Assignment #1

Attempt all Questions.

1. Show that it is impossible for a photon to give up all its energy and momentum to a free
electron.
2. A photon of wavelength 0.003010-10 m in the vicinity of a heavy nucleus produces an
electron-positron pair. Determine the kinetic energy of each of the particles if the kinetic
energy of the positron is twice that of the electron.
3. Can a photon and an electron of the same momentum have the same wavelength?
Compare their wavelengths if the two have the same energy.
4. A thermal neutron has a speed v at temperature T =300 K

and kinetic energy

mn v 2 3 kT
=
2
2 . Calculate its de-Broglie wavelength. State whether a beam of these
neutrons could be diffracted by a crystal, and why?
5. An electron is inside in an infinitely deep potential well of width L = 106 fm. Determine
the wavelength of photon emitted from the transition E4 E3.
6. A particle is trapped in an infinitely deep square well of width

a . Suddenly the walls

are separated by infinite distance so that the particle becomes free. Determine the
probability that the particle has momentum between

p p+dp ?

7. A free 10 eV electron moves in the x-direction with a speed of 1.88 106 m/s. Assuming

that one can measure its speed to a precision of 1%, what will be the precision with which
its position is simultaneously measured? If electron is replaced by a golf ball of mass 45 g
moving at a speed of 40 m/s, what is the precision in position in this case? What
conclusion do you draw?
8. How accurately can the position of a proton with v << c be determined without giving it

more than 1.00 keV of kinetic energy?

9. A proton in a one-dimensional box has energy of 400 keV in its first excited state. How wide is
the box?

10. Show that the phase velocity of the de-Broglie waves associated with a moving particle
having a rest mass mo is given by
1/ 2
V p=c 1+ ( mo cl|h )

Solution
Sol.1. Let a photon having energy h transfers all its energy to a free electron then by energy
conservation we have h = mc2
by momentum conservation we have h/c = mv
h = mc2v/c , since v/c is always less than 1thus there is a contradiction means our
assumption that a photon can transfer all its energy to free electron is wrong.
Sol. 2 By energy conservation
Total energy before collision = total energy after collision
hc/ = 2 mec2 + K+ + K- ( K- is the kinetic energy of electron and K+ is the KE of positron)
given K+ = 2Kthus hc/ = 2mec2 + 3K- substituting values of h, c, , mo and c we get
K- = 1.04MeV and K+ = 2.08MeV
Sol. 3.

1.

2.

3.

4. only part a not part b

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

The solution of Ques. 10 is with Satya Krishna, either change the question or solve it.