Thewavelength of a probe is roughly a measure of the size of a structurethat it can probe in some detail. The quark structure of protons andneutrons appears at the minute length-scale of 10−15m or less. This structure was first probed in early 1970’susing high energy electron beams produced by a linear accelerator atStanford, USA. Guess what might have been the order of energy ofthese electron beams. (Rest mass energy of electron = 0.511 MeV.)
Thewavelength of a probe is roughly a measure of the size of a structurethat it can probe in some detail. The quark structure of protons andneutrons appears at the minute length-scale of 10−15m or less. This structure was first probed in early 1970’susing high energy electron beams produced by a linear accelerator atStanford, USA. Guess what might have been the order of energy ofthese electron beams. (Rest mass energy of electron = 0.511 MeV.)
Wavelengthof a proton or a neutron, λ≈10−15m
Rest massenergy of an electron:
m0c2= 0.511 MeV
=0.511 × 106× 1.6 × 10−19
=0.8176 × 10−13 J
Planck’sconstant, h= 6.6 × 10−34Js
Speedof light, c= 3 × 108m/s
Themomentum of a proton or a neutron is given as:
Therelativistic relation for energy (E)is given as:
Thus, theelectron energy emitted from the accelerator at Stanford, USA mightbe of the order of 1.24 BeV.
Wavelengthof a proton or a neutron, λ≈10−15m
Rest massenergy of an electron:
m0c2= 0.511 MeV
=0.511 × 106× 1.6 × 10−19
=0.8176 × 10−13 J
Planck’sconstant, h= 6.6 × 10−34Js
Speedof light, c= 3 × 108m/s
Themomentum of a proton or a neutron is given as:
Therelativistic relation for energy (E)is given as:
Thus, theelectron energy emitted from the accelerator at Stanford, USA mightbe of the order of 1.24 BeV.
