Solutions to C category exam for NPhO 2015-16

BdPhO

1st Jan, 2016

Question 1
q1 q2
We will choose units where the Coulomb force is written as F = r2
between charges q1 , q2
with a separation r.

(a) The energy is simply the sum of kinetic and potential energies:
1 e2
E = mv 2 −
2 r

(b) Gravitational force is central and thus exerts zero torque, which leads to conservation
of angular momentum. This is nothing but the Kepler’s second law. Therefore, the
angular momentum will be the same at those two points:
v1 r2
L = mv1 r1 = mv2 r2 ⇒ =
v2 r1

(c) As L = mvr , we can eliminate v from the energy expression and rewrite it in terms of
the angular momentum ( which is a conserved quantity for the orbits under Coulomb/central
forces ):
L2 e2
E= −
2mr2 r
which can be rewritten as
e2 L2
r2 + r − =0
E 2mE
whose solutions are
e2  e2 2 L2 1
r1,2 = − ± ( ) + ]2
2E 2E 2mE
(d) The sum of these two distances is equal to the length of the major axis of the ellipse (
2a) .

1
 Hence,
e2 e2
r1 + r2 = 2a = − ⇒ E =−
E 2a
which shows the independence of the energy on the minor axis length.

(e) Let us consider when the electron passes through the point P ( see figure )

where the minor axis intersects the orbit. The angular momentum can be written as
L = mv0 b. At this point, the distance between the nucleus and the electron , r0 = a (
to see this, recall that for ellipse the sum of the distance from the foci to the locus is
constant. So, r1 + r2 = 2a = 2r0 ). Therefore,

mv02 e2 e2 e2
E= − =− ⇒ v02 =
2 a 2a ma
which tell us that the value of v0 , the speed at point P does not depend on b, it is fixed
by a only.
Once we demand the quantization of L, we see that the value of b has be discrete as
well ( since L = mv0 b ). For circular orbits b = a, the latter being the maximum value
for b, with the energy of the orbit, E fixed. Now, we ready see
b L k~
= =
a mv0 a Lmax
as the angular momentum is maximum for the circular orbit ( with the energy fixed) .
But Lmax = n~. This leads to our cherished result
b k
=
a n

Question 2
We will refer to the heavy charged particle hereafter as an “ion”.

2
(a) We start off with the vector form of the Coulomb’s law

Ze
E=k r
r3
1
Now from the figure we see that r = (b2 + v 2 t2 ) 2 . Taking the projection along the
direction perpendicular to path of the “ion” ,

Zeb
E⊥ = k 3
(b2 + v 2 t2 ) 2

(b) The momentum transfer in the direction parallel to the path of the “ion” is zero due
to the symmetry of the problem ( as the electron is initially at rest). The momentum
transfer will be perpendicular to the path and will be given by
Z ∞ Z ∞
p⊥ = F⊥ dt = e E⊥ dt
−∞ −∞

One can now set x = vt ⇒ dt = v1 dx and use the given integral to find
∞
kZe2 b 2kZe2
Z
dx
p⊥ = 3 =
v −∞ (b2 + x2 ) 2 vb

Alternative:

We saw above that Z ∞

e
p⊥ = E⊥ dx
v −∞
Next we imagine a Gaussian cylinder around the path of the “ion” which passes through
the location of the electron ( but we do not consider the charge of the electron - as it is
the test charge ) with the source charge being Ze carried by the “ion”. The infinitesimal
surface area of of the Gaussian surface is given by dS = dx(2πb) so

2Ze2 k
Z
e e
p⊥ = EdS = (4πkZe) =
v(2πb 2πvb vb

( Note: For E = kq/r2 , the Gauss law takes the from ΦE = 4πkq. )

(c) The energy gained by a single electron

(p⊥ )2 2Z 2 e4 k 2
∆E = =
2m mb2 v 2

(d) Consider a cylindrical shell of inner radius b, thickness db and axis length dx. If the
charge density of n, then the number of electrons inside this cylindrical shell is

dN = n(2πb) db dx

which gives the number of electrons in unit thickness dN/dx = 2πnb db

3
(e) The energy loss per unit length from the “ion” will therefore be given by
dE dN 4πk 2 Z 2 e4
=− ∆E = −
dx dx mv 2 b
This expression is valid for a single shell of thickness db. Hence, the net energy loss will
be found by integrating over all shells within the range [bmin , bmax ] -

4πk 2 Z 2 e4 bmax db 4πk 2 Z 2 e4
Z  
dE  bmax
 =− =− ln
dx  mv 2 bmin b mv 2 bmin
net

(f) It is obvious bmax must be finite otherwise the energy loss will be infinite. This can be
justified by the fact that electric field inside matter gets screened and thus has a finite
range.

Question 3
Let the radius of the bubble be R(t) which varies with time t, due to the expansion of the
bubble.

(a) Let us think of a spherical surface which is concentric with the bubble with a radius
r > R(t). Since the liquid outside the bubble is incompressible the volume gained by
the gas bubble per unit time 4πR2 (t) dR(t)
dt must match the flow of liquid through the
outside surface 4πr2 u(r, t). Equating these two quantities one gets

R2
u(r, t) = Ṙ
r2
(b) The kietic energy density of the liquid is h ≡ 21 ρu2 = 2rρ4 R4 Ṙ2 . Therefore, the total
kinetic energy of the liquid outside is
Z ∞ Z ∞
1
T = h(4πr2 ) dr = 2πR4 Ṙ2 2
dr = 2πR3 (t)Ṙ2
R(t) R(t) r

(c) The kinetic energy gained by the liquid is obtained from the work done by the pressure
difference p(t) − p0 on the bubble wall. We thus get
Z R(t)  
p(R̃, t) − p0 (4π R̃2 ) dR̃ = 2πR3 (t)Ṙ2
R0

4
(d) If we differentiate both sides with respect to R(t) ≡ R, we are led to
 
∂ R3 Ṙ2 1
4πR2 (p(t) − p0 ) = 2π ⇒ 2(p(t) − p0 ) = 2 (3R2 Ṙ2 + 2R3 R̈)
∂R R
2
where we have employed the relation partial
∂R
Ṙ ∂ Ṙ
= 2Ṙ ∂R = 2R̈. This can also be estab-
lished from the work-energy theorem, by differentiating both sides with respect to the
displacement.
Thus, simplifying, we are led to
3
RR̈ + Ṙ2 = (p(t) − p0 )
2
which is a version of the Rayleigh-Plesset equation.