GEK1510/PC1323 Great Ideas in Contemporary Physics

Tutorial 2
1. [Wave Particle Duality]
(a) Suppose we wish to observe a bacterium that is 5 107 m in size using light.
(i) What is the maximum wavelength that can be used?
(ii) What is the corresponding energy of the photons?
(b) Now suppose we use electrons instead of light to observe this bacterium.
(i) What is the minimum speed they must be traveling at?
(ii) What is the corresponding energy of the electrons?
[This question shows that, for a given resolving power, using electrons requires much less
energy than using photons. This is one of the reasons why electron microscopes are more
practical than light-based ones when resolving very small objects.]
2. [Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle]
(a) In classical physics, what is the minimum speed that an electron can take?
(b) Since the electron is so small, we should not forget quantum effects! Consider an
electron that is confined somewhere inside a region 1010 m in size, i.e., the uncertainty in its position is x = 1010 m. What is the minimum uncertainty in its speed?
What minimum speed does this translate into?
(c) Your final answer in (b) is actually the minimum speed that an electron can take inside
an atom (which is around 1010 m in size). Why then do you think it does not just fly
out of the atom?
(d) At one stage, physicists were wondering why electrons cannot be found in the nucleus
of an atom. What do you think is the reason for this?
(e) However, we know that the nucleus is made up of protons and neutrons. Does this
fact contradict your reasoning in (d)?
3. [Bohr Model of Hydrogen Atom]
(a) Find the wavelengths of the four longest-wavelength in the Balmer series of hydrogen
atom.
(b) The first four longest wavelengths in the Balmer series of hydrogen atom are in the
visible range. There are more than just these four in this series. Which part of the
electromagnetic spectrum (infrared, visible or ultraviolet) do they likely belong to?
(c) What is the shortest wavelength in the Balmer series?

Last updated: February 5, 2015 4:58 pm (CCL)

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Semester II, 2014/15