud until 1988, when the 1988 – 690 = AD 1300. It is meaningful
process had been refined to the point that the date of the shroud is consistent
with the first record of its existence and
where only a small amount of material inconsistent with the period in which Jesus
is needed. Samples were tested at lived.
three independent
 13

Week 9: Physical Optics, Relativity and Quantum Physics

WEEK 9 DAY 4
(60 mins)

Assessment: Answer/ Solve the following problems. Show your solutions.

Name:________________________Section:_________Score:________

A. Physical Optics B. Relativity and Quantum Physics

1. Explain in not more than 5 1. If a meter stick is travelling in

sentences how Young’s double slit space at 0.90c, how long does it
experiment confirmed that light is appear to an Earth-bound
a wave. observer?

2. Differentiate between interference

and diffraction of light. Explain in 2. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
not more than 4 sentences how a (AAs) and Atomic Emission
destructive and constructive Spectroscopy (AEs) have many
interference of light happen. uses including in forensic science
and choice of colors for fireworks.
Explain in not more than six (6)
sentences how this is so.

3. Explain in not more than 5 3. If there is one relic/artefact you

sentences how the photoelectric want dated, what would it be?
effect supported Einstein’s idea of Why? Answer in not more than 5
the dual nature of light. sentences.