What is the de Broglie wavelength of an electron accelerated by 75V?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around calculating the de Broglie wavelength of an electron accelerated by a potential difference of 75V. The participant correctly identifies the relevant equations, including the relationship between momentum and wavelength, and the kinetic energy derived from the voltage. They convert the voltage to energy but initially arrive at an incorrect wavelength of 1.4E21 m. Other contributors suggest that the equations are correct, and the error likely lies in numerical calculations, indicating the correct wavelength should be 1.4E-10 m. The focus is on verifying calculations rather than the theoretical framework.
Brendanphys
Messages
11
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



This is a problem I did during a test, and I am looking it over to see what I did wrong..

1. An Electron is accelerated by a potential difference of 75V. What is the de Broglie wavelength

Homework Equations



P = h/λ
Ek = 1/2mv^2
eV = 1.6E-19

The Attempt at a Solution



P = h/λ
λ = h/p (1)

Ek = 1/2mv^2
(2Ek/m)^1/2 (2)

Sub (1) into (2)
λ = h/p
λ = h/m((2Ek/m)^1/2)

I figured 75V = 75*eV = 75*(1.6E-19) = 1.2E-17J
So 1.2E-17J = Ek

I Plugged in all the known values into
λ = h/m((2Ek/m)^1/2)
and got the answer as: 1.4E21

Any clues as to what I did wrong? I assume it has something to do with my volt conversion, any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I think its just a math error. The energy is fine.

Mass of a electron is 9.10938188*10^-31.

Try putting it into your calculator again.
 
There's nothing wrong with your equations. You probably just calculated the numbers incorrectly. Try again, and you should get 1.4e-10 m.
 
Kindly see the attached pdf. My attempt to solve it, is in it. I'm wondering if my solution is right. My idea is this: At any point of time, the ball may be assumed to be at an incline which is at an angle of θ(kindly see both the pics in the pdf file). The value of θ will continuously change and so will the value of friction. I'm not able to figure out, why my solution is wrong, if it is wrong .
TL;DR Summary: I came across this question from a Sri Lankan A-level textbook. Question - An ice cube with a length of 10 cm is immersed in water at 0 °C. An observer observes the ice cube from the water, and it seems to be 7.75 cm long. If the refractive index of water is 4/3, find the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. I could not understand how the apparent height of the ice cube in the water depends on the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. Does anyone have an...

Similar threads

Replies
3
Views
2K
Replies
1
Views
4K
Replies
14
Views
3K
Replies
4
Views
1K
Replies
1
Views
2K
Replies
3
Views
3K
Replies
3
Views
6K
Back
Top