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PHYS-271 HOMEWORK #1
Due on Friday Jan 30th at 14h25 in class. Late homework will not be graded.
1. Dimensional analysis
Planck realized the great importance of his constant h beyond a simple fitting parameter
in the quantum theory of light. In fact, he proposed that using the fundamental constant h, c
(the speed of light) and G (Newtons gravitational constant) one can construct a natural set of
units, or scales, related to length, time and mass. (I let you find the values and units of all these
quantities online; be careful of using international units).
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) 2 , ( hG
) 2 , and ( hc
a) Show that the expressions ( hG
G ) have dimensions of length, time
c3
c5
and mass and compute their numerical values. These quantities are known as Planck length,
Planck time, and Planck mass. Discuss the scales that you found here in relation to other scales
that you know.

b) You can directly use known quantities to get intuition on various natural scales implicated in quantum phenomena. For instance, use only h, me (electron mass), e (electron charge)
and 0 (vacuum permissivity) to find the expression of a quantity that has units of length. Divide
this quantity by , compute explicitly its value, and compare it to the radius of the hydrogen
atom. What do you conclude on the physics of atoms?

2. Light Quantization and the Photoelectric Eect

a) Calculate the energy of a photon whose frequency is a) 10 Hz, b) 10 GHz and c)
4 1016 Hz. Express your answer in electron volts. Determine the corresponding wavelengths.
b) The average power generated by the Sun is 1026 W. Assuming the average wavelength
is 600 nm, find the number of photons emitted in 1 s.
c) Light of wavelength 500 nm is incident on a metallic surface. If the stopping potential
for the photoelectric eect is 0.45V, find i) the maximum energy of the emitted electrons, ii) the
work function (parameter in the equation seen in class) and iii) the cuto wavelength.
3. The Quantum gene
Mutagenesis is the process by which biologists induce artificial mutations in organisms. It
is usually done through exposure of cells to high energy photons, which induce mutations in the
DNA. Max Delbruck, one of the first biophysicist, proposed in the 1930s a model of mutagenesis

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he named the quantum gene. In the modern version of this model, each letter of the DNA
can be mutated only if it is hit by a photon of sucient energy, exactly like electrons on the
photoelectric plate. We know by evaluation of natural mutation rates that the energy barrier
to jump to get a mutation is around 2.5eV .
a) The first mutagenesis experiments used X-rays. Compute the order of magnitude of
the energy of X-ray photons, and conclude on their eciency to induce mutations. Is radiology
dangerous ?
b) Imagine you make two mutagenesis experiments, one where light intensity is twice the
other. How would their result dier ?
c) Explain why exposure to UV can give you cancer on the long term while exposure to
visible spectrum is safe.
4. The de Broglie Waves of Matter
a) Calculate the de Broglie wavelength for a proton moving with a speed of 106 m/s.
b) Calculate the de Broglie wavelength for an electron with kinetic energy i) 2 eV and ii)
4 MeV.
c) Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of a 74 kg person running at a speed of 2 m/s.
Will this person interfere through a a door 1 meter wide?
d) Calculate what would h need to be for this person to interfere with the 1m wide door.
e) Now this person is in a room, and there are two 1m wide doors, separated by 2 m.
Assume h takes the value computed in d). If the person in the room wants to get something
outside, should he/she open 1 or 2 doors ? Justify your answer.
f) An electron has a de Broglie wavelength equal to the diameter of the hydrogen atom.
What is the kinetic energy of the electron? Compare it with the the ground state energy of the
hydrogen atom, =13.6 eV.