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 40 - One-Dimensional Quantum Mechanics - Exercises and Problems - Page 1213: 10

Answer

${\bf 2.28} \;\rm pm$

Work Step by Step

We know that the penetration distance is given by $$ \eta = \frac{\hbar}{\sqrt{2m(U_0 - E)}} \tag 1$$ We are given that the helium atom's energy is $ 1.0 \; \rm{eV} $ below $ U_0 $, so that $U_0-E=1.0$ eV. We are dealing with a helium atom, so we need to find the mass of a helium atom, which contains 4 protons, is given by $ m_{\rm{_{He}}} =4M_{\rm _{He}}=4(1.67 \times 10^{-27}) \; \rm{kg}$ Substitute these known into (1); $$ \eta = \frac{(1.055 \times 10^{-34})}{\sqrt{2 \times 4(1.67 \times 10^{-27}) (1)(1.602 \times 10^{-19})}} $$ $$ \eta =\color{red}{\bf 2.28 \times 10^{-12}} \;\rm m $$
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