Problem Set 2

(Physics 115A, Fall 2016

(Due on Wed., 10/12, in class)
1. Show that the recoil angle for a Compton electron is given by
cos = ((h)2-(h)2+p2c2)/(2hpc)
where is the incident photon frequency and is the frequency of the scattered photon. (10 points)
2. A 100-keV photon collides with an electron at rest. It is scattered through 90 o. What
is its energy after the collision? What is the kinetic energy in eV of the electron after the
collision, and what is the direction of recoil? (10 points)
3. Use the Bohr quantization rules to calculate the energy levels for a harmonic
oscillator, for which the energy is p2/2m+m 2r2/2, that is, the force is m 2r. Restrict
yourself to circular orbits. What is the analog of the Rydberg formula? Show that the
correspondence principle is satisfied for all values of the quantum number n used in
quantizing the angular momentum. (10 points)
4. Four possible transitions for a hydrogen atom are listed below.
(A) ni=7; nf=4, (B) ni=4; nf=7, (C) ni=2;nf=5, (D) ni=5;nf=3
(a) Which transition will emit the shortest wavelength photon? (b) For which transition
will the atom gain the most energy? (c) For which transition(s) does the atom loss
energy? (10 points)
5. Use the Bohr quantization rules to calculate the energy states for a potential given by
V(r) = V0 (r/a)k
with k very large. Sketch the form of the potential and show that the energy value
approach En Cn2 where C is a constant. (10 points)
6. The classical energy of a plane rotator is given by
E = L2/2I
where L is the angular momentum and I is the moment of inertia. Apply the Bohr
quantization rules to obtain the energy levels of the rotator. If the Bohr frequency
condition is assumed for the radiation in transition from states labeled by n1 to states
labeled by n2, show that (a) the correspondence principle holds, and (b) that it implies
that only transitions n = 1 should occur. (10 points)