Sunday, 7 June 2020

wave particle duality - How can we calculate (relativisticly correct) ratio lambdae/lambdap if proton and electron have same speeds


This question is about group/phase velocities and also De Brogilie wavelength.


What I would like to know is how to derive ratio λe/λp (λe and λp are De Broglie wavelength for electron and proton) if we know that electron and proton have same velocities?


I know that when we say "velocity" v, this velocity is the same as "group velocity" vg. So for start I can calculate ratio for group velocities:


ve=vpvgevge=vevp=1


and similarly I can do for phase velocities vp:



vpevpp=c2vgec2vgp=vgpvge=1


But when i try to calculate the ratio for wavelengths I got stuck:


λeλp=hpehpp=pppe= I got stuck here where i don't knowhow to use relation vp=ve


Can anyone give me a hint? I was trying to use relation p=Ek2+2E0Ekc but I got lost...



Answer



Let's try to express the de Broglie wavelength λj of a particle in terms of its mass mj and velocity vj. (2πλj)2=(pj)2=1c2(E2jm2jc4)


Where we've used the relation E2=p2c2+m2c4.


From here we note that Ej=γ(vj)mjc2, where γ(v)=11v2jc2 to see that: (2πλj)2=γ(vj)1c2m2jc4


Since ve=vp, we see the only term not common between the two particles is their rest mass and so we find that: λeλp=mpme


Which to me is a surprising result.



No comments:

Post a Comment

Understanding Stagnation point in pitot fluid

What is stagnation point in fluid mechanics. At the open end of the pitot tube the velocity of the fluid becomes zero.But that should result...