Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach with Modern Physics (3rd Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0321740904
ISBN 13: 978-0-32174-090-8

Chapter 39 - Wave Functions and Uncertainty - Exercises and Problems - Page 1176: 24

Answer

$\approx {\bf 36}\;\rm nm$

Work Step by Step

This is a case involving the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which relates the uncertainty in position $\Delta x $ and the uncertainty in momentum $\Delta p_x $ where $$ \Delta x \cdot \Delta p_x \geq \frac{h}{2}\tag 1 $$ Recalling that $$ \Delta p_x = m \Delta v_x \tag 2$$ Plug into (1); $$m \Delta v_x\geq \frac{h}{2 \Delta x} $$ For the minimum uncertainty in position; $$ \Delta x \approx \frac{h}{2m_e \Delta v_x} $$ Plug the known; $$ \Delta x \approx \frac{(6.63\times 10^{-34})}{2(9.11\times 10^{-31}) (3.58-3.48)\times 10^5}\approx \color{red}{\bf 36.4}\;\rm nm$$
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