II Semester 2022-2023

PHY 2020 Physics IV

Problem Set 05
Date: 8 September, 2023.

This is to be submitted not later than 12:30 pm on 12-9-2023.

1. On a clear evening during the winter months, if you happen to be in the Northern
Hemisphere and look up at the sky, you can see the constellation Orion (The Hunter).
One star in this constellation, Rigel, flickers in a blue color and another star,
Betelgeuse, has a reddish color. Which of these two stars is cooler, Betelgeuse or Rigel?

2. (a) Find the peak wavelength of the blackbody radiation emitted by the human body
when the skin temperature is 35°C.
(b) Find the peak wavelength of the blackbody radiation emitted by the tungsten
filament of a lightbulb, which operates at 2 000 K.
(c) Find the peak wavelength of the blackbody radiation emitted by the Sun, which has
a surface temperature of approximately 5 800 K.

3. A 2.00-kg block is attached to a massless spring that has a force constant of k = 25.0
N/m. The spring is stretched 0.400 m from its equilibrium position and released from
rest. (a) Find the total energy of the system and the frequency of oscillation according
to classical calculations. (b) Assuming the energy of the oscillator is quantized, find
the quantum number n for the system oscillating with this amplitude. (c) Suppose the
oscillator makes a transition from the n = 5.36 x 1033 state to the state corresponding to
n = 5.36 x 1033- 1. By how much does the energy of the oscillator change in this one-
quantum change?

4. A star such as our Sun will eventually evolve to a “red giant” star and then to a “white
dwarf” star. A typical white dwarf is approximately the size of Earth, and its surface
temperature is about 2.5 × 104 K. A typical red giant has a surface temperature of
3×103 K and a radius ~100,000 times larger than that of a white dwarf. What is the
average radiated power per unit area and the total power radiated by each of these types
of stars? How do they compare?

5. A quantum oscillator in the cavity wall is vibrating at a frequency of 5.0 × 1014 Hz.
Calculate the spacing between its energy levels.

6. Radiation with wavelength 300 nm is incident on a silver surface. Will photoelectrons

be observed?

7. When a 180-nm light is used in an experiment with an unknown metal, the measured
photocurrent drops to zero at potential – 0.80 V. Determine the work function of the
metal and its cut-off frequency for the photoelectric effect.
8. (a) A 430-nm violet light is incident on a calcium photoelectrode with a work function
of 2.71 eV. Find the energy of the incident photons and the maximum kinetic energy
of ejected electrons.
(b) A yellow 589-nm light is incident on a surface whose work function is 1.20 eV.
What is the stopping potential? What is the cut-off wavelength?

9. (a) X-rays of wavelength 𝜆0 = 0.200 000 nm are scattered from a block of material.
The scattered x-rays are observed at an angle of 45.0° to the incident beam. Calculate
their wavelength.
(b) What if the detector is moved so that scattered x-rays are detected at an angle larger
than 45°? Does the wavelength of the scattered x-rays increase or decrease as the angle
θ increases?

10. (a) Calculate the de Broglie wavelength for an electron (me =9.11 x 10-31 kg) moving
at 1.00 x 107 m/s.
(b) A rock of mass 50 g is thrown with a speed of 40 m/s. What is its de Broglie
wavelength?

11. The speed of an electron is measured to be 5.00 x 103 m/s to an accuracy of 0.003 00%.
Find the minimum uncertainty in determining the position of this electron.

12. An incident 71-pm X-ray is incident on a calcite target. Find the wavelength of the X-
ray scattered at a 30° angle. What is the largest shift that can be expected in this
experiment?

13. A laser pointer with a power output of 5.00 mW emits red light with wavelength
650nm. (a) What is the magnitude of the momentum of each photon? (b) How many
photons does the laser pointer emit each second?

14. For a particular cathode material in a photoelectric-effect experiment, you measure

stopping potentials 𝑣0 =1.0 V for light of wavelength λ= 600 nm, 2.0 V for 400 nm,
and 3.0 V for 300 nm. Determine the work function 𝜙for this material and the implied
value of Planck’s constant h.

15. Electrons in an x-ray tube accelerate through a potential difference of 10.0 kV before
striking a target. If an electron produces one photon on impact with the target, what is
the minimum wavelength of the resulting x rays? Find the answer by expressing
energies in both SI units and electron volts.

16. You use 0.124-nm x-ray photons in a Compton-scattering experiment. (a) At what
angle is the wavelength of the scattered x rays 1.0% longer than that of the incident x
rays? (b) At what angle is it 0.050% longer?

17. An electron and a positron, initially far apart, move toward each other with the same
speed. They collide head-on, annihilating each other and producing two photons. Find
the energies, wavelengths, and frequencies of the photons if the initial kinetic energies
of the electron and positron are (a) both negligible and (b) both 5.000 MeV. The
electron rest energy is 0.511 MeV.
18. The temperature of an electric heating element is 150°C. At what wavelength does the
radiation emitted from the heating element reach its peak?

19. Electrons are ejected from a metallic surface with speeds of up to 4.60 x 105 m/s when
light with a wavelength of 625 nm is used. (a) What is the work function of the surface?
(b) What is the cutoff frequency for this surface?

20. X-rays having an energy of 300 keV undergo Compton scattering from a target. The
scattered rays are detected at 37.0° relative to the incident rays. Find (a) the Compton
shift at this angle, (b) the energy of the scattered x-ray, and (c) the energy of the
recoiling electron.

21. A photon has an energy equal to the kinetic energy of an electron with speed u, which
may be close to the speed of light c. (a) Calculate the ratio of the wavelength of the
photon to the wavelength of the electron. (b) Evaluate the ratio for the particle speed
u = 0.900c. (c) What If? What would happen to the answer to part (b) if the material
particle were a proton instead of an electron? (d) Evaluate the ratio for the particle
speed u = 0.001 00c. (e) What value does the ratio of the wavelengths approach at high
particle speeds? (f) At low particle speeds?

22. Suppose a duck lives in a universe in which h = 2ℼ J s. The duck has a mass of 2.00 kg
and is initially known to be within a pond 1.00 m wide. (a) What is the minimum
uncertainty in the component of the duck’s velocity parallel to the pond’s width? (b)
Assuming this uncertainty in speed prevails for 5.00 s, determine the uncertainty in the
duck’s position after this time interval.