1

PHYS-271 HOMEWORK #2
Due on Monday Feb 13th 2012 at 9h25 in class. Late homework will not be graded.
1. Rectangular wave guides
Consider an elctromagnetic waves propagating inside a rectangular waveguide made out
of a hollow conductor. It can be shown that the dispersion relation in this case is given by
k =
1
c

2
mn
, where we dened the mode frequencies
mn
as
mn
c

m
2
a
2
+
n
2
b
2
. Here, m
and n are indices (1,2,3....) that dene the propagating modes, and a and b are the dimension
of the rectangular wave guide.
Assuming that a > b, then the lowest cuto frequency is
10
= c/a; this is the lowest
frequency for which there is propagation of the electromagnetic wave. This mode, labeled TE
10
,
is therefore the dominant mode. We typically design waveguides such that only the dominant
mode propagates, and we set its frequencies at the propagating frequencies of the waves that we
want to propagate.
For this wave guide, I want you to, keeping general the mode frequency
mn
:
a) Calculate the phase velocity v
p
.
b) Calculate the group velocity v
g
.
c) Show that v
p
.v
g
= c
2
.
d) Make a sketch of v
p
and v
g
versus , in particular near a mode
mn
.
2. Wave groups and dispersion
a) Show that the group velocity for a non-relativistic free electron is also given by v
g
=
p/m
e
= v
0
where v
0
is the electrons velocity.
b) The dispersion relation for a free but relativistic electron waves is (k) =

c
2
k
2
+ (m
e
c
2
/)
2
.
Obtain expressions for the phase velocity v
p
and the group velocity v
g
of these waves and show
that their product is a constant, independent of k. What do you conclude on v
g
if v
p
> c?
c) A free electron has a wavefunction given by (x) = Asin(5 10
10
x), where x is mea-
sured in meters. Find i) the electrons de Broglie wavelength, ii) the electrons momentum and
iii) the electrons energy in electron volts.
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2. Heisenbergs uncertainty principle
a) A ball of mass 50 g moves with a speed of 30 m/s. If its speed is measured to an
accuracy within 0.1%, what is the minimum uncertainty in its position?
b) A proton has a kinetic energy of 1 MeV. Is its momentum is measured with an uncer-
tainty of 5%, what is the minimum uncertainty in its position?
c) Suppose that a quantum-mechanical duck lives in a World in which = 2 J.s. This
duck has a mass of 2kg and is initially to be known within a region 1m wide. What is the
uncertainty in his speed? Assuming this uncertainty in speed to prevail for 5s, determine the
uncertainty in position after this time.
Phys 271:Assignment 2-Solutions
1.
k =
1
c

2
mn
(a)
v
p
=

k
= c

2
mn
=
c

1

2
mn

2
(b)
k
2
c
2
=
2

2
mn
=

k
2
c
2
+
2
mn
v
g
=
d
dk
=
kc
2

k
2
c
2
+
2
mn
v
2
g
= c
2

k
2
c
2
k
2
c
2
+
2
mn

= c
2

2
mn

= c
2

1

2
mn

So
v
g
= c

1

2
mn

2
(c)
v
p
v
g
=
c

1

2
mn

2
c

1

2
mn

2
= c
2
(d)

v
p
c
v
g
c

mn
1
1
2. (a)
p = k
E = =
p
2
2m
e
=
(k)
2
2m
e
= =
k
2
2m
e
So
v
g
=
d
dk
=
k
m
e
=
p
m
e
= v
0
(b)
(k) =

c
2
k
2
+

m
e
c
2

2
v
p
=

k
=
1
k

c
2
k
2
+

m
e
c
2

2
=

c
2
+

m
e
c
2
k

2
v
g
=
d
dk
=
kc
2

c
2
k
2
+

mec
2

2
=
c
2

c
2
+

mec
2
k

2
and
v
p
v
g
= c
2
(c) i.
=
2
k
=
2
5 10
10
m
1
= 1.26 10
10
m
ii.
p =
h

= 5.27 10
24
kgm/s
iii.
K =
p
2
2m
= 95.3 eV
2
3. (a)
p = mv = 0.001mv
xp

2
= x =

2p
= 3.52 10
32
m
(b)
p =

2m
p
K
p = 0.05p = 0.05

2m
p
K
x =

2p
= 4.56 10
14
m
(c)
px = mvx

2
= v =

2mx
=
2 J s
2(2 kg )(1 m )
=

2
m/s
After ve seconds has elasped, the duck may have moved a distance of (v)(5 s ). Adding this to
the initial uncertainty in position of 1 m , this gives an approximate uncertainty of (1+2.5) m .
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