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quasar_4
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Homework Statement
Estimate the minimum length of time needed to measure the energy of a photon to an accuracy of 10^(-15) Joules.
Homework Equations
E = hv, where v is the frequency of the photon and h is Planck's constant in J*s
Watts = Joules/second
The Attempt at a Solution
I can think of two ways to get the units to work out right, but I'm fairly certain they're not right. One would be to ignore the specific frequency of the photon, assuming that E is proportional to Planck's constant in J*s, and dividing to obtain an answer in seconds. But that seems unreasonable to me since the wavelength of the photon should plausibly matter.
The only other thing that comes to mind straight away is to somehow utilize the definition of watts, to determine how long it would take to get some wattage, but I don't feel that this is right, either.
What am I missing? I'm sure this is a simple, 30 second problem, I'm just having a mind block... :uhh: