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PH113 / Assignment - Module IV & V: Quantum & Modern Physics

(Dated: November 30, 2023)

1. Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of (i) a 10 eV electron, and (ii) a 1.0MeV neutron.
(Assume classical non-relativistic particles; Mass of neutron is 1.675 × 10−27 g = 940.6
Mev/c2 ≈ mproton .)

Solution. Considering:

h
λ =
p
h
= √ ,
2mE

one gets: (i) 3.9 Å, and (ii) 286.1 Å.

Comment: For relativistic particles, one can show that:

hc
λ= q
2 + 2m E c2
EK 0 K

where EK is the kinetic energy.

2. An increase of 150 eV in the energy of an electron reduces its de Broglie wavelength to half
of its earlier value. Calculate the initial de Broglie wavelength.

√
Solution. We know that λ = h/ 2mE. Inverting this relation, we obtain:

1 h2
E0 =
2m λ20
1 h2
and, E1 =
2m λ21
1 4h2
∴ E0 + ∆E =
2m λ20
1 3h2
=⇒ ∆E =
2m λ20
r
3h2
=⇒ λ0 =
2m∆E
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Pluggin in the values, we get:

r
3 × (4.136)2 × 10−30 × 3 × 108
λ0 = [m]
2 × 0.511 × 106 × 150
= 1.736Å

3. What is the potential through which a proton must be accelerated so that its de Broglie
wavelength is 2.0 Å?

Solution. The energy of a particle with charge e accelerated through a potential V is

E = eV . Therefore, to have a de Broglie wavelength of λ = 2.0 Å, we have:
1 h2
V =
2me λ2
(6.63)2
= × 10−68+19+20+31 [V]
2 × 9.1 × 1.6 × 4
= 37.74 V

4. An electron has a de Broglie wavelength equal to that of a photon of red light having
wavelength 620 nm. (i) Calculate the energy of the electron. (ii) What would its de Broglie
wavelength be if the energy of the electron were equal to the energy of this photon?

Solution. (i) The energy of the electron with a de Broglie wavelength λ = λph = 620 nm =
6.2 × 10−7 m is given by:
1 h2
E =
2m λ2ph
= 6.28 × 10−21 J

≈ 0.04 eV

(ii) The energy of the photon of wavelength λph is:

hc
Eph = = 2.0013 eV
λph
The de Broglie wavelength of an electron with energy equal to Eph would be given by:
h
λ= p = 2.9 × 10−12 eV
2mEph
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5. Compton effect. X-rays of wavelength 10.0 pm are scattered through a target.

(a) Find the wavelength of the x-rays scattered through 45◦ .

(b) Find the maximum wavelength present in the scattered x-rays.

(c) Find the maximum kinetic energy of the recoil electrons.

Solution. page 74, Beiser 4th Ed.

(a) We have:

λ′ − λ = λc (1 − cos ϕ) .

Therefore, using ϕ = 45◦ and λ = 10 pm, we get

λ′ = 10 pm + 0.293λc

= 10.7 pm

where we have used λc = 2.426 pm for electrons.

Comment: The Compton wavelength λc = h/m0 c for other heavier particles is even smaller
than that for an electron.

(b) The maximum wavelength of the scattered x-rays corresponds to largest possible value
of λ′ − λ, which is realized for ϕ = 180◦ such that (1 − cos ϕ) = 2. Therefore, one finally
obtains:

λ′ − λ = 2λc ,

leading to λ′ = 14.9 pm.

(c) The max recoil kinetic energy is equal to difference between the incident and scattered
photon energies (max energy transferred to particle). Therefore,

Kmax = h(ν − ν ′ )
1 1
= h( − ′ ) .
λ λ
Using λ′ from part (b) above, we get Kmax = 40.8 keV.
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6. What is the frequency of an x-ray photon whose momentum is 1.1 × 10−23 kg m/s2 ?

Solution. The energy of the photon is given by:

pc
ν= = 5.0 × 1018 Hz .
h

7. How much energy must a photon have if it is to have a momentum of 10 MeV proton?

Solution. Using E = mv 2 /2 for the proton, we get

v = 4.38 × 107 m/s

therefore,

p = mv = 7.31 × 10−20 kg m/s .

Using this value of momentum for the photon, the energy is given by:

E = pc = 2.19 × 10−11 J = 137 MeV .

8. An x-ray photon of initial frequency 3 × 1019 Hz collides with an electron and is scattered
through 90◦ . Find its new frequency.

Solution. Rewriting the equation for the Compton scattering in terms of frequencies,
together with ϕ = 90◦ ( =⇒ cos ϕ = 0), we have

c c
= + λc
ν′ ν

Solving for ν ′ ,
" #−1
′ 1 λc
ν = + = 2.4 × 1019 Hz .
ν c

9. An x-ray photon with initial frequency of 1.5 × 1019 Hz emerges from a collision with an
electron with a frequency of 1.2 × 1019 Hz. How much kinetic energy was imparted to the
electron?
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Solution. Assuming elastic collision (and that the electron is initially at rest), the kinetic
energy of the electron is given by:

Eke = Efp − Eip ,

where, Efp/i is the final/initial energy of the photon. Plugging in the values, we get

Eke = 0.3 × h × 1019

= 1.24 × 104 eV ,

10. At what scattering angle will incident 100 keV x-rays leave a target with an anergy of 90
keV?

Solution. Solving the Compton equation for cos ϕ, we get:

λ λ′
cos ϕ = 1 + −
λc λc
m0 c2 m0 c2
= 1+ − = 0.432
E E′
=⇒ ϕ = 64◦ ,

where we used E = hc/λ and λc = h/m0 c.

11. A photon of frequency ν is scattered by an electron initially at rest. Verify that the maximum
kinetic energy of the recoil electron is

2hν 1
Kmax =
m0 c 1 + 2hν/m0 c2
2

Solution. Hint: use cos ϕ = −1 and expression for kinetic energy.

12. Davison-Germer expt. What effect on the scattering angle in theDavisson-Germer

experiment does increasing theelectron energy have?

Solution. Increasing the electron energy increases the electron’s momentum, and hence
decreases the electron’s de Broglie wavelength. A smaller de Broglie wavelength results in a
smalle r scattering angle (see Beiser).
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13. In the Davisson-Germer experiment, the energy of the electron entering the crystal increases,
which reduces its de Broglie wavelength. Consider a beam of 54 eV electrons directed at a
nickel target. The potential energy of an electron that enters the target changes by 26 eV.
(a) Compare the electron speeds outside and inside the target. (b) Compare the respective
de Broglie wavelengths.

Solution. For the given energies, a non-relativistic calculation is sufficient. We have

r r
2E 2 × 54 × 1.6
v= = × 10(−19+31)/2 = 4.36 [m/s]
m 9.1

outside the crystal, and (from a similar calculation, with K = 80eV [shift of 26 eV]),v =
5.30x106 m/s inside the crystal (keeping an extra significant figure in both calculations).

(b) With the speeds found in part (a), the de Brogile wavelengths are found from

h h
λ= = = 1.67 × 10−10 m
p mv

or 0.167 nm outside the crystal. Similar calculations leads to 0.137 nm inside the crystal.

14. Particle in a box. The lowest energy of a quantum particle trapped in a (unspecified)
box is 1 eV. What are the next two higher energies the particle can have.

Solution. Assuming 1D box, we can write the energies as:

h2
En = n2 n = 1, 2, 3 . . . .
8mL2

Therefore, E2 = 4E1 = 4 eV and E3 = 9E1 = 9 eV.

15. Find the energy levels of an electron is a box 0.1 nm wide.

Solution. page 105, Beiser 4th Ed

h2
En = n2 = 38n2 eV .
8mL2

16. Find the energy levels of a 10 g marble in a box 10 cm wide assuming the marble to be a
quantum particle.
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Comment: Using this example, convince yourself that quantum effects from a non-quantum
object is actually negligible.

Solution. With m = 10g = 10−2 kg and L = 10 cm = 10−1 m, we get:

n2 h2
En =
8mL2
n2 (6.626 × 10−34 )2
=
8 10−2 (10−1 )2
= 5.5 × 10−64 n2 J.

Comment: The above value is the minimum energy the marble can have. A marble with this
kinetic energy has a speed of only 3.3 × 10−31 m/s and, therefore, cannot be experimentally
distinguished from a stationary particle (marble).

Considering a modest speed of 1/3 m/s corresponds to n = 1030 . At such large values
of n, the energy level spacing is so tiny that is impossible to say with confidence whether the
marble will take only (quantum) energy values or any energy whatever.

17. Obtain the expression for the energy levels (in MeV) of a neutron confined to a one-
dimensional box 10−14 m wide. What is the neutron’s minimum energy?

Comment: The diameter of an atomic nucleus is of this order of magnitude.

Solution. Energy for a quantum particle in a one-dimensional box is given by:

h2
En = n2
8mL2
= 20.5 n2 MeV .

18. Uncertainty principle. A measurement establishes the position of a proton with an

accuracy of ±10−11 m. Find the uncertainty in the proton’s position 1 s later. Assume
v << c.
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Solution. Let ∆x0 denote the position uncertainty at t = 0. Therefore, the corresponding
undercertainty in momentum (at t = 0) is given by:

ℏ
∆p0 ≥ .
2∆x0

Since v << c, the momentum uncertainty is ∆p = ∆(mv) = m0 ∆v and the uncertainty in

proton’s velocity is:

∆p
∆v0 =
m0
ℏ
≥ .
2m0 ∆x0

The distance x travelled by the particle in time t cannot be known more accurately than:

∆x = t∆v0
tℏ
≥ .
2m0 ∆x0

Evidently, ∆x is inversely proportional to ∆x0 , that is the more precisely we

know about the particle at any instance of time, the less we know about its later
position at time t.

Plugging in the values, we get:

∆x ≥ 3.15 × 103 m.

19. Laser physics. Find the ratio of population of two states in a He-Ne laser than produces
a light of wavelength 6328 Å at 27 ◦ C.

Solution.
!
N2 −(E2 − E1 )
= exp
N1 kB T
!
hν
= exp −
kB T
!
hc 1
= exp −
λ kB T

Plug in the values and solve.

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20. A Ruby laser emits light of wavelength 7000 Å. Find the ratio of population of two states at
300 ◦ C and at 500 ◦ C.

Solution. Use the same expression as in the above question.

21. A certain Ruby laser emits 1.00 J pulses of light whose wavelength is 694 nm. What is the
minimum number of Cr3+ ions in the ruby?

Solution. The minimum number of Cr3+ ions present in the ruby will be equal to the
number of photons. The number of photons is given by the total energy of the pulse divided
by the energy of the photons. Therefore, the number of photons, and equivalently the number
number of Cr3+ ions is equal to:

Epulse Epulse λ
= = 3.48 × 1018 .
hc/λ hc

Comment: Concluding Remarks. The students are strongly recommended to take a look at
the relevant solved examples from the book Concepts of Modern Physics by Arthur Beiser, and also
solve them explicitly.
It is, in general, not possible to include all those examples here and discuss them explicitly. Based
on the lectures, the students are expected to be have sufficient skills to solve those problems. The
relevant topics can be found from the course syllabus.