Calculate the uncertainty in energy of an unstable elementary particle that has an average life time of 7.2 * 10 ^ - 9 * s
Question
Calculate the uncertainty in energy of an unstable elementary particle that has an average life time of 7.2 * 10 ^ - 9 * s
Solution
To calculate the uncertainty in energy of an unstable elementary particle, we can use Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. The principle states that the uncertainty in energy (ΔE) and the uncertainty in time (Δt) are related by the equation:
ΔE * Δt ≥ h/4π
where h is Planck's constant (6.62607015 × 10^-34 m^2 kg / s).
Given that the average lifetime of the particle is 7.2 * 10^-9 s, we can use this as our Δt. Plugging this into the equation gives us:
ΔE * (7.2 * 10^-9 s) ≥ (6.62607015 × 10^-34 m^2 kg / s) / 4π
Solving for ΔE gives us:
ΔE ≥ (6.62607015 × 10^-34 m^2 kg / s) / (4π * 7.2 * 10^-9 s)
Calculating the right side of the equation gives us:
ΔE ≥ 5.77 * 10^-26 J
So, the uncertainty in energy of the particle is at least 5.77 * 10^-26 Joules.
Similar Questions
If an excited state of an atom is known to have a lifetime of 10's, what is the uncertainty in the energy of photons emitted by such atoms in the spontaneous decay to the ground state?
Life time of a nucleus in the excited state is 10–12 sec. Calculate the probable uncertainty in energy andfrequency of a g-ray photon emitted by it.
A particle of mass 4.00 x 10- 9 kg moves with speed 4.00 m/sec. If its speed is uncertain by 0.2 percent (i.e. Δv/v = 0.2/100), what is the minimum uncertainty in its position to 3 significant figures and in units of metres? Note: use the appropriate formula given on the information sheet.
A particle’s motion is restricted to a square of side 2 cm. If its mass is 50 g, then find theminimum uncertainty in its velocity.
Uncertainty in the position of an electron (mass = 9.1 x 10-31 kg) moving with a velocity 300m/s accurate up to 0.001% will be
Upgrade your grade with Knowee
Get personalized homework help. Review tough concepts in more detail, or go deeper into your topic by exploring other relevant questions.