Chapter 4: Quantization of Light and Energy

Questions & Problems

f c/

E hf

hc 1242 eV nm

eVstop hf

2 1 C (1 cos )

C 2.43 10 12 m

Conceptual Questions
a.

If you peer through a small hole in a very hot oven, you see a glow that clearly
suggests the presence of light waves. This the blackbody radiation in the oven. If you
peer through a hole in a freezer, will there be blackbody radiation inside? What, if
anything, distinguishes this radiation from the radiation you see in the oven?
b. Suppose you have a source that emits a beam of light at some frequency f that
impinges on a metal plate. What happens to the energy of the photoelectrons that
are emitted when you are moving the source closer to the plate?
c. Why is the Compton effect not observed with visible light?

Example 4.1
The work function for cesium is 1.9 eV. (a) Find the threshold frequency and wavelength
for the photoelectric effect. Find the stopping potential if the wavelength of the incident
light is (b) 300 nm, and (c) 400 nm. (d) Interpret the differences between (c) and (d).

Example 4.2
(a) Compute the Compton wavelength of an electron and a proton. (b) what is the
energy of a photon whose wavelength is equal to the Compton wavelength of the (1) the
electron and (2) the proton?

Example 4.3
X rays of wavelength 0.0100 nm are directed in the positive direction of an x axis onto a
target containing loosely bound electrons. For Compton scattering from one of those
electrons, at an angle of 180o, what are (a) the Compton shift, (b) the corresponding change
in photon energy, (c) the kinetic energy of the recoiling electron, and (d) the angle between
the positive direction of the x axis and the electrons direction of motion?