Good ideas explain
more than one thing. In addition to qualitatively explaining how the four nucleons in an
particle can get out of the nucleus, the detailed theory also explains quantitatively the half-life of various nuclei that undergo
decay. This description is what Gamow and others devised, and it works for
decay half-lives that vary by 17 orders of magnitude. Experiments have shown that the more energetic the
decay of a particular nuclide is, the shorter is its half-life.
Tunneling explains this in the following manner: For the decay to be more energetic, the nucleons must have more energy in the nucleus and should be able to ascend a little closer to the rim. The barrier is therefore not as thick for more energetic decay, and the exponential decrease of the wave function inside the barrier is not as great. Thus the probability of finding the particle outside the barrier is greater, and the half-life is shorter.
Tunneling as an effect also occurs in quantum mechanical systems other than nuclei. Electrons trapped in solids can tunnel from one object to another if the barrier between the objects is thin enough. The process is the same in principle as described for
decay. It is far more likely for a thin barrier than a thick one. Scanning tunneling electron microscopes function on this principle. The current of electrons that travels between a probe and a sample tunnels through a barrier and is very sensitive to its thickness, allowing detection of individual atoms as shown in
[link] .
Phet explorations: quantum tunneling and wave packets
Watch quantum "particles" tunnel through barriers. Explore the properties of the wave functions that describe these particles.
Section summary
Tunneling is a quantum mechanical process of potential energy barrier penetration. The concept was first applied to explain
decay, but tunneling is found to occur in other quantum mechanical systems.
Conceptual questions
A physics student caught breaking conservation laws is imprisoned. She leans against the cell wall hoping to tunnel out quantum mechanically. Explain why her chances are negligible. (This is so in any classical situation.)
When a nucleus
decays, does the
particle move continuously from inside the nucleus to outside? That is, does it travel each point along an imaginary line from inside to out? Explain.
Derive an approximate relationship between the energy of
decay and half-life using the following data. It may be useful to graph the log of
against
to find some straight-line relationship.
A 2.00-T magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the path of charged particles in a bubble chamber. What is the radius of curvature of the path of a 10 MeV proton in this field? Neglect any slowing along its path.
(a) Write the decay equation for the
decay of
. (b) What energy is released in this decay? The mass of the daughter nuclide is 231.036298 u. (c) Assuming the residual nucleus is formed in its ground state, how much energy goes to the
particle?
The relatively scarce naturally occurring calcium isotope
has a half-life of about
. (a) A small sample of this isotope is labeled as having an activity of 1.0 Ci. What is the mass of the
in the sample? (b) What is unreasonable about this result? (c) What assumption is responsible?
A physicist scatters
rays from a substance and sees evidence of a nucleus
in radius. (a) Find the atomic mass of such a nucleus. (b) What is unreasonable about this result? (c) What is unreasonable about the assumption?
a)
u
(b) The greatest known atomic masses are about 260. This result found in (a) is extremely large.
(c) The assumed radius is much too large to be reasonable.
A frazzled theoretical physicist reckons that all conservation laws are obeyed in the decay of a proton into a neutron, positron, and neutrino (as in
decay of a nucleus) and sends a paper to a journal to announce the reaction as a possible end of the universe due to the spontaneous decay of protons. (a) What energy is released in this decay? (b) What is unreasonable about this result? (c) What assumption is responsible?
(a)
(b) Negative energy implies energy input is necessary and the reaction cannot be spontaneous.
(c) Although all conversation laws are obeyed, energy must be supplied, so the assumption of spontaneous decay is incorrect.
Consider the decay of radioactive substances in the Earth’s interior. The energy emitted is converted to thermal energy that reaches the earth’s surface and is radiated away into cold dark space. Construct a problem in which you estimate the activity in a cubic meter of earth rock? And then calculate the power generated. Calculate how much power must cross each square meter of the Earth’s surface if the power is dissipated at the same rate as it is generated. Among the things to consider are the activity per cubic meter, the energy per decay, and the size of the Earth.
A golfer on a fairway is 70 m away from the green, which sits below the level of the fairway by 20 m. If the golfer hits the ball at an angle of 40° with an initial speed of 20 m/s, how close to the green does she come?
A mouse of mass 200 g falls 100 m down a vertical mine shaft and lands at the bottom with a speed of 8.0 m/s. During its fall, how much work is done on the mouse by air resistance
Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with the study of matter,it composition,it structure and the changes it undergoes
Adjei
please, I'm a physics student and I need help in physics
Adjanou
chemistry could also be understood like the sexual attraction/repulsion of the male and female elements. the reaction varies depending on the energy differences of each given gender. + masculine -female.
Pedro
A ball is thrown straight up.it passes a 2.0m high window 7.50 m off the ground on it path up and takes 1.30 s to go past the window.what was the ball initial velocity
2. A sled plus passenger with total mass 50 kg is pulled 20 m across the snow (0.20) at constant velocity by a force directed 25° above the horizontal. Calculate (a) the work of the applied force, (b) the work of friction, and (c) the total work.
you have been hired as an espert witness in a court case involving an automobile accident. the accident involved car A of mass 1500kg which crashed into stationary car B of mass 1100kg. the driver of car A applied his brakes 15 m before he skidded and crashed into car B. after the collision, car A s
can someone explain to me, an ignorant high school student, why the trend of the graph doesn't follow the fact that the higher frequency a sound wave is, the more power it is, hence, making me think the phons output would follow this general trend?
Nevermind i just realied that the graph is the phons output for a person with normal hearing and not just the phons output of the sound waves power, I should read the entire thing next time
Joseph
Follow up question, does anyone know where I can find a graph that accuretly depicts the actual relative "power" output of sound over its frequency instead of just humans hearing
Joseph
"Generation of electrical energy from sound energy | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore" ***ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7150687?reload=true
A string is 3.00 m long with a mass of 5.00 g. The string is held taut with a tension of 500.00 N applied to the string. A pulse is sent down the string. How long does it take the pulse to travel the 3.00 m of the string?