Trouble using the Bethe Formula

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the application of the Bethe formula for calculating the stopping power of alpha particles at various energies. Participants explore the formula's units and dimensional analysis, addressing specific challenges encountered during calculations.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes difficulties in using the non-relativistic Bethe formula, particularly with unit conversions leading to unexpected results.
  • Another participant requests clarification on the dimensional analysis performed by the original poster, suggesting that the variable β is non-dimensional.
  • A third participant analyzes the units involved in the formula, attempting to break down the components to understand the dimensional inconsistencies.
  • The original poster later acknowledges a mistake in interpreting the units of Coulomb, which resolved the confusion regarding the calculations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the initial confusion regarding the units of the Bethe formula, but the original poster's later correction indicates a resolution to their specific issue.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the importance of correctly interpreting base units in dimensional analysis, with specific reference to the units of Coulomb. The resolution of the original poster's confusion does not imply that all aspects of the Bethe formula are fully understood or agreed upon by all participants.

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So I'm doing research with a professor and he wants me to use the Bethe formula to calculate stopping power for alpha particles of various energies, but I'm having a lot of trouble using it, and I figured I'd ask here before I bothered him.
He wanted me to use the non-relativistic version listed on Wikipedia (from Sigmund 2006, and I've seen it other places in the same form, so I don't think it's a problem with the formula). Here it is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethe_formula
I was getting very confusing answers, so I tried just going through the formula with nothing but the units and seeing if they worked out. The units we want for dE/dx are eV/m or eV/cm (or Joules/distance, I guess), correct? The main issue I'm having is that, with the units, I keep getting an answer per seconds to the TENTH, when it's only supposed to be seconds squared, and I cannot for the life of me figure out where the extra s^-8 is coming from. My first instinct is that it's from the units of the permittivity squared, but the rest of the units of the permittivity seem to work out fine.
Any idea where I'm going wrong?
 
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You need to show us how you get the dimensions you see. One wild guess \beta is non-dimensional.
 
isn't mc^2 energy? So [energy]-1
then \Big( \frac{z^2 e^2}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \Big)^2 has [force]2* [lenght]4 = [energy]2 * [length] 2 (distance times force = work = energy)
and finally n has # / [length]3

The result is:
[energy]-1 [energy]2 [length]2 [length]-3 = [energy]/[length] for what I see...
 
It turned out that I made a really stupid mistake. When I was looking up Coulomb in base units since I don't know it offhand, I apparently misread it as A/s instead of A*s. Everything works out now. Thanks for replying, everyone. It helped me narrow down to the part of the equation I was messing up on.
 

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