Calculating Electron Energy, Momentum, Wavelength

In summary: When the electron has very fast speed, kinetic energy takes most of the part of its total enertgy?No, when the electron's velocity (speed) is low, say, 1eV, I got his wavelength by:p= \sqrt{2mK} and substitude this p into \lambda =\frac{h}{p} which answer is very different from the answer calculated by \lambda = \frac{hc}{K} Why?? Is it because when electron has very fast speed, kinetic energy takes most of the part of its total enertgy?
  • #1
Psi-String
79
0
Photon's energy [tex] E=\frac{hc}{\lambda} [/tex]

and photon's momentum [tex] p =\frac{E}{c} = \frac{h}{\lambda} [/tex]

The textbook say electron's momentum is [tex] p=\frac{h}{\lambda} [/tex]

I wonder that can the electron's energy be calculated by

[tex] E=\frac{hc}{\lambda} [/tex] ?

If it can, what kinds of energy does E involve? It's not only kinetic energy.
But it's interesting that when the electron has a high kinetic energy, say, 1 GeV, I can calculate it's wavelength by

[tex] \lambda = \frac{hc}{K} [/tex]
though the answer is very very very little different from that calculated by another way:

By [tex] (pc)^2 = K^2 + 2Kmc^2 [/tex] we know [tex]p[/tex]
then substitude this p into [tex] \lambda =\frac{h}{p} [/tex]

What reason cause this difference?

And when the electron's kinetic energy is low, say, 1eV, I got his wavelength by:

[tex] p= \sqrt{2mK} [/tex] and substitude this p into [tex] \lambda =\frac{h}{p} [/tex]

which answer is very different from the answer calculated by[tex] \lambda = \frac{hc}{K} [/tex] Why?? Is it because when electron has very fast speed, kinetic energy takes most of the part of its total enertgy?


(It's a big mess, if someone can't understand what I'm trying to express, please tell me)
Thanks in advance
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
Psi-String said:
Photon's energy [tex] E=\frac{hc}{\lambda} [/tex]

and photon's momentum [tex] p =\frac{E}{c} = \frac{h}{\lambda} [/tex]

The textbook say electron's momentum is [tex] p=\frac{h}{\lambda} [/tex]

I wonder that can the electron's energy be calculated by

[tex] E=\frac{hc}{\lambda} [/tex] ?
No.

The electron has rest mass, the photon does not.

The electron's velocity (speed) is dependent on it's energy, the photons speed is always c, and is completely independent of it's energy.

The total energy of a particle involves kinetic energy and rest energy. Perhaps it is worthwhile plotting total energy, kinetic energy and rest energy to compare their relative values.
 
  • #3
[added] Argh, Astronuc slipped in ahead of me! That's what I get for going out for a cup of coffee while I was typing this. :grumpy:

Psi-String said:
I wonder that can the electron's energy be calculated by

[tex] E=\frac{hc}{\lambda} [/tex]

No, that equation works only for photons and other massless particles. In general, you have to use

[tex]E=\sqrt{\left(\frac{hc}{\lambda}\right)^2 + (mc^2)^2}[/tex]

See what happens when m = 0?

This equation comes from [itex]E = \sqrt{(pc)^2 + (mc^2)^2}[/itex] upon substituting [itex]p = h / \lambda[/itex].

If it can, what kinds of energy does E involve? It's not only kinetic energy.

For a particle with mass, E includes kinetic energy and "rest energy" (the energy associated with the particle's mass).

[tex]E = K + E_0 = K + mc^2[/tex]

So the relationship between p and K is

[tex]pc = \sqrt{E^2 - (mc^2)^2}[/tex]

[tex]pc = \sqrt{(K + mc^2)^2 - (mc^2)^2}[/tex]

[tex]pc = \sqrt{K^2 - 2Kmc^2}[/tex]
 
Last edited:
  • #4
I got it. THANKS guys!
 

What is the formula for calculating the energy of an electron?

The formula for calculating the energy of an electron is E = (hc)/λ, where h is Planck's constant, c is the speed of light, and λ is the wavelength of the electron.

How do you calculate the momentum of an electron?

The momentum of an electron can be calculated using the formula p = mv, where m is the mass of the electron and v is its velocity.

What units are used to measure the energy of an electron?

The energy of an electron is typically measured in electron volts (eV) or joules (J).

How does the wavelength of an electron affect its energy?

The wavelength of an electron is inversely proportional to its energy. This means that as the wavelength decreases, the energy increases.

Can you calculate the energy of an electron without knowing its momentum?

No, the momentum of an electron is necessary to calculate its energy. This is because the energy of an electron is directly proportional to its momentum.

Similar threads

  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
4
Views
860
Replies
8
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
6
Views
965
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
1
Views
4K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
3
Views
814
Replies
6
Views
836
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
11
Views
622
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
1
Views
1K
Back
Top