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REVIEW FOR THE LICENSURE EXAMINATIONS FOR TEACHERS

SUBJECT: MODERN PHYSICS
LECTURER: PROF. ROSANNA R. DUREZA

Relative Motion – motion is describe in the reference frame of the observer

Inertial frame of reference – reference frames which are at rest or moving with constant
velocity with respect to each other

Relative velocity is the vector difference between the velocities of two objects (as evaluated in
terms of a single coordinate system, usually an inertial frame of reference unless specifically
stated otherwise.)

Example: Given particles A and B are moving in an inertial coordinate system, then the relative
velocity of A with respect to B (also called the velocity of A relative to B, or ) is
VAB = VA – VB - relative velocity of A with respect to B

Conversely, the velocity of B relative to A is

VBA = VB – VA - relative velocity of B with respect to A

POSTULATES OF THE SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY

1. The laws of Physics are the same (invariant) for all inertial (accelerating)
observers.
2. The speed of light is a constant, independent of the motion of the source.

Galilean Transformation – relates the coordinate and time measurements between two
reference frames of relative velocity v (v is very small compare to the speed of light)

light)

The primed frame moves with velocity v in the x direction with

respect to the fixed reference frame. The reference frames coincide
at t=t'=0. The point x' is moving with the primed frame.
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Lorentz Transformation - relates the coordinate and time measurements between two
reference frames of relative velocity v (v approaches the speed of

The reverse transformation is:

Much of the literature of relativity uses the symbols β and γ as defined here to
simplify the writing of relativistic relationships.

Speed of Light

Experimental measurements of the speed of light have been refined in progressively more accurate
experiments since the seventeenth century. Recent experiments give a speed of

c = 299,792,458 ± 1.2 m/s

In vacuum, all electromagnetic waves travel at c, the speed of light.

Length Contraction

The length of any object in a moving frame will appear

foreshortened in the direction of motion, or contracted.
The amount of contraction can be calculated from the
Lorentz transformation. The length is maximum in the
frame in which the object is at rest.

Time Dilation
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A clock in a moving frame will be seen to be running

slow, or "dilated" according to the Lorentz
transformation. The time will always be shortest as
measured in its rest frame. The time measured in the
frame in which the clock is at rest is called the "proper
time".

Relativistic Mass

The increase in effective mass with speed is given by the expression

Relativistic Momentum

The relativistic momentum is given by

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Momentum of Photon

For a photon, the relativistic momentum expression

Relativistic Energy in Terms of Momentum

The famous Einstein relationship for energy

can be blended with the relativistic momentum expression

to give an alternative expression for energy.

Conceptual Framework: Relativity

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Conceptual Framework: General Relativity

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Relativistic Mechanical Quantities

A number of ordinary mechanical quantities take on a different form as the speed approaches the
speed of light.

NUCLEAR REACTIONS
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Nuclear fusion is the process by which multiple like-charged atomic nuclei join together to form a
heavier nucleus. It is accompanied by the release or absorption of energy, which allows matter to enter a
plasma state.

Nuclear fusion occurs naturally in stars. Fusion reactions power the stars and produce all but the lightest
elements in a process called nucleosynthesis. Although the fusion of lighter elements in stars releases
energy, production of the heavier elements absorbs energy.

When the fusion reaction is a sustained uncontrolled chain, it can result in a thermonuclear explosion,
such as that generated by a hydrogen bomb. Reactions which are not self-sustaining can still release
considerable energy, as well as large numbers of neutrons.

Artificial fusion in human enterprises has also been achieved, although has not yet been completely
controlled. Building upon the nuclear transmutation experiments of Ernest Rutherford done a few years
earlier, fusion of light nuclei (hydrogen isotopes) was first observed by Mark Oliphant in 1932; the steps
of the main cycle of nuclear fusion in stars were subsequently worked out by Hans Bethe throughout the
remainder of that decade. Research into fusion for military purposes began in the early 1940s as part of
the Manhattan Project, but was not successful until 1952. Research into controlled fusion for civilian
purposes began in the 1950s, and continues to this day.

Research into controlled fusion, with the aim of producing fusion power for the production of electricity,
has been conducted for over 50 years. At present, break-even (self-sustaining) controlled fusion reactions
have not been demonstrated in the few tokamak-type reactors around the world.[2] Workable designs for
a reactor which will theoretically deliver ten times more fusion energy than the amount needed to heat
up plasma to required temperatures (see ITER) is scheduled to be operational in 2018.

It takes considerable energy to force nuclei to fuse, even those of the lightest element, hydrogen. This is
because all nuclei have a positive charge (due to their protons), and as like charges repel, nuclei strongly
resist being put too close together. Accelerated to high speeds (that is, heated to thermonuclear
temperatures), they can overcome this electromagnetic repulsion and get close enough for the attractive
nuclear force to be sufficiently strong to achieve fusion..

The energy released in most nuclear reactions is much larger than that in chemical reactions, because
the binding energy that holds a nucleus together is far greater than the energy that holds electrons to a
nucleus. For example, the ionization energy gained by adding an electron to a hydrogen nucleus is 13.6
electron volts—less than one-millionth of the 17 MeV released in the D-T (deuterium-tritium) reaction
shown in the diagram to the right. Fusion reactions have an energy density many times greater than
nuclear fission; i.e., the reactions produce far greater energies per unit of mass even though individual
fission reactions are generally much more energetic than individual fusion ones, which are themselves
millions of times more energetic than chemical reactions. Only direct conversion of mass into energy,
such as that caused by the collision of matter and antimatter, is more energetic per unit of mass than
nuclear fusion

Nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts, often
producing free neutrons and lighter nuclei, which may eventually produce photons (in the form of gamma
rays). Fission of heavy elements is an exothermic reaction which can release large amounts of energy
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both as electromagnetic radiation and as kinetic energy of the fragments (heating the bulk material
where fission takes place). For fission to produce energy, the total binding energy of the resulting
elements has to be higher than that of the starting element. Fission is a form of nuclear transmutation
because the resulting fragments are not the same element as the original atom.

Nuclear fission produces energy for nuclear power and to drive the explosion of nuclear weapons. Both
uses are made possible because certain substances called nuclear fuels undergo fission when struck by
free neutrons and in turn generate neutrons when they break apart. This makes possible a self-sustaining
chain reaction that releases energy at a controlled rate in a nuclear reactor or at a very rapid uncontrolled
rate in a nuclear weapon.

The amount of free energy contained in nuclear fuel is millions of times the amount of free energy
contained in a similar mass of chemical fuel such as gasoline, making nuclear fission a very tempting
source of energy; however, the products of nuclear fission are radioactive and remain so for significant
amounts of time, giving rise to a nuclear waste problem. Concerns over nuclear waste accumulation and
over the destructive potential of nuclear weapons may counterbalance the desirable qualities of fission as
an energy source, and give rise to ongoing political debate over nuclear power.

Photoelectric Effect - The ejection of electron from a metal surface when high frequency light falls on
it

Analysis of data from the photoelectric experiment showed that the energy
of the ejected electrons was proportional to the frequency of the illuminating
light. This showed that whatever was knocking the electrons out had an
energy proportional to light frequency. The remarkable fact that the ejection
energy was independent of the total energy of illumination showed that the
interaction must be like that of a particle which gave all of its energy to the
electron! This fit in well with Planck's hypothesis that light in the blackbody
radiation experiment could exist only in discrete bundles with energy

E = hν = Φ + KE
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Work Functions for Photoelectric Effect

Element Work Function(eV)

Aluminum 4.08
Beryllium 5.0
Cadmium 4.07
Calcium 2.9
Carbon 4.81
Cesium 2.1
Cobalt 5.0
Copper 4.7
Gold 5.1
Iron 4.5
Lead 4.14
Magnesium 3.68
Mercury 4.5
Nickel 5.01
Niobium 4.3
Potassium 2.3
Platinum 6.35
Selenium 5.11
Silver 4.73
Sodium 2.28
Uranium 3.6
Zinc 4.3
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Polariza
tion by Reflection
Since the reflection coefficient for light which has electric field parallel to the plane of incidence
goes to zero at some angle between 0° and 90°, the reflected light at that angle is linearly
polarized with its electric field vectors perpendicular to the plane of incidence and parallel to the
plane of the surface from which it is reflecting. The angle at which this occurs is called the
polarizing angle or the Brewster angle. At other angles the reflected light is partially polarized.

From Fresnel's equations it can be determined that the parallel reflection coefficient is zero when
the incident and transmitted angles sum to 90°. The use of Snell's law gives an expression for the
Brewster angle.
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Wave-Particle Duality: Light

Does light consist of particles or waves? When one focuses upon the different types of phenomena
observed with light, a strong case can be built for a wave picture:

Interference Diffraction Polarization

By the turn of the 20th century, most physicists were convinced by phenomena lke the above that
light could be fully described by a wave, with no necessity for invoking a particle nature. But the
story was not over.
Phenomenon Can be explained in terms of waves. Can be explained in terms of particles.
Reflection

Refraction

Interference

Diffraction

Polarization

Photoelectric effect

Most commonly observed phenomena with light can be explained by waves. But the
photoelectric effect suggested a particle nature for light. Then electrons too were found to exhibit
dual natures.

The Photoelectric Effect

The remarkable aspects of the photoelectric effect

when it was first observed were:

1. The electrons were emitted immediately -

The details of the photoelectric effect were in
direct contradiction to the expectations of very
no time lag!
2. Increasing the intensity of the light
increased the number of photoelectrons, but
not their maximum kinetic energy!
3. Red light will not cause the ejection of
electrons, no matter what the intensity!
4. A weak violet light will eject only a few
electrons, but their maximum kinetic
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well developed classical physics.

energies are greater than those for intense
light of longer wavelengths!
The explanation marked one of the major steps
toward quantum theory.