Question
Physics Question on Dual nature of radiation and matter
Monochromatic light of wavelength 632.8 nm is produced by a helium-neon laser.The power emitted is 9.42 mW.
(a) Find the energy and momentum of each photon in the light beam,
(b)How many photons per second, on the average, arrive at a target irradiated by this beam? ( Assume the beam to have uniform cross-section which is less than the target area ), and
(c)How fast does a hydrogen atom have to travel in order to have the same momentum as that of the photon?
Wavelength of the monochromatic light, λ=632.8nm=632.8×10−9m
Power emitted by the laser, P=9.42mW=9.42×10−3W
Planck’s constant, h=6.626×10−34Js
Speed of light,c=3×108m/s
Mass of a hydrogen atom,m=1.66×10−27kg
(a)The energy of each photon is given as:
E=λhc
=632.8×10−96.626×10−34×3×108=3.141×10−19J
The momentum of each photon is given as:
P=λh
=632.86.626×10−34=1.047×10−27kgms−1
(b)Number of photons arriving per second,at a target irradiated by the beam=n Assume that the beam has a uniform cross-section that is less than the target area.Hence,the equation for power can be written as:
P=nE
∴n=EP
=3.141×10−199.42×10−3≈3×1016photon/s
(c)Momentum of the hydrogen atom is the same as the momentum of the photon,
p=1.047×10−27kgms−1
Momentum is given as:
p=mv
Where,
V=Speed of hydrogen atom
∴v=mP
=1.66×10−271.047×10−27=0.621m/s