A-level Physics

OCR B (Advancing Physics)

Contents

1 AS 1

2 Optics 2
2.1 Lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1.1 Curvature of Wavefronts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1.2 Power of lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1.3 The Lens Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1.4 Types of Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.5 Magnication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.6 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2 Refraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2.1 Reection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2.2 Refraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2.3 Total Internal Reection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3 Communications 5
3.1 Digital Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.1.1 Digital Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.1.2 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2 Digital Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2.1 Mean Smoothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2.2 Median Smoothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2.3 Edge Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.3 Digitisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.3.1 Digitisation & Reconstruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.3.2 Sampling Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.3.3 Number of Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.3.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.4 Signal Frequencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.4.1 Multiple Frequencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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3.4.2 Frequency Spectra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3.4.3 Fundamental Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.4.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.5 Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.5.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

4 Electricity 11
4.1 Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.1.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.2 Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.2.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.3 Voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.3.1 Electromotive Force (EMF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.3.2 Potential Dierence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.3.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.4 Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.4.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.5 Resistance and Conductance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.5.1 Ohms Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.5.2 In Series Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.5.3 In Parallel Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.5.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.6 Internal Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.6.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.7 Potential Dividers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.7.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.8 Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.8.1 Temperature Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.8.2 Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.8.3 Signal Amplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.8.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.9 Resistivity and Conductivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.9.1 Symbols and Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.9.2 Formulae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.9.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.10 Semiconductors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.10.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.10.2 See Also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

5 Material Structure 19
5.1 Stress, Strain & the Young Modulus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5.1.1 By Micheore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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5.1.2 Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5.1.3 Strain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5.1.4 Youngs Modulus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5.1.5 Stress-Strain Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5.1.6 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5.2 Metals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5.2.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.3 Polymers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.3.1 Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.3.2 Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.3.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.3.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

6 Waves 24
6.1 What is a wave? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
6.1.1 Denitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
6.1.2 The nature of a wave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
6.1.3 Velocity, frequency and wavelength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
6.1.4 The problem of explaining the nature of light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6.1.5 Types of Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6.1.6 Superposition / Interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6.1.7 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.2 Phasors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.2.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6.3 Standing Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6.3.1 Frequencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6.3.2 Pipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6.3.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6.4 Youngs Slits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6.4.1 Calculating the angles at which fringes occur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6.4.2 Calculating the distances angles correspond to on the screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6.4.3 Diraction Grating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6.4.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6.5 Diraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6.5.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6.6 Finding the Distance of a Remote Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6.6.1 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

7 Quantum Physics 32
7.1 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7.1.1 Evidence for the Quantum Behaviour of Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7.1.2 The Relationship between Energy and Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
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7.1.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
7.2 Quantum Behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
7.2.1 Many Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
7.2.2 Calculating Probabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
7.2.3 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
7.3 Electron Behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
7.3.1 Frequency and Kinetic Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
7.3.2 De Broglie Wavelength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
7.3.3 Potential Dierence and Kinetic Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
7.3.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

8 Mechanics 38
8.1 Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
8.1.1 What is a vector? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
8.1.2 Vector Notation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
8.1.3 Vector Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
8.1.4 Vector Addition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
8.1.5 Predicting Parabolas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
8.1.6 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
8.2 Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
8.2.1 Distance-time Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
8.2.2 Position-time Graphs or Displacement - Time Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
8.2.3 Velocity-time Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
8.2.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
8.3 Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
8.3.1 Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
8.3.2 Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
8.3.3 Derivations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
8.3.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
8.4 Forces and Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
8.4.1 Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
8.4.2 Work Done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
8.4.3 Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
8.4.4 Gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
8.4.5 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

9 A2 44

10 Decay 45
10.1 Exponential Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
10.1.1 Growth and Decay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
10.1.2 Exponential Relationships in the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
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10.1.3 Mathematical Derivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

10.1.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
10.2 Capacitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
10.2.1 Exponential Decay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
10.2.2 Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
10.2.3 Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
10.2.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
10.3 Radioactive Decay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
10.3.1 Decay Constant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
10.3.2 Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
10.3.3 Decay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
10.3.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
10.4 Half-lives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
10.4.1 Half Life of a Radioisotope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
10.4.2 Half-Life of a Capacitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
10.4.3 Time Constant of a Capacitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
10.4.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

11 Gravity 50
11.1 Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
11.1.1 Gravitational Force Inside an Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
11.1.2 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
11.2 Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
11.2.1 Acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
11.2.2 Field Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
11.2.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
11.3 Potential Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
11.3.1 Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
11.3.2 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
11.4 Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
11.4.1 Equipotentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
11.4.2 Summary of Gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
11.4.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

12 Mechanics 54
12.1 Simple Harmonic Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
12.1.1 Angular Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
12.1.2 Time Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
12.1.3 Velocity and Acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
12.1.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
12.2 Energy in Simple Harmonic Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
12.2.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
vi CONTENTS

12.3 Damping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
12.3.1 Critical Damping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
12.3.2 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
12.4 Resonance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
12.4.1 Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
12.5 Conservation of Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
12.5.1 Collisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
12.5.2 Elasticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
12.5.3 Explosions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
12.5.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
12.6 Forces and Impulse in Collisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
12.6.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
12.7 Rockets, Hoses and Machine Guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
12.7.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
12.8 Circular Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
12.8.1 Angular Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
12.8.2 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

13 Astrophysics 61
13.1 Radar and Triangulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
13.1.1 Radar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
13.1.2 Triangulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
13.1.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
13.2 Large Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
13.2.1 Light Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
13.2.2 Astronomical Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
13.2.3 Parsecs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
13.2.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
13.3 Orbits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
13.3.1 Keplers Third Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
13.3.2 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
13.4 Doppler Eect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
13.4.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
13.5 The Big Bang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
13.5.1 Hubbles Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
13.5.2 The Age of the Universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
13.5.3 More Doppler Eect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
13.5.4 Evidence for the Big Bang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
13.5.5 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
13.5.6 Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

14 Thermodynamics 66
CONTENTS vii

14.1 Heat and Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

14.1.1 Changes of State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
14.1.2 Activation Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
14.1.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
14.2 Specic Heat Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
14.2.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
14.3 Ideal Gases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
14.3.1 Boyles Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
14.3.2 Charles Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
14.3.3 Amount Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
14.3.4 Pressure Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
14.3.5 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
14.4 Kinetic Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
14.4.1 Derivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
14.4.2 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
14.5 Boltzmann Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
14.5.1 Derivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
14.5.2 A Graph of this Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
14.5.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

15 Magnetic Fields 71
15.1 Flux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
15.1.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
15.2 Induction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
15.2.1 Flux Linkage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
15.2.2 Faradays Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
15.2.3 Lenzs Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
15.2.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
15.3 Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
15.3.1 Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
15.3.2 Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
15.3.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
15.4 Transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
15.4.1 Ideal Transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
15.4.2 Eddy Currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
15.4.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
15.5 Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
15.5.1 Simple DC Motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
15.5.2 Three-phase Motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
15.5.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
15.6 Generators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
15.6.1 Moving Coil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
viii CONTENTS

15.6.2 Moving Magnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

15.6.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

16 Electric Fields 78
16.1 Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
16.1.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
16.2 Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
16.2.1 Special Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
16.2.2 Field Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
16.2.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
16.3 Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
16.3.1 Relationship to Electric Potential Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
16.3.2 Relationship to Electric Field Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
16.3.3 Equipotentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
16.3.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
16.4 Potential Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
16.4.1 The Electronvolt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
16.4.2 Summary of Electric Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
16.4.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

17 Particle Physics 82
17.1 The Standard Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
17.1.1 Bosons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
17.1.2 Fermions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
17.1.3 Generations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
17.1.4 Antiparticles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
17.1.5 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
17.2 Quarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
17.2.1 Generations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
17.2.2 Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
17.2.3 Hadrons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
17.2.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
17.3 Bosons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
17.3.1 Feynman Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
17.3.2 Photons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
17.3.3 W and Z Bosons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
17.3.4 Gluons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
17.3.5 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
17.4 Leptons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
17.4.1 Electrons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
17.4.2 Neutrinos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
17.4.3 Lepton Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
CONTENTS ix

17.4.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
17.5 Millikans Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
17.5.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
17.6 Pair Production and Annihilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
17.6.1 Pair Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
17.6.2 Annihilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
17.6.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
17.7 Particle Accelerators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
17.7.1 Linear Accelerators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
17.7.2 Cyclotrons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
17.7.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
17.8 Cloud Chambers and Mass Spectrometers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
17.8.1 Cloud Chambers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
17.8.2 Mass Spectrometers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
17.8.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

18 Nuclear Physics 90
18.1 Quantum Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
18.1.1 Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
18.1.2 Pauli Exclusion Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
18.2 Radioactive Emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
18.2.1 Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
18.2.2 Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
18.2.3 Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
18.2.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
18.3 Energy Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
18.3.1 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
18.4 Fission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
18.4.1 Chain Reaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
18.4.2 Binding Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
18.4.3 Neutron Moderator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
18.4.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
18.5 Fusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
18.5.1 Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
18.5.2 Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
18.5.3 Binding Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
18.5.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
18.6 Binding Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
18.6.1 The Unied Atomic Mass Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
18.6.2 Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
18.6.3 The Binding Energy Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
18.6.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
x CONTENTS

18.7 Risks, Doses and Dose Equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

18.7.1 Risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
18.7.2 Absorbed Dose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
18.7.3 Dose Equivalent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
18.7.4 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

19 Appendices 96
19.1 Trigonometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
19.2 Logarithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
19.3 Delta - 'dierence in' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
19.4 Sigma - 'sum of' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
19.5 Derivation of Equations for Simple Harmonic Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

20 Worked Solutions 98
20.1 Lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
20.2 Refraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
20.3 Digital Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
20.4 Digital Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
20.5 Digitisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
20.6 Signal Frequencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
20.7 Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
20.8 Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
20.9 Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
20.10Voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
20.11Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
20.12Resistance and Conductance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
20.13Internal Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
20.14Potential Dividers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
20.15Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
20.16Resistivity and Conductivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
20.17Semiconductors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
20.18Stress, Strain & the Young Modulus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
20.19Metals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
20.20Polymers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
20.21What is a wave? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
20.22Phasors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
20.23Standing Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
20.24Youngs Slits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
20.25Diraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
20.26Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
20.27Electron Behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
20.28Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
CONTENTS xi

20.29Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
20.30Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
20.31Forces and Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
20.32Exponential Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
20.33Capacitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
20.34Radioactive Decay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
20.35Half-lives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
20.36Gravitational Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
20.37Gravitational Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
20.38Gravitational Potential Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
20.39Gravitational Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
20.40Simple Harmonic Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
20.41Energy in Simple Harmonic Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
20.42Damping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
20.43Conservation of Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
20.44Forces and Impulse in Collisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
20.45Rockets, Hoses and Machine Guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
20.46Circular Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
20.47Radar and Triangulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
20.48Large Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
20.49Orbits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
20.50Doppler Eect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
20.51The Big Bang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
20.52Heat and Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
20.53Specic Heat Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
20.54Ideal Gases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
20.55Kinetic Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
20.56Boltzmann Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
20.57Magnetic Flux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
20.58Induction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
20.59Magnetic Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
20.60Transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
20.61Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
20.62Generators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
20.63Electric Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
20.64Electric Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
20.65Electric Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
20.66Electric Potential Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
20.67The Standard Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
20.68Quarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
20.69Bosons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
xii CONTENTS

20.70Leptons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
20.71Millikans Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
20.72Pair Production and Annihilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
20.73Particle Accelerators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
20.74Cloud Chambers and Mass Spectrometers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
20.75Radioactive Emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
20.76Energy Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
20.77Fission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
20.78Fusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
20.79Binding Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
20.80Risks, Doses and Dose Equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

21 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses 133

21.1 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
21.2 Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
21.3 Content license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Chapter 1

AS

1
Chapter 2

Optics

2.1 Lenses 2.1.2 Power of lenses

2.1.1 Curvature of Wavefronts

Light can be viewed as beams travelling between points.

However, from most light sources, the light radiates out-
wards as a series of wavefronts. Light from a light source
is bent - wavefronts of light have a property known as
curvature.

Calculating the power of a lens

The function of a lens is to increase or decrease the cur-

vature of a wavefront. Lenses have a 'power'. This is the
curvature which the lens adds to the wavefront. Power is
measured in dioptres, D, and is given by the formula:
1
P = f ,
Decreasing curvatures of wavefronts where f equals the focal length of the lens. This is the
distance between the lens and the point where an image
will be in focus, if the wavefronts entering the other side
As light travels further away from its source, its curvature of the lens are parallel.
decreases. Consider a sphere expanding gradually from
a point, which represents a given wavefront of light. As
the sphere expands, the curvature of its surface decreases
when we look at any part of the surface with a constant 2.1.3 The Lens Equation
area. It should be noted at this point that light from a
source innitely far away has 0 curvature - it is straight. Overall, then, the formula relating the curvature of the
This is useful, as ambient light (light from a source that is
wavefronts leaving a lens to the curvature of the wave-
far away) can be assumed to have a curvature of 0, as the fronts entering it is:
dierence between this and its actual curvature is negli-
1 1 1
gible. v = u + f

The curvature of a wavefront is given as: where v is the distance between the lens (its centre) and
the in-focus image formed, u is the distance between the
C = v1 , lens (its centre) and the object which the in-focus image
where v is the distance from the wavefront to the in-focus is of, and f is the focal length of the lens. The power of
image depicted by the light. Curvature is measured in the lens can be substituted in for the reciprocal of f, as
dioptres (D). they are the same thing.

2
2.2. REFRACTION 3

2.1.5 Magnication

Magnication is a measure of how much an image has

been enlarged by a lens. It is given by the formula:
h2
M= h1
where h1 and h2 are the heights of the image (or object)
before and after being magnied, respectively. If an im-
age is shrunk by a lens, the magnication is between 0
and 1.
Magnication can also be given as:
v
M= u

The lens equation, applied to a single pixel. where v and u are the image and object distances. There-
fore:
h2 v
M= h1 = u
The Cartesian Convention
An easy way to remember this in the middle of an exam
is the formula:
If we were to place a diagram of the lens on a grid, la-
belled with cartesian co-ordinates, we would discover that I = AM
measuring the distance of the object distance is negative, where I is image size, A is actual size of the object M is
in comparison to the image distance. As a result, the the magnication factor.
value for u must always be negative. This is known as
the Cartesian convention.
This means that, if light enters the lens with a positive 2.1.6 Questions
curvature, it will leave with a negative curvature unless
the lens is powerful enough to make the light leave with a 1. A lens has a focal length of 10cm. What is its power,
positive curvature. in dioptres?
2. Light reected o a cactus 1.5m from a 20D lens forms
an image. How many metres is it from the other side of
2.1.4 Types of Lens the lens?
3. A lens in an RGB projector causes an image to focus
on a large screen. What sort of lens is it? Is its power
positive or negative?
4. What is the focal length of a 100D lens?
5. The lm in a camera is 5mm from a lens when au-
tomatically focussed on someones face, 10m from the
camera. What is the power of the lens?
6. The light from a candle is enlarged by a factor of 0.5
by a lens, and produces an image of a candle, 0.05m high,
on a wall. What is the height of the candle?

2.2 Refraction
Types of lens
2.2.1 Reection
There are two types of lens:
Reection is when light 'bounces o a material which is
Converging lenses add curvature to the wavefronts, dierent to the one in which it is travelling. You may
causing them to converge more. These have a positive remember from GCSE (or equivalent) level that we can
power, and have a curved surface which is wider in the calculate the direction the light will take if we consider a
middle than at the rim. line known as the 'normal'. The normal is perpendicular
Diverging lenses remove curvature from the wavefronts, to the boundary between the two materials, at the point at
causing them to diverge more. These have a negative which the light is reected. The angle between the normal
power, and have a curved surface with a dip in the middle. and the ray of light is known as the angle of reection (r).
4 CHAPTER 2. OPTICS

Critical Angle

The critical angle is the minimum angle of incidence, for

a given material, at which rays of light are totally inter-
nally reected. At the critical angle (C), the angle of re-
fraction is 90, as any smaller angle of incidence will re-
sult in refraction. Therefore:
sin 90
n= sin r
Since sin 90 = 1:
1
n= sin r
sin r = n1 = sin C

Angles of reection and incidence
The ray of light will be reected back at the same angle as
it arrived at the normal, on the other side of the normal.
In word form, in a material with refractive index n, light
will be totally internally reected at angles greater than
the inverse sine of the reciprocal of the refractive index.
2.2.4 Questions

2.2.2 Refraction 1. A ray of light is reected from a mirror. Its angle to

the normal when it reaches the mirror is 70. What is its
Refraction is when light changes velocity when it travels angle of reection?
across the boundary between two materials. This causes 2. The speed of light in diamond is 1.24 x 108 m/s. What
it to change direction. The angle between the normal and is its refractive index?
the refracted ray of light is known as the angle of refrac-
tion (r). 3. The refractive index of ice is 1.31. What is the speed
of light in ice?
4. A ray of light passes the boundary between air and a
The Refractive Index
transparent material. The angle of refraction is 20, and
the angle of incidence is 10. What is the speed of light
The refractive index is a measure of how much light will
in this material? Why is it impossible for this material to
be refracted on the boundary between a material and a
exist?
'reference material'. This reference material is usually
either air or a vacuum. It is given by the following for- 5. What is the critical angle of a beam of light leaving a
mula: transparent material with a refractive index of 2?
n= c0
c1
Worked Solutions
where c0 is the speed of light in a vacuum (3 x 108 m/s)
and c1 is the speed of light in the material. 2.2.5 See also
Optics/Refraction
Snells Law

We can relate the refractive index to the angles of inci-

dence (i) and refraction (r) using the following formula,
known as Snells Law:
sin i c0
n= sin r = c1

2.2.3 Total Internal Reection

Normally, when light passes through a non-opaque ma-
terial, it is both reected and refracted. However, some-
times, rays of light are totally internally reected; in other
words, they are not refracted, so no light goes outside the
material. This is useful in optic bres, which allow a sig-
nal to be transmitted long distances at the speed of light
because the light is totally internally reected.
Chapter 3
Communications
3.1 Digital Storage
3.1.1 Digital Data
There are two dierent types of data: analogue and digi-
tal. Analogue data can, potentially, take on any value. Ex-
amples include a page of handwritten text, a cassette, or a
painting. Digital data can only take on a set range of val-
ues. This enables it to be processed by a computer. Ex-
amples include all les stored on computers, CDs, DVDs,
N = 2I
etc.
Hence:
Pixels
Enlarged image of a computer, showing individual pixels.
Digital images are made up of pixels. A pixel represents
the value of an individual square of the image, and it has
a value assigned to it. The total number of pixels in an
image is just like the formula for the area of a rectangle:
number of pixels across multiplied by number of pixels
down. When representing text, each pixel is a component
of one character (for example, a letter, a number, a space,
or a new line), it is not the entirety of a character. For
instance if the letter 'E' was to be taken as an example and
a section was to be taken through the three protrusions;
a minimum of seven (7) pixels would be used, one white
pixel at the top, then one black (for the rst protrusion),
then one white for the gap, then a black one for the centre
- and so on. A type face - such as Helvetica, or Times
New Roman, maybe made up of a more complex pattern
of pixels to allow for serif details.
5
Bits
Each pixels value is digital: it takes on a denite value.
In a higher quality image, each pixel can take on a greater
variety of values. Each pixels value is encoded as a num-
ber of bits. A bit is a datum with a value of either 0 or 1.
The more values a pixel can take on, the more bits must
be used to represent its value. The number of values (N)
that a pixel represented by I bits can take on is given by
the formula:
I = log log N
log 2 0.301029996 Log base 10 used here. For
N
ratios, the base of the log does not matter, now we have
evaluated log 2 using base 10 log N must be base 10 as
well.
A pixel may be represented by values for red, green and
blue, in which case each colour channel will have to be
encoded separately. When dealing with text, the number
of values is equal to the number of possible characters.
Overall, for an image:
Amount of information in an image (bits) = number of
pixels x bits per pixel.
Bytes
A byte is equal to 8 bits. The major dierence between
bytes and SI units is that when prexes (such as kilo-,
mega-, etc.) are attached, we do not multiply by 103 as
the prex increases. Instead, we multiply by 1024. So,
1 kilobyte = 1024 bytes, 1 megabyte = 10242 bytes, 1
gigabyte = 10243 bytes, and 1 terabyte = 10244 bytes.
3.1.2 Questions
1. An image transmitted down a SVGA video cable is
800 pixels wide, and 600 pixels high. How many pixels
are there in the image?
2. A grayscale image is encoded using 3 bits. How many
possible values can each pixel have?
3. The characters in a text document are numbered from
6 CHAPTER 3. COMMUNICATIONS

0 - 255. How many bits should each character be encoded of it. If the result is negative, we treat it as 0. So, taking
with? the median-smoothed image above, edge detection gives
4. A page contains 30 lines of text, with an average of the following result:
15 characters on each line. Each character is represented
by 4 bits. How many megabytes of uncompressed stor-
age will a book consisting of 650 pages like this ll on a 3.2.4 Questions
computers hard disk?
1. How could the above methods be applied to a digital
5. A 10cm wide square image is scanned into a computer. sound sample?
Each pixel is encoded using 3 channels (red, green and
blue), and each channel can take on 256 possible values. 2. Which of the above methods would be suitable for
One pixel is 0.01 mm wide. How much information does smoothing sharp edges? Why?
the scanned image contain? Express your answer using 3. Use median smoothing to remove noise from the fol-
an appropriate unit. lowing image of a white cat in a snowstorm (the black
Worked Solutions pixels have a value of 255):
4. Why would mean sampling not be appropriate for
smoothing the image given in question 3?
3.2 Digital Processing 5. Use mean smoothing to remove noise from the follow-
ing image of a black cat in a coal cellar:
As we have already seen, a digital image consists of pix-
Worked Solutions
els, with each pixel having a value which represents its
colour. For the purposes of understanding how digital
images are manipulated, we are going to consider an 8-
bit grayscale image, with pixel values ranging from 0 to 3.3 Digitisation
255, giving us 256 (28 ) levels of grey. 0 represents white,
and 255 represents black. This is the image we are going Digitisation of a signal is the process by which an ana-
to consider: logue signal is converted to a digital signal.
The image consists of an edge, and some random noise.
There are two methods of smoothing this image (i.e. re-
moving noise) that you need to know about: 3.3.1 Digitisation & Reconstruction

Let us consider the voltage output from a microphone.

3.2.1 Mean Smoothing The signal which enters the microphone (sound) is an ana-
logue signal - it can be any of a potentially innite range
In order to attempt to remove noise, we can take the mean of values, and may look something like this waveform
average of all the pixels surrounding each pixel (and the (from an articial (MIDI) piano):
pixel itself) as the value of the pixel in the smoothed im-
age, as follows:
This does remove the noise, but it blurs the image.

When the microphone converts this signal to an electri-

3.2.2 Median Smoothing cal signal, it samples the signal a number of times, and
transmits the level of the signal at that point. The follow-
A far better method is, instead of taking the mean, to take ing diagram shows sample times (vertical black lines) and
the median, as follows: the transmitted signal (the red line):
For this image, this gives a perfect result. In more com-
plicated images, however, data will still be lost, although,
in general, less data will be lost by taking the median than
by taking the mean.
When we wish to listen to the sound, the digital signal
has to be reconstructed. The gaps between the samples
3.2.3 Edge Detection are lled in, but, as you can see, the reconstructed signal
is not the same as the original sound:
We can detect the positioning of edges in an image using
the 'Laplace rule', or 'Laplace kernel'. For each pixel in
the image, we multiply its value by 4, and then subtract the
values of the pixels above and below it, and on either side
3.4. SIGNAL FREQUENCIES 7

3.3.2 Sampling Rate

The sampling rate when digitising an analogue signal is

dened as the number of samples per. second, and is
measured in Hertz (Hz), as it is a frequency. You can
calculate the sampling rate using the formula:
No. of samples
Sampling Rate (Hz) = No. of seconds
The higher the sampling rate, the closer the reconstructed
signal is to the original signal, but, unfortunately, we are
limited by the bandwidth available. Theoretically, a sam-
pling rate of twice the highest frequency of the original Worked Solutions
signal will result in a perfect reconstructed signal. In the
example given above, the sampling rate is far too low,
hence the loss of information.

3.3.3 Number of Levels

Another factor which may limit the quality of the recon-

structed signal is the number of bits with which the signal
is encoded. For example, if we use 3 bits per. sample,
we only have 8 (23 ) levels, so, when sampling, we must
take the nearest value represented by one of these levels.
This leads to quantization errors - when a sample does 3.4 Signal Frequencies
not equal the value of the original signal at a given sam-
ple point.

The frequency of a wave describes how many waves go

3.3.4 Questions past a certain point in one second. Frequency is measured
in Hertz (usually abbreviated Hz), and can be calculated
using the formula:
1. Take samples for the signal below every 0.1ms, and
then produce a reconstructed signal. How does it dier V = f
from the original? where V is the velocity of the wave (in ms1 ), f is the
frequency of the wave (in Hz), and (the Greek letter
lambda) is the wavelength of the wave (distance from one
peak / trough to the next, in m).

2. A signal is sampled for 5 seconds at a sampling rate of

20 kHz. How many samples were taken?
3. Most sounds created by human speech except for 'ss
and '' have a maximum frequency of 4 kHz. What is a 3.4.1 Multiple Frequencies
suitable sampling rate for a low-quality telephone?
4. Using a sampling rate of 20 kHz and 3 bits, sample the
following signal, and then produce a reconstructed signal.
What is the maximum frequency that can be perfectly re- Let us consider the following signal (time is in ms, and
constructed using this sampling rate? the y-axis represents volts):
8 CHAPTER 3. COMMUNICATIONS

+5 +5

+1 +1

+1 +5 +1+10 +5 x +10
-1 -1

-5 -5

This signal is constructed from a number of dierent sine

waves, with dierent frequencies, added together. These
sine waves are as follows:

3.4.2 Frequency Spectra

Each of these sine waves has a dierent frequency. You

can see this, as they have dierent distances between
their peaks and troughs. These frequencies can be plot-
ted against the amplitude of the wave, as in the table, and
chart drawn from it, below:
3.5. BANDWIDTH 9

4. Approximately how many harmonics does it contain?

This chart is known as the frequency spectrum of a signal.
5. The three sine waves sin x, 4sin(2x-50) and
0.5sin(3x+120) are added together to form a signal.
What are the frequencies of each of the waves? What
is the signals fundamental frequency? Assume that the
waves are travelling at the speed of light, and that 60 =
1mm.
Worked Solutions

3.4.3 Fundamental Frequency

3.5 Bandwidth
The fundamental freqency is the lowest frequency that
makes up a signal. In the above example, the fundamen- Bandwidth is the frequency of a signal. Although original
tal frequency is 80 Hz. It is always the frequency farthest signals have varying frequencies, when these are trans-
to the left of a frequency spectrum, ignoring noise. Other mitted, for example, as FM radio waves, they are mod-
frequencies are known as overtones, or harmonics. ulated so that they only use frequencies within a certain
range. FM radio modulates the frequency of a wave, so
it needs some variation in the frequencies to allow for
transmission of multiple frequencies. Since bandwidth
is a frequency, it is the number of bits per. second. The
bandwidth required to transmit a signal accurately can be
calculated by using 1 as the number of bits, giving the
formula:
1
B=
3.4.4 Questions t
where B is bandwidth (in Hz), and t is the time taken to
transmit 1 bit of data (in s).
1. What is the frequency of an X-ray (wavelength The bandwidth of a signal regulates the bit rate of the
0.5nm)? signal, as, with a higher frequency, more information can
2. A sound wave, with a frequency of 44 kHz, has a wave- be transmitted. This give us the formula (similar to the
length of 7.7mm. What is the speed of sound? formula for lossless digital sampling):

3. What is the fundamental frequency of the following b = 2B

signal? where b is the bit rate (in bits per. second), and B is the
10 CHAPTER 3. COMMUNICATIONS

bandwidth (in Hz).

3.5.1 Questions
1. A broadband internet connection has a bit rate of
8Mbit s1 when downloading information. What is the
minimum bandwidth required to carry this bit rate?
2. The same connection has a bandwidth of 100 kHz re-
served for uploading information. What is the maximum
bit rate that can be attained when uploading information
using this connection?
3. A lighthouse uses a ashing light and Morse Code to
communicate with a nearby shore. A 'dash' consists of the
light being on for 2s. The light is left o for 1s between
dots and dashes. What is the bandwidth of the connec-
tion?
4. The broadband connection in question two is used to
upload a 1Mbyte image to a website. How long does it
take to do this?
Worked Solutions
Chapter 4

Electricity

4.1 Charge
Electrons, like many other particles, have a charge. While
some particles have a positive charge, electrons have a
negative charge. The charge on an electron is equal to
approximately 1.6 x 1019 coulomb. The coulomb
(commonly abbreviated C) is the SI unit of charge. One
coulomb is dened as the electric charge carried by 1 am-
pere (amp) of current in 1 second. It is normal to ignore
the negative nature of this charge when considering elec-
tricity.
If we have n particles with the same charge Q , then
the total charge Q is given by:
Q = n Q
By a simple rearrangement:
Qtotal
n= Qparticle
i1 + i4 = i2 + i3
4.1.1 Questions
where I is current (in A), Q is charge (in C) and t is the
1. How much charge do 1234 electrons carry?
time it took for the charge to ow (in seconds).
2. How many electrons does it take to carry 5 C of
In a series circuit, the current is the same everywhere in
charge?
the circuit, as the rate of ow of charged particles is con-
3. The total charge on 1 mole of electrons (6 x 1023 stant throughout the circuit. In a parallel circuit, however,
particles) is equal to 1 Faraday of charge. How many the current is split between the branches of the circuit, as
coulombs of charge are equal to 1 Faraday? the number of charged particles owing cannot change.
4. The mass of a ball is 50 mg. It is supplied 5 C of This is Kirchos First Law, stating that:
charge. Will there be any change in the mass of the ball? In mathematical form:
If so, calculate the change of the mass.
Iin = Iout (The character that resembles a side-
Worked Solutions ways M is the Greek letter sigma, meaning 'sum of'.)

4.2 Current 4.2.1 Questions

Current is the amount of charge (on particles such as elec- 1. 10 coulombs ow past a point in a wire in 1 minute.
trons) owing through part of an electric circuit per sec- How much current is owing through the point?
ond. Current is measured in amperes (usually abbreviated
A), where 1 ampere is 1 coulomb of charge per second. 2. How long does it take for a 2A current to carry 5C?
The formula for current is: 3. In the diagram on the left, I = 9A, and I1 = 4.5A. What
I= Q
t ([The triangle (Greek letter delta) means change is the current at I2 ?
in the quantity]) 4. What would I equal if I1 = 10A and I2 = 15A?

11
12 CHAPTER 4. ELECTRICITY

I 4.3.2 Potential Dierence

As charge travels around a circuit, each coulomb of

charge has less potential energy, so the voltage (relative
to the power source) decreases. The dierence between
the voltage at two points in a circuit is known as potential
dierence, and can be measured with a voltmeter.

Series Circuits

R1 R2 In a series circuit, the total voltage (EMF) is divided

across the components, as each component causes the
voltage to decrease, so each one has a potential dier-
ence. The sum of the potential dierences across all the
components is equal to the total voltage (but batteries
have their own 'internal resistances, which complicates
things slightly, as we will see).
I1 I2
Parallel Circuits

In a parallel circuit, the potential dierence across each

branch of the circuit is equal to the EMF, as the same
5. In the diagram on the left, in 5 seconds, 5C of charged 'force' is pushing along each path of the circuit. The
particles ow past I1 , and 6.7C ow past I2 . How long number of charge carriers (current) diers, but the 'force'
does it take for 10C to ow past I? pushing them (voltage) does not.

Worked Solutions
4.3.3 Questions
4.3 Voltage 1. A battery has an EMF of 5V. What is the total potential
dierence across all the components in the circuit?
Charge moves through a circuit, losing potential energy as 2. The voltages (relative to the voltage of the battery) on
it goes. This means that the charge travels as an electric either side of a resistor are 6V and 5V. What is the
current. Voltage is dened as the dierence in potential potential dierence across the resistor?
energy per. unit charge, i.e.
E 3. At a given point in a circuit, 5C of charge have 10 kJ
V =Q of potential energy. What is the voltage at this point?
where V is voltage (in V), E is the dierence in potential 4. Why do the electrons move to a point 1cm further
energy (in joules) and Q is charge (in coulombs). along the wire?
There are two electrical properties which are both mea- Worked Solutions
sured in volts (commonly abbreviated V), and so both are
known under the somewhat vague title of 'voltage'. Both
are so called because they change the potential energy of
the charge. 4.4 Power
Power is a measure of how much potential energy is dis-
4.3.1 Electromotive Force (EMF)
sipated (i.e. converted into heat, light and other forms of
Keep in mind, that EMF as the name suggests is not energy) by a component or circuit in one second. This is
an electrical force, it is basically the potential dierencedue to a drop in the potential energy, and so the voltage,
across the terminals when the key is open i.e. when no of charge. Power is measured in Watts (commonly ab-
current is drawn from the cell. EMF is named so by the breviated W), where 1 W is 1 Js1 . It can be calculated
scientists who performed faulty experiments and named by nding the product of the current owing through a
component / circuit and the potential dierence across
it so, hence, just a tribute to their contribution to physics
it is still called EMF but the denition has changed with the component / circuit. This gives us the equation:
E
time. P = t = IV
4.5. RESISTANCE AND CONDUCTANCE 13

1
where P is the power dissipated (in W), E is the drop in R = G and G = R1
potential energy (in Joules, J), t is the time taken (in s), I
is the current (in A) and V is either potential dierence or
electromotive force (in V), depending on the component 4.5.1 Ohms Law
being measured.
Since power is the amount of energy changing form per. Ohms Law states that the potential dierence across an
second, the amount of energy being given out each second artefact constructed from Ohmic conductors (i.e. con-
will equal the power of the component giving out energy. ductors that obey Ohms Law) is equal to the product of
the current running through the component and the resis-
You should be able to substitute in values for I and V from tance of the component. As a formula:
other formulae (V=IR, Q=It) in order to relate power to
resistance, conductance, charge and time, giving formu- V = IR
lae like these: where V is potential dierence (in V), I is current (in A)
P = I 2R and R is resistance (in ).
V2
P = R
QV In terms of Resistance
P = t

This formula can be rearranged to give a formula which

can be used to calculate the resistance of an artefact:
4.4.1 Questions V
R= I

1. The potential dierence across a 9W light bulb is

240V. How much current is owing through the light In terms of Conductance
bulb?
2. How much energy is dissipated by a 10W component Since conductance is the reciprocal of resistance, we can
in 1 hour? deduce a formula for conductance (G):
1
3. The potential dierence across a top-notch kettle, G = VI
which can hold up to 1 litre of water, is 240V, and the
G = VI
current is 12.5 A. 4.2 kJ of energy is required to raise the
temperature of 1kg of water by 1C. Assuming 100% ef-
ciency and that the temperature has to be raised 80C The Relationship between Potential Dierence and
(20C to 100C), how long does it take to boil 1 litre of Current
water?
4. How much energy is dissipated by a 100 resistor in From Ohms Law, we can see that potential dierence
10 seconds if 2A of current are owing? is directly proportional to current, provided resistance is
19 constant. This is because two variables (let us call them x
5. The charge on an electron is 1.6 x 10 C. How long
23 and y) are considered directly proportional to one another
does it take for a mole (6 x 10 particles) of electrons to
if:
ow through a 40W light bulb on a 240V ring main?
y = kx
Worked Solutions
where k is any positive constant. Since we are assuming
that resistance is constant, R can equal k, so V=RI states
that potential dierence is directly proportional to cur-
4.5 Resistance and Conductance rent. As a result, if potential dierence is plotted against
current on a graph, it will give a straight line with a posi-
Conductance is a measure of how well an artefact (such tive gradient which passes through the origin. The gradi-
as an electrical component, not a material, such as iron) ent will equal the resistance.
carries an electric current. Resistance is a measure of how
well an artefact resists an electric current.
4.5.2 In Series Circuits
Resistance is measured in Ohms (usually abbreviated us-
ing the Greek letter Omega, ) and, in formulae, is rep- In a series circuit (for example, a row of resistors con-
resented by the letter R. Conductance is measured in nected to each other), the resistances of the resistors add
Siemens (usually abbreviated S) and, in formulae, is rep-up to give the total resistance. Since conductance is the
resented by the letter G. reciprocal of resistance, the reciprocals of the conduc-
Resistance and conductance are each others reciprocals, tances add up to give the reciprocal of the total conduc-
so: tance. So:
14 CHAPTER 4. ELECTRICITY

R = R1 + R2 + ... + Rn The existence of internal resistance is indicated by mea-

1
G = 1
+ 1
+ ... + 1 suring the potential dierence across a battery. This is
G1 G2 Gn
always less than the EMF of the battery. This is because
of the internal resistance of the battery. This idea gives
us the following formula:
4.5.3 In Parallel Circuits

In a parallel circuit, the conductances of the components

on each branch add up to give the total conductance. Sim-
ilar to series circuits, the reciprocals of the total resis-
tances of each branch add up to give the reciprocal of the
total resistance of the circuit. So:
G = G1 + G2 + ... + Gn
R1 = 1
R1 + 1
R2 + ... + 1
Rn
When considering circuits which are a combination of se-
ries and parallel circuits, consider each branch as a sepa-
rate component, and work out its total resistance or con-
ductance before nishing the process as normal.

PD across battery = EMF of battery - voltage to be ac-

counted for
4.5.4 Questions
Let us replace these values with letters to give the simpler
1. The potential dierence across a resistor is 4V, and the formula:
current is 10A. What is the resistance of the resistor? V = E - V
2. What is the conductance of this resistor? Since V = IR:
3. A conductor has a conductance of 2S, and the potential V = E - IR
dierence across it is 0.5V. How much current is owing
through it? You may also need to use the following formula to work
out the external potential dierence, if you are not given
4. A graph is drawn of potential dierence across an it:
Ohmic conductor, and current. For every 3cm across,
the graph rises by 2cm. What is the conductance of the V = IR
conductor? You should also remember the eects of using resistors
5. On another graph of potential dierence and current, in both series and parallel circuits.
the graph curves so that the gradient increases as current
increases. What can you say about the resistor?
4.6.1 Questions
6. 3 resistors, wired in series, have resistances of 1k,
5k and 500 each. What is the total resistance across 1. A 9V battery is short-circuited. The potential dier-
all three resistors? ence across the battery is found to be 8V, and the current
7. 2 conductors, wired in parallel, have conductances of is 5A. What is the internal resistance of the battery?
10S and 5S. What is the total resistance of both branches 2. What is the EMF of the battery in the following circuit?
of the parallel circuit?
8. The circuit above is attached in series to 1 10 resistor.
What is the total conductance of the circuit now?
Worked Solutions

4.6 Internal Resistance

Batteries, just like other components in an electric circuit,
have a resistance. This resistance is known as internal re-
sistance. This means that applying Ohms law (V = IR) to
circuits is more complex than simply feeding the correct
values for V, I or R into the formula. 3. What is the internal resistance of the battery in the
4.7. POTENTIAL DIVIDERS 15

following circuit? potential dierence. The ratios between the resistances

are equal to the ratios between the potential dierences.
In other words, we can calculate the potential dierence
across a resistor using the formula:

Vresistor = V RRresistor
external

In many cases, you will be told to assume that the internal

resistance of the power source is negligible, meaning that
you can take the total potential dierence as the EMF of
the power source.
A potential divider may work by combining a variable
resistor such as an LDR or thermistor with a constant
resistor, as in the diagram below. As the resistance of
the variable resistor changes, the ratio between the re-
Worked Solutions sistances changes, so the potential dierence across any
given resistor changes.

4.7 Potential Dividers

Alternatively, a potential divider may be made of many

resistors. A 'wiper' may move across them, varying the
number of resistors on either side of the wiper as it moves,
as in the following diagram:

Circuit symbols for a potential divider

A potential divider, or potentiometer, consists of a num-

ber of resistors, and a voltmeter. The voltage read by the
voltmeter is determined by the ratio of the resistances on
either side of the point at which one end of the voltmeter
is connected.
To understand how a potential divider works, let us con-
sider resistors in series. The resistances add up, so, in a
circuit with two resistors:
R = R1 + R2
If we apply Ohms law, remembering that the current is 4.7.1 Questions
constant throughout a series circuit:

V
= V1
+ V2 1. A 12 k resistor and a 20 k resistor are connected to
I I I
a 9V battery. A voltmeter is connected across the 12k
Multiply by current (I): resistor. What is the reading on the voltmeter? (Assume
V = V1 + V2 negligible internal resistance.)
So, just as the resistances in series add up to the total 2. A potential divider consists of 100 5 resistors, with a
resistance, the potential dierences add up to the total wiper which moves on one resistor for every 3.6 a handle
16
connected to it turns. The wiper is connected to a volt- 4.8.2 Properties
meter, and the circuit is powered by a 120V power source
with negligible internal resistance. What is the reading on There are three main properties of sensing systems you
the voltmeter when the handle turns 120? need to know about:
3. A 9V battery with internal resistance 0.8 is con-
nected to 3 resistors with conductances of 3, 2 and 1
Siemens. A voltmeter is connected across the 3 and 2
Siemens resistors. An ammeter is placed in the circuit,
between the battery and the rst terminal of the volt-
meter, and reads 2A. What is the reading on the volt-
meter?
Worked Solutions
4.8 Sensors
A sensor is a device which converts a physical property
into an electrical property (such as resistance). A sensing
system is a system (usually a circuit) which allows this
electrical property, and so the physical property, to be
measured.
4.8.1 Temperature Sensor
Use of a potential divider and thermistor to measure temperature
A common example of a sensing system is a tempera-
ture sensor in a thermostat, which uses a thermistor. In
the most common type of thermistor (an NTC), the resis-
tance decreases as the temperature increases. This eect
is achieved by making the thermistor out of a semicon-
ductor. The thermistor is then used in a potential divider,
as in the diagram on the right. In this diagram, the po-
tential dierence is divided between the resistor and the
thermistor. As the temperature rises, the resistance of the
thermistor decreases, so the potential dierence across it
decreases. This means that potential dierence across the
resistor increases as temperature increases. This is why
the voltmeter is across the resistor, not the thermistor.
CHAPTER 4. ELECTRICITY
Sensitivity
This is the amount of change in voltage output per unit
change in input (the physical property). For example, in
the above sensing system, if the voltage on the voltmeter
increased by 10V as the temperature increased by 6.3C:
S= 10
1.59 V/C
6.3
Resolution
This is the smallest change in the physical property de-
tectable by the sensing system. Sometimes, the limiting
factor is the number of decimal places the voltmeter can
display. So if, for example, the voltmeter can display the
voltage to 2 decimal places, the smallest visible change in
voltage is 0.01V. We can then use the sensitivity of the
sensor to calculate the resolution.
0.01
S = 1.59 = R
R= 0.01
1.59 0.006 C
Response Time
This is the time the sensing system takes to display a
change in the physical property it is measuring. It is often
dicult to measure.
4.8.3 Signal Amplication
Sometimes, a sensing system gives a dierence in output
voltage, but the sensitivity is far too low to be of any use.
There are two solutions to this problem, which can be
used together:
Amplication
An amplier can be placed in the system, increasing the
signal. The main problem with this is that the signal can-
not exceed the maximum voltage of the system, so values
will be chopped o of the top and bottom of the signal
because it is so high.
Wheatstone Bridge
This solution is far better, especially when used prior to
amplication. Instead of using just one pair of resistors, a
second pair is used, and the potential dierence between
the two pairs (which are connected in parallel) is mea-
sured. This means that, if, at the sensing resistor (e.g.
4.9. RESISTIVITY AND CONDUCTIVITY 17

4.9 Resistivity and Conductivity

Resistivity and conductivity are material properties: they
apply to all examples of a certain material anywhere.
They are not the same as resistance and conductance,
which are properties of individual artefacts. This means
that resistivity and conductivity only apply to a given ob-
ject. They describe how well a material resists or con-
ducts an electric current.

4.9.1 Symbols and Units

A wheatstone bridge, using a thermistor Resistivity is usually represented by the Greek letter rho
(), and is measured in m. Conductivity is usually rep-
resented by the Greek letter sigma (), and is measured
thermistor / LDR) the resistance is at its maximum, a sig-
in S m1 .
nal of 0V is produced. This means that the extremes of
the signal are not chopped o, making for a much better
sensor.
4.9.2 Formulae

4.8.4 Questions The formula relating resistivity () to resistance (R),

cross-sectional area (A) and length (L) is:
An LDRs resistance decreases from a maximum resis- = RA
L
tance of 2k to a minimum resistance of 0 as light in-
Conductivity is the reciprocal of resistivity, just as con-
tensity increases. It is used in a distance sensing system
ductance (G) is the reciprocal of resistance. Hence:
which consists of a 9V power supply, a 1.6 k resistor,
G A
1
the LDR and a multimeter which displays voltage to 2 1
= = 1
A
= A
L G L GL
decimal places measuring the potential dierence across GL
one of the two resistors. = A

1. Across which resistor should the multimeter be con- You should be able to rearrange these two formulae to be
nected in order to ensure that, as the distance from the able to work out resistance, conductance, cross-sectional
light source to the sensor increases, the potential dier- area and length. For example, it all makes a lot more
ence recorded increases? sense if we write the rst formula in terms of , A and L:
L
2. In complete darkness, what voltage is recorded on the R = A
multimeter? From this, we can see that the resistance of a lump of
3. When a light source moves 0.5m away from the sensor, material is higher if it has a higher resistivity, or if it is
the voltage on the multimeter increases by 2V. What is longer. Also, if it has a larger cross-sectional area, its
the sensitivity of the sensing system when using this light resistance is smaller.
source, in V m1 ?
4. When the same light source is placed 0m from the sen- 4.9.3 Questions
sor, the potential dierence is 0V. When the light source
is 1m away, what voltage is displayed on the multimeter? 1. A material has a conductivity of 106 S m1 . What is
5. What is the resolution of the sensing system? its resistivity?
6. Draw a circuit diagram showing a similar sensing sys- 2. A pure copper wire has a radius of 0.5mm, a resistance
tem to this, using a Wheatstone bridge and amplier to of 1 M, and is 4680 km long. What is the resistivity of
improve the sensitivity of the system. copper?
7. What is the maximum potential dierence that can 3. Gold has a conductivity of 45 MS m1 . What is the
reach the amplier using this new system (ignore the am- resistance of a 0.01m across gold connector, 0.05m long?
plication)? 4. A strand of metal is stretched to twice its original
8. If this signal were to be amplied 3 times, would it length. What is its new resistance? State your assump-
exceed the maximum voltage of the system? What would tions.
the limits on the signal be? 5. Which has the greater resistivity: a plank or a piece of
Worked Solutions sawdust, made from the same wood?
18 CHAPTER 4. ELECTRICITY

Worked Solutions 4.10.2 See Also

The book on Semiconductors.

4.10 Semiconductors

Si Si Si Si Si
e-

Si P Si Si Si

Si Si Si Si Si

Si Si Si Si Si

Silicon, doped with phosphorous

A semiconductor has a conductivity between that of a

conductor and an insulator. They are less conductive than
metals, but dier from metals in that, as a semiconductor
heats up, its conductivity rises. In metals, the opposite
eect occurs.
The reason for this is that, in a semiconductor, very few
atoms are ionised, and so very few electrons can move,
creating an electric current. However, as the semicon-
ductor heats up, the covalent bonds (atoms sharing elec-
trons, causing the electrons to be relatively immobile)
break down, freeing the electrons. As a result, a semicon-
ductors conductivity rises at an increasing rate as temper-
ature rises.
Examples of semiconductors include silicon and germa-
nium. A full list of semiconductor materials is available
at Wikipedia. At room temperature, silicon has a con-
ductivity of about 435 S m1 .
Semiconductors are usually 'doped'. This means that ions
are added in small quantities, giving the semiconductor
a greater or lesser number of free electrons as required.
This is controlled by the charge on the ions.

4.10.1 Questions

1. What is the resistivity of silicon, at room temperature?

2. What sort of variable resistor would a semiconductor
be useful in?
3. If positive ions are added to silicon (doping it), how
does its conductivity change?
Worked Solutions
Chapter 5

Material Structure

5.1 Stress, Strain & the Young of the bar, the dierence between these two lengths.
Modulus
5.1.4 Youngs Modulus
5.1.1 By Micheore
Youngs Modulus is a measure of the stiness of a mate-
5.1.2 Stress rial. It states how much a material will stretch (i.e., how
much strain it will undergo) as a result of a given amount
Stress is a measure of the internal force an object is ex- of stress. The formula for calculating it is:
periencing per unit cross sectional area. The formula for E =

calculating stress is the same as the formula for calculat-
ing pressure: but The values for stress and strain must be taken at as low
a stress level as possible, provided a dierence in the
=F A length of the sample can be measured. Strain is unitless so
where is stress (in Newtons per square metre or, equiva- Youngs Modulus has the same units as stress, i.e. N/m
lently, Pascals). F is force (in Newtons, commonly abbre- or Pa.
viated N), and A is the cross sectional area of the sample.
5.1.5 Stress-Strain Graphs
Tensile Strength

The (ultimate) tensile strength is the level of stress at

which a material will fracture. Tensile strength is also
known as fracture stress. If a material fractures by 'crack
propagation' (i.e., it shatters), the material is brittle.

Yield Stress

On a stress strain graph beyond the yield point (or elas-

tic limit) the material will no longer return to its original
length. This means it has become permanently deformed.
Therefore the yield stress is the level of stress at which a
material will deform permanently. This is also known as
yield strength.

5.1.3 Strain
Stresses lead to strain (or deformation). Putting pressure
on an object causes it to stretch. Strain is a measure of Stressstrain curve for low-carbon steel.
how much an object is being stretched. The formula for
strain is: Stress () can be graphed against strain (). The tough-
ness of a material (i.e., how much it resists stress, in J
l0 = l0 = l0 1 ,
ll0
= l l
m3 ) is equal to the area under the curve, between the
where l0 is the original length of a bar being stretched, and y-axis and the fracture point. Graphs such as the one on
l is its length after it has been stretched. l is the extension the right show how stress aects a material. This image

19
20 CHAPTER 5. MATERIAL STRUCTURE

shows the stress-strain graph for low-carbon steel. It has 5.1.6 Questions
three main features:
1. 100N of force are exerted on a wire with cross-
sectional area 0.50mm2 . How much stress is being
Elastic Region exerted on the wire?
In this region (between the origin and point 2), the ratio 2. Another wire has a tensile strength of 70MPa, and
of stress to strain (Youngs modulus) is constant, meaning breaks under 100N of force. What is the cross-
that the material is obeying Hookes law, which states that sectional area of the wire just before breaking?
a material is elastic (it will return to its original shape) if
force is directly proportional to extension of the material 3. What is the strain on a Twix bar (original length
10cm) if it is now 12cm long?

Hookes Law 4. What is this strain, expressed as a percentage?

5. 50N are applied to a wire with a radius of 1mm. The

Hookes law of elasticity is an approximation that states
wire was 0.7m long, but is now 0.75m long. What
that the Force (load) is in direct proportion with the ex-
is the Youngs Modulus for the material the wire is
tension of a material as long as this load does not exceed
made of?
the proportional limit. Materials for which Hookes law
is a useful approximation are known as linear-elastic 6. Glass, a brittle material, fractures at a strain of 0.004
and a stress of 240 MPa. Sketch the stress-strain
graph for glass.
F = kx
7. (Extra nasty question which you won't ever get in an
The relation is often denoted
exam) What is the toughness of glass?

8. Wire has a tensile strength of 0.95Mpa, and breaks

F x under 25N of force. what is the cross-sectional area
The work done to stretch a wire or the Elastic Poten- of the wire before and after breaking?
tial Energy is equal to the area of the triangle on a Ten-
sion/Extension graph, but can also be expressed as Worked Solutions

1 2
2 kx 5.2 Metals
Plastic Region

In this region (between points 2 and 3), the rate at which

extension is increasing is going up, and the material has
passed the elastic limit. It will no longer return to its orig-
inal shape. After point 1, the amount of stress decreases
due to necking at one point in the specimen. If the stress
was recorded where the necking occurs we would observe
an upward curve and an increase in stress due to this re-
duction in area(stress = Force / area, thus stress increases
during necking). The material will now 'give' and extend
more under less force.

Fracture Point

At point 3, the material has been fractured.

Other Typical Graphs

Metals are constructed from positive ions in a sea of electrons.
In a brittle material, such as glass or ceramics, the stress- This explains many of their properties.
strain graph will have an extremely short elastic region,
and then will fracture. There is no plastic region on the There are several physical properties of metals you need
stress-strain graph of a brittle material. to know about:
5.2. METALS 21

Electrical Properties As the electrostatic attraction between the sea of electrons

and metal ions hold the layers quite strongly, metals resist
Metals consist of positive metal ions in 'sea' of free (de- deformation quite well. This is especially true with alloys,
localized) electrons. This means that the electrons are to- where atoms of dierent sizes prevent the layers slipping
tally free to move around the lattice, in and between the past each other.
atoms. This is what holds the entire metal structure to- Ductile
gether and gives metals their strength. It also gives met-
als the ability to conduct an electric current, as electric Since the bonding is non-directional and non-permenant,
current is the movement of charge. This could not hap- with electrons that are free to move around, atoms can
pen with ionic bonding, where particles are charged and move about and slide past each other. This makes metals
all electrons stay in place. It can also not happen with relatively ductile.
covalent bonding where the electrons stay in the bond. Toughness
As thermal energy is given to a metal, the electrons move Metals are tough for the same reason as they are duc-
more quickly. However, the lattice also vibrates more tile: the positive ions can slide past each other while still
quickly. As the electrons movement is slowed by the lat- remaining together. So, instead of breaking apart, they
tice the conductivity of the material decreases with tem- change shape, resulting in increased toughness. This ef-
perature. fect is called plasticity. When a tough material breaks the
ratio of 'energy used / new surface area created' is very
large.
Mechanical Properties
Elasticity
This 'sea' of free electrons can also be described as a glue When a metal is stretched, it can return to its original
that does not dry. The negatively charged electrons have shape because the sea of electrons which bonds the ions
an electro-static attraction to the positively charged metal together can be stretched as well.
ions. This is what holds the entire metal structure together
Brittle
and gives metals their strength, i.e. the ability of the ma-
terial to resist coming apart. The opposite of tough: a material is likely to crack or
shatter upon impact or force. It will snap cleanly due to
It also means that metals will change shape without com-
defects and cracks. Metals can be brittle in certain cir-
ing apart completely (breaking). This is known as plastic
cumstances, and a metal can be made more brittle by al-
deformation, which is when a material changes perma-
loying or by work hardening.
nently (unlike elastic deformation) and also does not frac-
ture (like when a glass bre is stretched too far). Pure Malleability
metals are usually incredibly ductile and malleable and Metals are malleable because their atoms are arranged in
can worked into a wide variety of shapes. The sea allows at planes that can slide past each other. Their bonds are
the atoms to move past each other. Atoms can move out non-directional. Metals also contain dislocations which
of their place on the lattice. Other atoms can then go and mean that ions in the structure can be moved unilaterally
ll that place. Entire layers of atoms in a crystal lattice rather than as a whole layer, which takes less energy to
can slip past one another, and the free electrons owing do.
between will keep them stuck together [see dislocations].
The glue allows movement of atoms without breaking the
metallic bond, i.e. the electrostatic attraction between the
free-owing electrons and the positive ions.
Of course, metals do eventually fracture, however, they
tend to show necking rst.
This could not happen in a material where the strength Thermal Properties
comes from covalent bonds because the electrons need to
be in specic positions. When ionic bonds or covalent
Metals conduct electricity well for 2 main reasons.
bonds are broken, they do not generally go back together.
Firstly, they are in a lattice. The atoms are arranged both
Materials held together entirely by covalent or ionic bonds
closely and neatly. This means that atoms transmit forces
tend to be very brittle. The bonding in metals is not direc-
very eciently through the material, so thermal vibra-
tional and not permanent. This gives metals their strength
tions pass heat energy along easily. This eect is also ob-
and plasticity, their most useful mechanical properties.
served in ionic lattices and in silicon and diamond which
are covalent lattices.
List of Mechanical Properties Secondly, the free electrons move more when heated,
which is another method of passing heat through the lat-
Stiness tice.
22 CHAPTER 5. MATERIAL STRUCTURE

Transformation 5.3 Polymers

Diusive transformation: occur when the planes of atoms
in the material move past each other due to the stresses on
the object. This transformation is permanent and cannot
be recovered from due to energy being absorbed by the
structure
Diusionless transformation: occurs where the bonds be-
tween the atoms stretch, allowing the material to de-
form elastically. An example would be rubber or a shape
memory metal/alloy (often referred to as SMA) such as
a nickel-titanium alloy. In the shape memory alloy the
transformation occurs via the change of phase of the in-
ternal structure from martensitic to deformed martensitic,
which allows the SMA to have a high percentage strain
(up to 8% for some SMAs in comparison to approxi-
mately 0.5% for steel). If the material is then heated
above a certain temperature the deformed martensite will
form austenite, which returns to twinned martensite after
cooling.
A simple polymer consists of a long chain of monomers
(components of molecules) joined by covalent bonds. A
polymer usually consists of many of these bonds, tangled
up. This is known as a bulk polymer.
5.3.1 Types
A bulk polymer may contain two types of regions. In
crystalline regions, the chains run parallel to each other,
whereas in amorphous regions, they do not. Intermolecu-
lar bonds are stronger in crystalline regions. A polycrys-
talline polymer consists of multiple regions, in which the
chains point in a dierent direction in each region.

Arrangement of atoms

Metal atoms form lattices. These are neat ordered rows

of atoms that stack together to make layers, which in turn
stack neatly to make a 3d structure. The fact metals stay
in ordered structures is key to their properties. The neat
ordered rows will stretch billions and billions of atoms
across. However, they do not go on forever. Metals are
usually formed from a molten state. When the liquid so-
lidies, this happens in many places at once. Therefore
many crystals form at once, and the crystals are oriented
randomly with respect to one another. Metals are poly-
crystalline.
How grains aect the mechanical properties is beyond the
scope of the A-level course, however, as a rule of thumb,
smaller grains mean a higher strength. Single crystal met- Polycrystalline glass
als can be grown, and they have interesting unique proper-
ties related to their geometry. However, this is a dicult
and specialised process, but single crystal metals can be
used for turbine blades inside aeroplane engines.

5.2.1 Questions

1. Would you expect a metal to have more or less con-

ductivity than a semiconductor? Why?
2. How can the stress-strain graph for a metal be ex-
plained in terms of ions in a sea of electrons?
3. As a metal heats up, what happens to its conductivity?
Why?
Amorphous rubber
Worked Solutions
5.3. POLYMERS 23

5.3.2 Properties 2. What sort of polymer is a pane of perspex?

3. What sort of polymer does the pane of perspex become
Transparency
when shattered (but still in one piece)?
Polymers which are crystalline are usually opaque or 4. What sort of polymer is a rubber on the end of a pencil?
translucent. As a polymer becomes less polycrystalline, it 5. What happens to the translucency of an amorphous
becomes more transparent, whilst an amorphous polymer polymer when it is put under stress?
is usually transparent. [1]
Worked Solutions

Elasticity
5.3.4 References
In some polymers, such as polyethene, the chains are
folded up. When they are stretched, the chains unravel, [1] C. A. Heaton, The Chemical industry, page 113.
stretching without breaking. When the stress ceases, they
will return to their original shape. If, however, the bonds
between the molecules are broken, the material reaches
its elastic limit and will not return to its original shape.

Stiness

Polymer chains may be linked together, causing the poly-

mer to become stier. An example is rubber, which,
when heated with sulfur, undergoes a process known as
vulcanization. The chains in the rubber become joined
by sulfur atoms, making the rubber suitable for use in car
tyres. A stier polymer, however, will usually be more
brittle.

Plasticity

When a polymer is stretched, the chains become paral-

lel, and amorphous areas may become crystalline. This
causes an apparent change in colour, and a process known
as 'necking'. This is when the chains recede out of an area
of the substance, making it thinner, with fatter areas on
either side.

Conductivity

Polymers consist of covalent bonds, so the electrons are

not free to move according to potential dierence. This
means that polymers are poor conductors.

Boiling Point

Polymers do not have boiling points. This is because, be-

fore they reach a theoretical boiling point, polymers de-
compose. Some polymers do not have melting points for
the same reason.

5.3.3 Questions
1. Dierent crystalline structures have dierent refrac-
tive indexes. Why does this mean that a polycrystalline
polymer is translucent?
Chapter 6
Waves
6.1 What is a wave?
At this point in the course, it is easy to get bogged down in tion below that discusses this.
the complex theories and equations surrounding 'waves.
However, a better understanding of waves can be gained
by going back to basics, and explaining what a wave is in
the rst place.
6.1.1 Denitions
A wave, at its most basic level, is a repeated disturbance
that spreads out and transfers energy as it moves forwards.
Water ripples, light and sound all do this.
The image below shows a waveform. It plots distance
through the medium on the x-axis (e.g. distance along Features of a wave
the surface of water), and the amount of disturbance on
the y-axis (e.g. distance from where the surface would be
if the water was not disturbed by ripples). The amount of
disturbance is known as the displacement. Waves tend
to keep the same maximum displacement. This is known 6.1.3 Velocity, frequency and wavelength
as the amplitude.
The distance between two equivalent points in a wave,
along the direction in which the wave travels, is known as
the wavelength. The 'peaks or 'troughs (where displace-
ment is at a maximum or minimum) are usually chosen
as these are the best points of a wave to measure. This
is the distance a wave needs to travel in order to repeat
itself, or the distance of one oscillation.
6.1.2 The nature of a wave
This begs the question How can the disturbance itself
move?" In some cases, this is easy to answer. Lots of
waves travel through a material, in which case it is the ma-
terial of the medium that is being disturbed. Such waves
are called mechanical waves, which require a material
medium to travel in in order to exist. The easiest exam-
ple to think about is a water wave. One area moves up,
pulling the next one up with it. The water in this area
gains potential energy. Eventually, pressure and gravity
pull the water back down, and they gain kinetic energy
which is again passed onto the next area. This allows the
process to repeat, spread out and keep passing energy on.
24
The nature of electromagnetic waves, which includes
light, is much more dicult to explain. There is a sec-
Wave
displacement
y
distance
= wavelength
y = amplitude
You should remember the equation v = f from earlier in
this course, or from GCSE. v is the velocity at which the
wave travels through the medium, in ms1 , f (or nu, ) is
the frequency of the wave, in Hz (how many waves pass
through a point each second), and is the wavelength, in
m.
This is analogous to walking. Frequency would be the
number of steps taken in a unit of time, equivalent to
how many times the wave oscillates in a unit of time.
The wavelength is equivalent to how long each step is.
As most waves have a set speed (e.g. the speed of light
or speed of sound), as wavelength goes up the frequency
goes down, and vice versa. They are inversely propor-
tional. When walking, if you take steps more often, each
step must make you travel less distance if you are to con-
tinue walking at the same speed.
This equation applies to electromagnetic waves, but you
should remember that there are dierent wavelengths of
electromagnetic radiation, and that dierent colours of
visible light have dierent wavelengths. You also need to
know the wavelengths of the dierent types of electro-
magnetic radiation:
6.1. WHAT IS A WAVE? 25

through a vacuum. This is a place with no material to dis-

turb. Sound cannot pass through a vacuum at all because
there is no material to disturb and pass energy onto. The
fact light could move through a vacuum was very prob-
lematic to using waves as an explanation.
In order to get around this, some scientists came up with
the idea of 'ether'. They said there must be a myste-
rious and undetectable substance that exists everywhere
for light to disturb in order to move in. However, the
ether theory had problems, including being unable to de-
tect any. It is not a theory accepted by modern physicists.
The evidence
New experiments kept showing light to have more and
more behaviour unique to waves. The most important was
perhaps interference. This made physicists accept that it
must be a wave. Despite not being able to explain what
light was a wave in, accepting this was the only way to
explain its behaviour.

6.1.5 Types of Waves

Waves can be categorised based on how the disturbance

moves relative to the wave. A wave which causes distur-
bance parallel to the direction of its travel is known as
a longitudinal wave, whereas a wave which causes distur-
bance perpendicular to the direction of its travel is known
6.1.4 The problem of explaining the nature as a transverse wave.
of light
6.1.6 Superposition / Interference
Until relatively recently, scientists struggled to explain
what light was. In the past they could only look at what Note that disturbance is often described as a displace-
light could do and make educated guesses. Developing ment, which is a vector quantity. Vectors at any point
ideas from evidence is extremely important in science. simply add up.
Using ideas and to make to explain evidence is extremely
important in science. Models are ideas that represent re- One feature of waves is that they superpose. When they
ality. Often, models are developed to explain existing ev- are travelling in the same place in the medium at the same
idence. A good model will predict unobserved behaviour. time, they both aect the medium independently. The
vector quantities of displacement simply add up and the
Could light be made of particles? material is displaced by the vector sum. If two waves do
Some scientists have historically suggested that light is a this whilst moving in opposite directions, after passing
stream of particles. This would explain away the need for through one another, they will carry on unaected.
a medium to travel through. It would explain why light This is often referred to as as "interference". Some
travels more slowly in denser materials, unlike sound. It physicists do not like this word as it implies any wave in-
also explains why light can travel in straight lines, as well terfering is unwanted, or noise. However, this eect
the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reection can be extremely useful e.g. when heating food in a mi-
when light bounces o a surface. However, there are crowave oven.
some behaviours that a particle model does not explain
well. Consider two identical waveforms being superposed on
each other. The resultant waveform will be like the two
Light as a wave? other waveforms, except its amplitude at every point will
Light was observed to have some properties of waves, e.g. be twice as much. This is known as constructive inter-
being able to spread out. This behaviour seemed to be ference. Alternatively, if one waveform moves on by half
best explained by waves. As such, a lot of scientists his- a wavelength, but the other does not, the resultant wave-
torically liked to think of light as a wave. However, waves form will have no amplitude, as the two waveforms will
were thought of as disturbances. The proponents of a cancel each other out. This is known as destructive in-
wave model struggled to explain how light could move terference. Both these eects are shown in the diagram
26 CHAPTER 6. WAVES

below: 6.2 Phasors

These eects occur because the wavefronts are travelling

through a medium, but electromagnetic radiation also be-
haves like this, even though it does not travel through a
medium.
6.1.7 Questions
Consider the image on the right. It shows a wave trav-
elling through a medium. The moving blue dot repre-
sents the displacement caused to the medium by the wave.
It can be seen that, if we consider any one point in the
medium, it goes through a repeating pattern, moving up
and down, moving faster the nearer it is to the centre of
the waveform. Its height is determined by the amplitude
of the wave at that point in time. This is determined by a
sine wave.

1. What is wave?
2. Through what medium are sound waves propagated?
3. What aspects of the behaviour of light make it look
like a wave?
4. What aspects of the behaviour of light make it look A phasor
like a particle?
5. Consider the diagram on the right. White light is par- Phasors are a method of describing waves which show
tially reected by the transparent material. Some of the two things: the displacement caused to the medium, and
light, however, is refracted into the transparent material the point in the repeating waveform which is being repre-
and reected back by the opaque material. The result is sented. They consist of a circle. An arrow moves round
two waves travelling in the same place at the same time the circle anticlockwise as the wave pattern passes. For
at the same polarisation(the light is not a single beam). every wavelength that goes past, the arrow moves 360, or
Why does, say, the red light disappear? (Variations on 2c , starting from the right, as in trigonometry. The angle
this question are popular with examiners.) of the arrow from the right is known as the phase angle,
and is usually denoted , and the radius of the circle is
6. What is the wavelength of green light? usually denoted a. The height of the point at the end of
7. The lowest frequency sound wave humans can hear has the arrow represents the displacement caused by the wave
a frequency of approximately 20Hz. Given that the speed to the medium, and so the amplitude of the wave at that
of sound in air is 343ms1 , what is the wavelength of the point in time. The time taken to rotate 360 is known as
lowest frequency human-audible sound? the periodic time, and is usually denoted T.
Worked Solutions Phase dierence is the dierence between the angles ()
6.3. STANDING WAVES 27

of two phasors, which represent two waves. It is never

more than 180, as, since the phasor is moving in a circle,
the angle between two lines touching the circumference
will always be less than or equal to 180. It can also be
expressed in terms of , where is the total wavelength
(eectively, 360). You can use trigonometry to calculate
the displacement from the angle, and vice-versa, provided
you know the radius of the circle. The radius is equal to
the maximum amplitude of the wave.
Phasors can be added up, just like vectors: tip-to-tail.
So, for example, when two waves are superposed on each
other, the phasors at each point in the reference material
can be added up to give a new displacement. This ex-
plains both constructive and destructive interference as
well. In destructive interference, the phasors for each
wave are pointing in exactly opposite directions, and so
add up to nothing at all. In constructive interference, the
phasors are pointing in the same direction, so the total
displacement is twice as much.

6.2.1 Questions

1. A sine wave with wavelength 0.1m travels through a

given point on the surface of the sea. A phasor arrow Standing wave with nodes labelled in red
representing the eect of this wave on this point rotates
1000. How many wavelengths have gone past in the time Some areas of the resultant waveform consistently have
taken for the phasor to rotate this much? an amplitude of 0. These are known as nodes. At other
points (half-way between the nodes), the resultant wave-
2. A sine wave has a maximum amplitude of 500nm.
form varies from twice the amplitude of its constituent
What is its amplitude when the phasor has rotated 60
waveforms in both directions. These points are known as
from its start position?
antinodes. Everywhere in between the nodes and antin-
3. Two waves have a phase dierence of 45. When the odes varies to a lesser degree, depending on its position.
rst wave is at its minimum amplitude of 0.3m, what is
This eect only occurs if the two waveforms have the
the total amplitude of the superposed waveforms?
same amplitude and frequency. If the two waves have
Worked Solutions dierent amplitudes, the resultant waveform is similar to
a standing wave, except that it has no nodes, and 'moves.
Because of these conditions, standing waves usually only
occur when a waveform is reected back on itself. For
example, in a microwave oven, the microwaves are re-
ected by the metal on the other side of the oven from
the transmitter. This creates nodes and antinodes. Since
nothing cooks at the nodes, a turntable is necessary to en-
6.3 Standing Waves sure that all of the food passes through the antinodes and
gets cooked.

When two coherent waves - waves of equal frequency 6.3.1 Frequencies

and amplitude - travel in opposite directions through the
same area, an interesting superposition eect occurs, as Consider a string, attached at either end, but allowed to
is shown in the following animation: move freely in between. If you pluck it, you create a wave
28 CHAPTER 6. WAVES

Standing waves in pipes, showing nodes and antinodes

Fundamental frequency, and the rst 6 harmonics

musical instruments work: an open hole in a wind instru-

which travels along the string in both directions, and is ment creates an antinode, changing the frequency of the
reected at either end of the string. This process keeps sound, and so the pitch.
on happening, and so a standing wave pattern is created.
The string goes up, and then down, as shown in the rst
row of the diagram on the right. If you imagine the top 6.3.3 Questions
arc as the rst half of a waveform, you can see that when
the string is vibrating at the fundamental frequency, the 1. The air in a 3m organ pipe is resonating at the fun-
string is half as long as the wavelength: it is long. damental frequency. Organ pipes are eectively open at
Therefore, =2L both ends. What is the wavelength of the sound?
If you were to pinch the string in the middle, and then 2. A string is vibrating at the second harmonic frequency.
pluck it on one side, a dierent standing wave pattern How many wavelengths long is the standing wave created?
would be generated. By plucking, you have created an
3. Express, in terms of , the length of a pipe which is
antinode, and by pinching, you have created a node. If
closed at one end, where is the length of one wave at
you then let go of the string, the standing wave pattern
the fundamental frequency.
spreads, and the string length now equals the wavelength.
This is known as the rst harmonic. Worked Solutions
As you pinch the string in descending fractions (, ,
, etc.), you generate successive harmonics, and the total
length of the string is equal to additional wavelengths. 6.4 Youngs Slits

6.3.2 Pipes

Consider a pipe which is open at one end, and closed at

the other. In pipes, waves are reected at the end of the
pipe, regardless of whether it is open or not. If you blow
across the end of the tube, you create a longitudinal wave,
with the air as the medium. This wave travels down the
tube, is reected, travels back, is reected again, and so
on, creating a standing wave pattern.
The closed end of the pipe must be a node; it is the equiv-
alent of pinching a string. Similarly, the open end must be
an antinode; blowing across it is the equivalent of pluck-
ing the string.
Harmonics can be present in pipes, as well. This is how You should be familiar with the idea that, when light
6.4. YOUNGS SLITS 29

passes through a slit, it is diracted (caused to spread out

in arcs from the slit). The amount of diraction increases
the closer the slit width is to the wavelength of the light.
Consider the animation on the right. Light from a light
source is caused to pass through two slits. It is diracted
at both these slits, and so it spreads out in two sets of arcs.
Now, apply superposition of waves to this situation. At
certain points, the peaks (or troughs) of the waves will
coincide, creating constructive interference. If this oc-
curs on a screen, then a bright 'fringe' will be visible. On
the other hand, if destructive interference occurs (a peak
coincides with a trough), then no light will be visible at
that point on the screen.

The length of the side labelled is known as the path

dierence. For bright fringes, from the geometry above,
we know that:

sin = d
Therefore:
= d sin

6.4.1 Calculating the angles at which However, bright fringes do not only occur when the side
labelled is equal to 1 wavelength: it can equal multiple
fringes occur
wavelengths, so long as it is a whole wavelength. There-
fore
n = d sin ,
where n is any integer.
Now consider the right-hand triangle, which applies to
dark fringes. We know that, in this case:
If we wish to calculate the position of a bright fringe,
0.5
we know that, at this point, the waves must be in phase. sin = d
Alternatively, at a dark fringe, the waves must be in an- 0.5 = d sin
tiphase. If we let the wavelength equal , the angle of the
beams from the normal equal , and the distance between We can generalise this, too, for any dark fringe. However,
the slits equal d, we can form two triangles, one for bright if 0.5 is multiplied by an even integer, then we will get
fringes, and another for dark fringes (the crosses labelled a whole wavelength, which would result in a bright, not a
1 and 2 are the slits): dark, fringe. So, n must be an odd integer in the following
30 CHAPTER 6. WAVES

formula: ence p:
dx
0.5n = d sin p = d sin = L
n = 2d sin So, at bright fringes:
dx
n = L , where n is an integer.
And at dark fringes:
6.4.2 Calculating the distances angles cor- 2dx
n = , where n is an odd integer.
respond to on the screen L

At this point, we have to engage in some slightly dodgy 6.4.3 Diraction Grating
maths. In the following diagram, p is path dierence, L
is the distance from the slits to the screen and x is the A diraction grating consists of a lot of slits with equal
perpendicular distance from a fringe to the normal: values of d. As with 2 slits, when n = d sin , peaks
or troughs from all the slits coincide and you get a bright
fringe. Things get a bit more complicated, as all the slits
have dierent positions at which they add up, but you only
need to know that diraction gratings form light and dark
fringes, and that the equations are the same as for 2 slits
for these fringes.

6.4.4 Questions
1. A 2-slit experiment is set up in which the slits are 0.03
m apart. A bright fringe is observed at an angle 10 from
the normal. What sort of electromagnetic radiation was
being used?
2. Light, with a wavelength of 500 nm, is shone through
2 slits, which are 0.05 m apart. What are the angles to the
normal of the rst three dark fringes?
3. Some X-rays, with wavelength 1 nm, are shone through
a diraction grating in which the slits are 50 m apart. A
screen is placed 1.5m from the grating. How far are the
rst three light fringes from the point at which the normal
intercepts the screen?
Worked Solutions

6.5 Diraction
We have already seen why fringes are visible when light
passes through multiple slits. However, this does not ex-
plain why, when light is only passing through 1 slit, a pat-
tern such as the one on the right is visible on the screen.
The answer to this lies in phasors. We already know that
the phasor arrows add up to give a resultant phasor. By
considering the phasor arrows from many paths which
Here, it is necessary to approximate the distance from the light takes through a slit, we can explain why light and
slits to the fringe as the perpendicular distance from the dark fringes occur.
slits to the screen. This is acceptable, provided that is At the normal line, where the brightest fringe is shown,
small, which it will be, since bright fringes get dimmer as all the phasor arrows are pointing in the same direction,
they get further away from the point on the screen oppo- and so add up to create the greatest amplitude: a bright
site the slits. Hence: fringe.
x
sin = L At other fringes, we can use the same formul as for
If we substitute this into the equation for the path dier- diraction gratings, as we are eectively treating the sin-
6.6. FINDING THE DISTANCE OF A REMOTE OBJECT 31

lected.
6. Explain how the distance to the object is calculated
using the data collected.
7. What limitations does your system have? (e.g. accu-
racy, consistency)
8. What percentage error would you expect these limita-
tions to cause?
9. How might these problems be solved?

6.6.1 Examples
Some example answers to these questions are given in the
following pages:

Radar
gle slit as a row of beams of light, coming from a row of
slits.
Sonar
Now consider the central beam of light. By trigonometry:
W
sin = L ,
where = beam angle (radians), W = beam width and L
= distance from slit to screen. Since is small, we can
approximate sin as , so:
W
L
and since = d sin :

d

6.5.1 Questions
1. What is the width of the central bright fringe on a
screen placed 5m from a single slit, where the slit is 0.01m
wide and the wavelength is 500nm?
And thats all there is to it ... maybe.
Worked Solutions

6.6 Finding the Distance of a Re-

mote Object
In the nal section (Section C) of the exam, you have to be
able to write about how waves are used to nd the distance
of a remote object. I would recommend that you pick a
method, and then answer the following questions about it:
1. What sort of wave does your system use? What is an
approximate wavelength of this wave?
2. What sort of distance is it usually used to measure?
What sort of length would you expect the distance to be?
3. Why is measuring this distance useful to society?
4. Draw a labelled diagram of your system.
5. Explain how the system works, and what data is col-
Chapter 7
Quantum Physics
7.1 Light
We have already seen how light behaves like both a wave
and a particle, yet can be proven not to be either. This
idea is not limited to light, but we will start our brief look
at quantum physics with light, since it is easiest to under-
stand.
Quantum physics is the study of quanta. A quantum is,
to quote Wiktionary, The smallest possible, and there-
fore indivisible, unit of a given quantity or quantiable
phenomenon. The quantum of light is the photon. We
are not describing it as a particle or a wave, as such, but
as a lump of energy which behaves like a particle and a
wave in some cases. We are saying that the photon is the
smallest part of light which could be measured, given per-
fect equipment. A photon is, technically, an elementary
particle. It is also the carrier of all electromagnetic radi-
ation. However, its behaviour - quantum behaviour - is
completely weird, so we call it a quantum.
7.1.1 Evidence for the Quantum Be-
haviour of Light
Grainy image of a bowl of nuts. Much better images than this
one have been taken, clearly showing that light arrives in lumps.
Dim Photos
The easiest evidence to understand is dim photographs.
When you take a photo with very little light, it appears
'grainy', such as the image on the right. This means that
the light is arriving at the camera in lumps. If light were
a wave, we would expect the photograph to appear dim-
mer, but uniformly so. In reality, we get clumps of light
distributed randomly across the image, although the den-
sity of the random lumps is higher on the more reective
materials (the nuts). This idea of randomness, according
to rules, is essential to quantum physics.
The photoelectric eect
Photoelectric Eect
The second piece of evidence is more complex, but more
useful since a rule can be derived from it. It can be shown
experimentally that when electromagnetic radiation (e.g.
light) is shone onto the surface of a metal, it can cause
electrons to be emitted. Shining the right type of light
with a positively charged terminal nearby can generate a
current if done in a vacuum.
Scientists found that the amount of light increased the
amount of current, which was to be expected. They also
found that lower frequency light, which has less energy
also gave lower current. Again, this was not particularly
surprising.
What was puzzling, however, was that when light went
32
7.1. LIGHT 33

below a specic minimum frequency (dependent on the be achieved experimentally, by exposing the metallic sur-
metal), no current was observed whatsoever. This con- face to light of dierent colours, and hence dierent fre-
fused scientists. No matter how much they increased the quencies. We already know the frequencies of the dier-
intensity with low frequency light, no electrons were emit- ent colours of light, and we can calculate the energy each
ted. This was surprising because even with sucient en- photon carries into the surface, as this is the same as the
ergy the photoelectric eect stopped. energy required to supply enough potential dierence to
This does not t in with a wave model of light. In a wave, cause the electron to move. The equation for the energy
the energy is evenly distributed along the wave front. of the electron is derived as follows:
Higher frequency waves deliver more energy, but higher First, equate two formulae for energy:
intensity also means more waves arriving, which can com- P = E = IV
t
pensate. The energy transferred depends on both. De-
spite light showing all of the properties of waves (dirac- Rearrange to get:
tion, refraction, spreading out progressively) the fact met- E = ItV
als need light with a minimum frequency to be able to free
electrons is evidence that light is not a wave. The energy We also know that:
along the wave front should just add up and release the Q = It
electron.
So, by substituting the previous equation into the equation
The minimum frequency threshold suggests there is for energy:
something about the waves themselves that allows elec-
E = QV = eV ,
trons to be released. If energy were evenly distributed
around the wave front then they would. The energy would where P = power, E = energy, t = time, I = current, V =
be evenly shared and build up until electrons could be re- potential dierence, Q = charge, e = charge of 1 electron
leased. Rethinking light as being particles, i.e. photons, = 1.602 x 1019 C, V = potential dierence produced
better explains this. Photons have to have a one-to-one, between anode and cathode at a given frequency of radia-
quantised, particle interaction with electrons. A low en- tion. This means that, given this potential dierence, we
ergy photon never releases an electron. can calculate the energy released, and hence the energy
of the quanta which caused this energy to be released.
This is analogous to how people pay. A wave model of
light freeing electrons would be like people pooling their Plotting frequency (on the x-axis) against energy (on the
cash in order to buy something. If they don't have enough y-axis) gives us an approximate straight line, with a gradi-
money, they can nd more people to agree to contribute ent of 6.626 x 1034 . This number is known as Plancks
to the cost until there is enough money. Higher inten- constant, is measured in Js, and is usually denoted h.
sity light could provide more waves to contribute enough Therefore:
energy to share electrons. However, this is not what hap- E = hf
pens. The photon model is analogous to a group of people
trying to pay for something by credit card. No matter how In other words, the energy carried by each quantum is
many people with insucient credit try to pay, no card is proportional to the frequency of the quantum. The con-
accepted, and no one gets to buy the item. stant of proportionality is Plancks constant.

Key points:

To release electrons, light must be above a threshold

frequency. 7.1.3 Questions

Higher intensity light below the threshold frequency 1. How much energy does a photon with a frequency of
will never release photons despite having the same, 50kHz carry?
or even more, energy.
2. A photon carries 1030 J of energy. What is its fre-
When light is above the minimum frequency, higher quency?
intensity light will give more electrons. 3. How many photons of frequency 545 THz does a 20W
bulb give out each second?
4. In one minute, a bulb gives out a million photons of
7.1.2 The Relationship between Energy frequency 600 THz. What is the power of the bulb?
and Frequency
5. The photons in a beam of electromagnetic radiation
The photoelectric eect allows us to derive an equation carry 2.5J of energy each. How long should the phasors
linking the frequency of electromagnetic radiation to the representing this radiation take to rotate?
energy of each quantum (in this case, photons). This can Worked Solutions
34 CHAPTER 7. QUANTUM PHYSICS

7.2 Quantum Behaviour your probability distribution will be.

So far, we have identied the fact that light travels in
quanta, called photons, and that these photons carry an
amount of energy which is proportional to their fre-
quency. We also know that photons aren't waves or parti-
cles in the traditional sense of either word. Instead, they
are lumps of energy. They don't behave the way we would
expect them to.
7.2.1 Many Paths
13. Compare all the resultant intensities to gain a
probability distribution which describes the probabilities
of a photon arriving at one point to another. For exam-
ple, if the intensity of light at one point is two times the
intensity of light at another, then it is twice as likely that
a photon will arrive at the rst point than the second.
14. If all the points being considered were on a screen,
the intensities show you the relative brightnesses of light
at each of the points.

In fact, what photons do when they are travelling is to take

7.2.3 Examples
every path possible. If a photon has to travel from point A
If we now take this method and apply it to several situa-
to point B it will travel in a straight line and loop the loop
tions, we nd that, in many cases, the results are similar
and go via Alpha Centauri and take every other possible
to those obtained when treating light as a wave, with the
path. This is the photons so-called 'quantum state'. It is
exception that we can now reconcile this idea with the
spread out across all space.
observable 'lumpiness of light, and can acknowledge the
However, just because a photon could end up anywhere fact that there is a certain probability that some light will
in space does not mean that it has an equal probability of not behave according to some wave laws.
ending up in any given place. It is far more likely that a
photon from a torch I am carrying will end up hitting the
ground in front of me than it is that the same photon will Travelling from A to B
hit me on the back of the head. But both are possible.
Light can go round corners; just very rarely!

7.2.2 Calculating Probabilities

The probability of a photon ending up at any given point

in space relative to another point in space can be cal-
culated by considering a selection of the paths the pho-
ton takes to each point. The more paths considered, the
greater the accuracy of the calculation. Use the following
steps when doing this:
1. Dene the light source.
2. Work out the frequency of the photon.
3. Dene any objects which the light cannot pass through.
Adding phasor arrows to gain resultant amplitude by considering
4. Dene the rst point you wish to consider. multiple paths, showing variation in paths contribution to resul-
tant amplitude.
5. Dene a set of paths from the source to the point being
considered, the more, the better.
This is the simplest example to consider. If we consider a
6. Work out the time taken to traverse one of the paths.
range of paths going from point A to point B, and calcu-
7. Work out how many phasor rotations this corresponds late the phasor directions at the end of the paths, we get a
to. resultant phasor arrow which gives us some amplitude at
point B. Since there are no obstructions, at any point this
8. Draw an arrow representing the nal phasor arrow. far away from the source, we will get the same resultant
9. Repeat steps 6-8 for each of the paths. amplitude.
10. Add all the phasor arrows together, tip-to-tail. It is important to note that dierent paths contribute to
the resultant amplitude by dierent amounts. The paths
11. Square the amplitude of this resultant phasor arrow closer to the straight line between the two points are more
to gain the intensity of the light at this point. It may help parallel to the resultant angle, whereas the paths further
to imagine a square rotating around, instead of an arrow. away vary in direction more, and so tend to cancel each
12. Repeat steps 4-11 for every point you wish to con- other out. The conclusion: light travelling in straight lines
sider. The more points you consider, the more accurate contributes most to the resultant amplitude.
7.3. ELECTRON BEHAVIOUR
Youngs Slits
Here, we just need to consider two paths: one through
each slit. We can then calculate two phasor arrows, add
them together to gain a resultant phasor arrow, and square
its amplitude to gain the intensity of the light at the point
the two paths went to. When calculated, these intensities
give a pattern of light and dark fringes, just as predicted
by the wave theory.
The most contribution to amplitude comes from the centre of the
mirror.
Reection
This situation is very similar to what happens when light
travels in a 'straight line'. The only dierence is that we
consider the paths which involve rebounding o an obsta-
cle. The results are more or less the same, but the paths
from which they were obtained are dierent. This means
that we can assume the same conclusions about these dif-
ferent paths: that most of the resultant amplitude comes
from the part of the mirror where the angle of incidence
equals the angle of reection. In other words, the likeli-
hood is that a photon will behave as if mirrors work ac-
cording to wave theory.
Refraction works because the greatest contribution to amplitude
is caused by the paths with the shortest trip time.
35
Refraction
Dierent paths have dierent lengths, and so photons
take dierent amounts of time to traverse them (these are
known as trip times). In the diagram on the right, the pho-
tons again traverse all possible paths. However, the paths
with the smallest dierence between trip times have pha-
sor arrows with the smallest dierence in direction, so the
paths with the smallest trip times contribute most to the
resultant amplitude. This shortest path is given by Snells
law. Yet again, quantum physics provides a more accurate
picture of something which has already been explained to
some degree.
Diraction
Diraction occurs when the photons are blocked from
taking every other path. This occurs when light passes
through a gap less than 1 wavelength wide. The result is
that, where the amplitudes would have roughly cancelled
each other out, they do not, and so light spreads out in
directions it would not normally spread out in. This ex-
plains diraction, instead of just being able to observe
and calculate what happens.
7.3 Electron Behaviour
So far, we have considered how quantum physics applies
to photons, the quanta of light. In reality, every other
particle is also a quantum, but you only need to know
about photons and electrons.
The image on the right shows what happens when you re
electrons through a pair of slits: it arrives in lumps, but
you get fringes due to superposition as well. The electrons
are behaving as both waves and particles. Actually, they
are behaving as quanta. The equations describing quan-
tum behaviour in electrons are similar to those describing
it in photons.
7.3.1 Frequency and Kinetic Energy
We know that, for photons:
E
f= h
In suggesting that electrons are quanta, we assume that
they must have a frequency at which the phasors repre-
senting them rotate. We also know that h is a constant;
it does not change. So, when adapting the above equa-
tion to apply to electrons, all we need to adapt is E. In
electrons, this energy is their kinetic energy. If the elec-
tron has some form of potential energy, this must rst be
subtracted from the kinetic energy, as this portion of the
energy does not aect frequency. So:
Ekinetic Epotential
f= h
36 CHAPTER 7. QUANTUM PHYSICS

length, after its discoverer. This is necessary in order to

work out a probability distribution for the position of an
electron, as this is the distance the electron travels for
each phasor arrow rotation. The de Broglie wavelength
is given by the equation:
h h
= p = mv ,
where h = Plancks constant, p = momentum, m = mass
of electron = 9.1 x 1031 kg and v = velocity of electron.

7.3.3 Potential Dierence and Kinetic En-

ergy

Potential dierence is what causes electrons to move. You

already know how power is related to charge, voltage and
time:
QV
P = t
Since power is the rate at which work is done:
W = QV
We know that the charge on an electron equals 1.6 x
1019 , and that work done is energy, so:
Ekinetic = 1.6 1019 V
Energy, in the SI system of units, is measured in Joules,
but, sometimes it is measured in electronvolts, or eV. 1
eV is the kinetic energy of 1 electron accelerated by 1V
of potential dierence. So, 1 eV = 1.6 x 1019 J.

Wave functions of an electron in dierent orbitals of a hydrogen

atom. Brightness corresponds to the probability density function
for the position of the electron.
Youngs slits, using electrons.

7.3.2 De Broglie Wavelength 7.3.4 Questions

If electrons exhibit some wavelike properties, they must 1. An electron moves at 30,000 ms1 . What is its de
also have a 'wavelength', known as the de Broglie wave- Broglie wavelength?
7.3. ELECTRON BEHAVIOUR 37

2. What is its frequency?

3. What is its kinetic energy, in eV?
4. Given that it is travelling out of an electron gun, what
was the potential dierence between the anode and the
cathode?
5. An electron is accelerated by a potential dierence of
150V. What is its frequency?
Worked Solutions
Chapter 8

Mechanics

8.1 Vectors

8.1.1 What is a vector?

Two types of physical quantity are scalars and vectors.

Scalar quantities are simple: they are things like speed,
distance, or time. They have a magnitude, but no direc-
tion. A vector quantity consists of two parts: both a scalar
and a direction. For example, the velocity of an object is
made up of both the speed of an object and the direction
in which it is moving. Speed is a scalar; add a direction
and it becomes velocity, a vector. Similarly, take a dis-
tance and give it a direction and it becomes a displace-
ment, such as '2 miles south-east'. Distance is a scalar, Calculating the components of a vector.
whereas displacement is a vector.
Vectors and scalars are both useful. For example, if I run Consider the diagram on the right. The vector a consists
around the room several times and end up back where I of a vertical component j and a horizontal component i.
started, I may have covered a distance of 50m. My dis- a has a modulus |a|. |i| and |j| can be calculated using |a|,
placement is 0 - the null vector. The null vector is the the angle between i and a and some basic trigonometry.
only vector which has no direction. If I want to calculate We know that:
how much work I have done, I should use the distance. If |i| |j|
cos = |a| and sin = |a|
I want to know where I am, I should use the displacement.
Hence:
As we shall see, the directional component of a vector can
be expressed in several dierent ways. '2 miles south-east' |i| = |a| cos and |j| = |a| sin .
is the same as saying '2 miles on a bearing of 135', or '1.4 This will be given to you in the formula booklet in the
miles east, 1.4 miles north'. The scalar component of a exam.
vector is known as the modulus of a vector.

8.1.4 Vector Addition

8.1.2 Vector Notation

You need to be able to understand the following algebraic

representations of vectors:

8.1.3 Vector Components

Sometimes, it is useful to express a vector in terms of two

other vectors. These two vectors are usually pointing up
and right, and work similarly to the Cartesian co-ordinate
system. So, for example, 'an acceleration of 3.4 ms2
west' becomes 'a vertical acceleration of 0 ms2 and an Adding vectors tip-to-tail.
horizontal acceleration of 3.4 ms2 east. However, this
is a very simple example. You also need to know how to add vectors together. This

38
8.1. VECTORS 39

enables us to answer questions such as, If I travel 5 miles

north-west and then 6 miles east, where am I?", or If I
accelerate at 3 ms2 in a northerly direction, and acceler-
ate south-east at 1 ms2 , what is my total acceleration?".
Vectors can be added 'tip-to-tail'; that is to say, the resul-
tant vector is equal to 'travelling' the rst vector, and then
travelling the second vector.
This is shown in the diagram on the left. When vectors
a and b are added together, the resultant vector a + b is
produced, joining the tail of the rst vector to the tip of
the last, with the vectors joined together. In practise, the
easiest way to add two vectors together is to calculate (if
you do not already know this) the vertical and horizontal
components, and add them all together to get two total
vertical and horizontal components. You can then use
Pythagoras theorem to calculate the modulus of the re-
sultant vector, and some more basic trigonometry to cal-
culate its direction.

Illustration of how to estimate the parabola of a moving object

graphically, taking into account the vectors of its starting velocity,
and the change in velocity due to gravity.

s s
v = t = 1 = s

Adding lots of vectors tip-to-tail. Copy this vector, and connect its tail to the tip of the
rst vector. This new vector represents the velocity
and displacement that the ball would have had over
In algebra:
the next second, if gravity did not exist.
|a|n = ( |i|n )2 + ( |j|n )2 and =
arctan |j| Draw another vector to represent the change in ve-
|i|n ,
n

locity due to gravity (9.81 ms2 ) on Earth. This

where a1 ... a are the vectors to be added together, i1
... i are their horizontal components, j1 ... j are their
vertical components, and is the angle between the =0
line and the resultant vector a , as shown in the diagram
on the right.
8.1.5 Predicting Parabolas
If you use a diagram to represent vectors (making the
lengths of the arrows proportional to the modulus of the
vectors they represent, and the directions equal), you can
predict graphically the trajectory an object (such as a ball)
will take. Use the following steps:
Draw a vector to represent the velocity of the ball (in 1. Which of the following are vectors?
ms1 ). Since this is the number of metres travelled
in 1 second, and each step of the process is 1 second
long, this vector represents both the velocity and the
displacement of the ball, i.e.
should be pointing downwards, and be to the same
scale as the other vectors. This represents the fact
that the velocity of the ball changes due to gravity
(velocity is a vector, so both the speed and angle of
the balls travel change).
Add these vectors together, as shown above, to give a
new vector. This new vector represents the velocity
and displacement of the ball over the second second.
Repeat this process until the ball hits something
(draw the ground, if in doubt).
8.1.6 Questions
20 cm
9.81 ms2 towards the centre of the earth
40 CHAPTER 8. MECHANICS

5 km south-east 8.2.2 Position-time Graphs or Displace-

ment - Time Graphs
500 ms1 on a bearing of 285.3
Distance-Time Graphs give you speed, but speed is never
negative so you can only have a positive slope in a
2. A displacement vector a is the resultant vector of two distance-time graph. Position-Time graphs show dis-
other vectors, 5 m north and 10 m south-east. What does placement, have direction, and from which you can cal-
a equal, as a displacement and a bearing? culate velocity. If we were to imagine the line on the
1
3. If I travel at a velocity of 10 ms on a bearing of position-time graph to the right as a function f(t), giving
030, at what velocity am I travelling north and east? an equation for s = f(t), we could dierentiate this to gain:
ds
4. An alternative method of writing vectors is in a col- dt = f (t) ,
umn, as follows: where s is displacement, and t is time. By nding f'(t) at
( )
a = xy , any given time t, we can nd the rate at which distance
is increasing (or decreasing) with respect to t. This is the
where x and y are the vertical and horizontal components
gradient of the line. A positive gradient means that dis-
of the vector(respectively.
) Express |a| and the angle be-
1 tance is increasing, and a negative gradient means that
tween a and 0 in terms of x and y.
distance is decreasing. A gradient of 0 means that the
5. A more accurate method of modelling the trajectory object is stationary. The velocity of the object is the rate
of a ball is to include air resistance as a constant force F. of change of its displacement, which is the same as the
How would this be achieved? gradient of the line on a distance-time graph. This is not
Worked Solutions necessarily the same as the average velocity of the object
v:
s
v= t
Here, t and s are the total changes in displacement and
8.2 Graphs time over a certain period - they do not tell you exactly
what was happening at any given point in time.
There are two types of graphs of motion you need to
be able to use and understand: distance-time graphs and
velocity-time graphs. 8.2.3 Velocity-time Graphs

8.2.1 Distance-time Graphs

An object accelerates for 6 seconds, hits something, accelerates

for 5 seconds and then decelerates to a stop in the remaining 6.5
seconds of its journey.

An object travels at a constant rate for 6 seconds, stops for 5 sec-
onds, returns to its original position in the next 7 seconds, travel-
ling more slowly in the middle section of its return journey.
A distance-time graph plots the distance of an object away
from a certain point, with time on the x-axis and distance
on the y-axis.There are several types of graphs of motion
you need to be able to use and understand: distance-time
graphs, position-time graphs, and velocity-time graphs.
A velocity-time graph plots the velocity of an object, rel-
ative to a certain point, with time on the x-axis and ve-
locity on the y-axis. We already know that velocity is the
gradient (derivative) of the distance function. Since in-
tegration is the inverse process to dierentiation, if we
have a velocity-time graph and wish to know the distance
travelled between two points in time, we can nd the area
under the graph between those two points in time. In gen-
eral:
8.3. KINEMATICS 41

If v = f (t)
t
s = t12 f (t) dt
where v is velocity (in ms1 ), t is time (in s), and s is the
distance travelled (in m) between two points in time t1
and t2 .
Also, by dierentiation, we know that the gradient (or
derivative of v = f(t)) is equal to the acceleration of the
object at any given point in time (in ms2 ) since:
dv
a= dt

8.2.4 Questions

1. In the following distance-time graph, what is the veloc-

ity 4 seconds after the beginning of the objects journey? 4. What is the objects acceleration at 8 seconds?

5. A car travels at 10ms1 for 5 minutes in a straight

line, and then returns to its original location over the
next 4 minutes, travelling at a constant velocity. Draw
a distance-time graph showing the distance the car has
travelled from its original location.
6. Draw the velocity-time graph for the above situation.
The following question is more dicult than anything you
will be given, but have a go anyway:
7. The velocity of a ball is related to the time since it was
thrown by the equation v = 30 9.8t . How far has the
ball travelled after 2 seconds?
Worked Solutions

8.3 Kinematics
Kinematics is the study of how objects move. One needs
to understand a situation in which an object changes
speed, accelerating or decelerating, and travelling a cer-
tain distance. There are four equations you need to be
able to use which relate these quantities.

2a)Describe this persons movements. 8.3.1 Variables

2b)What is the velocity at 12 seconds? Before we can understand the kinematic equations, we
3. In the following velocity-time graph, how far need to understand the variables involved. They are as
does the object travel between 7 and 9 seconds? follows:
42 CHAPTER 8. MECHANICS

t is the length of the interval of time being consid- 8.3.4 Questions

ered, in seconds.
1. A person accelerates from a speed of 1 ms1 to 1.7
v is the speed of the object at the end of the time ms1 in 25 seconds. How far has he travelled in this time?
interval, in ms1 . 2. A car accelerates at a rate of 18 kmh2 to a speed of
60 kmh1 , travelling 1 km in the process. How fast was
u is the speed of the object at the beginning of the the car travelling before it travelled this distance?
time interval, in ms1 .
3. A goose in ight is travelling at 4 ms1 . It accelerates
at a rate of 1.5 ms2 for 7 seconds. What is its new speed?
a is the acceleration of the object during the time
interval, in ms2 . Has to be a constant. 4. How far does an aeroplane travel if it accelerates from
400 kmh1 at a rate of 40 kmh2 for 1 hour?
s is the displacement (distance traveled) of the object Worked Solutions
during the time interval, in meters.

8.4 Forces and Power

8.3.2 Equations

The four equations are as follows: 8.4.1 Forces

1. v = u + at Forces are vectors. When solving problems involving
2. s = u+v
2 t
forces, it is best to think of them as lots of people pulling
at2
ropes attached to an object. The forces are all pulling in
3. s = ut + 2 dierent directions, with dierent magnitudes, but the
4. v 2 = u2 + 2as eect is in only one direction, with only one magnitude.
So, you have to add the forces up as vectors.
Forces cause things to happen. They cause an object to
8.3.3 Derivations accelerate in the same direction as the force. In other
words, forces cause objects to move in a direction closer
It is also useful to know where the above equations come to the direction they are pulling in. If the object is already
from. We know that acceleration is equal to change in moving, then they will not cause it to move in the direction
speed per. unit time, so: of the force, as forces do not create velocities: they create
vu accelerations.
a = t (*)
If a force is acting on an object, it seems logical that the
at = v u
object will not accelerate as much as a result of the force
v = u + at (1) if it has a lower mass. This gives rise to the equation:
We also know that the average speed over the time inter- F = ma ,
val is equal to displacement per. unit time, so:
where F = force applied (in Newtons, denoted N), m =
u+v
2 = s
t mass (in kg) and a = acceleration (in ms2 ). If we rear-
s = u+v t (2) range the equation, it makes more sense:
2
F
If we substitute the value of v from equation 1 into equa- a = m
tion 2, we get: In other words, the acceleration in a given direction as
u+(u+at) 2u+at at at2 the result of a force is equal to the force applied per. unit
s= t = 2 t = t(u + 2 ) = ut + 2 (3)
2 mass in that direction.
If we take the equation for acceleration (*), we can rear-
range it to get:
at = v u 8.4.2 Work Done
vu
t= a You should already know how to calculate some types of
If we substitute this equation for t into equation 2, we energy, for example:
obtain: Kinetic Energy = mv
2

2
(v+u)(vu) 2
u 2
s = u+v
2
vu
a = 2a = v 2a Gravitational Potential Energy = mgh
2as = v 2 u2 The amount of energy converted by a force is equal to the
v 2 = u2 + 2as (4) work done, which is equal (as you already know) to the
8.4. FORCES AND POWER 43

force multiplied by the distance the object it is acting on

moves:
Work Done = E = F s
When answering questions about work done, you may be
given a force acting in a direction other than that of the
displacement. In this case, you will have to nd the dis-
placement in the direction of the force, as shown in the
section on Vectors.

8.4.3 Power
Power is the rate of change of energy. It is the amount of
energy converted per. unit time, and is measured in Js1 :
E
P = t ,
where E = energy (in J) and t = time (in s). Since E
= work done, power is the rate at which work is done.
Since:
E = F s
E
t = F s
t
P = Fv ,
where P = power (in Watts, denoted W), F = force and v
= velocity.

8.4.4 Gravity
Gravity is something of a special case. The acceleration
due to gravity is denoted g, and is equal to 9.81359ms2 .
It is uniform over small distances from the Earth. The
force due to gravity is equal to mg, since F = ma. There-
fore:
F mg
a= m = m =g
Therefore, when things are dropped, they all fall at the
same acceleration, regardless of mass. Also, the acceler-
ation due to gravity (in ms2 ) is equal to the gravitational
eld strength (in Nkg1 ).

8.4.5 Questions
1. I hit a ball of mass 5g with a cue on a billiards table
with a force of 20N. If friction opposes me with a force of
14.2N, what is the resultant acceleration of the ball away
from the cue?
2. A 10g ball rolls down a 1.2m high slope, and leaves
it with a velocity of 4ms1 . How much work is done by
friction?
3. An electric train is powered on a 30kV power supply,
where the current is 100A. The train is travelling at 90
kmh1 . What is the net force exerted on it in a forwards
direction?
Worked Solutions
Chapter 9

A2

44
Chapter 10

Decay

10.1 Exponential Relationships

Graph of x = e-bt , showing several dierent values of b.

represents the decay of certain variables.

10.1.2 Exponential Relationships in the

Graph of x = aebt , where b is positive.
Real World
Many things are governed by exponential relationships.
The exponential relationships which we shall be dealing An exponential relationship occurs when the rate of
with are of the following form: change of a variable depends on the value of the vari-
able itself. You should memorise this denition, as well
x = aebt , as understand it. Let us consider some examples:
where t is time, x is a variable, and a and b are constants.
e is just a number, albeit a very special number. It is an ir-
rational constant, like . e is 2.71828182845904523536
to 20 decimal places. However, it is far easier just to nd
the e (or exp) button on your calculator.
The inverse function of et is the natural logarithm, de-
noted ln t:
ln t = loge t

10.1.1 Growth and Decay

When b is positive, an exponential function increases

rapidly. This represents the growth of certain variables
A petri dish with bacteria growing on it.
very well. When b is negative, an exponential function
decreases, attening out as it approaches the t axis. This

45
46 CHAPTER 10. DECAY

Population Growth By separating the variables:

dx = axdt
Consider a Petri dish full of agar jelly (food for bacte-
1
ria) with a few bacteria on it. These bacteria will repro- x dx = adt
1
duce, and so, as time goes by, the number of bacteria
x dx = adt
on the jelly will increase. However, each bacterium does
not care about whether there are other bacteria around ln x = at + c (where c is the constant of integration)
or not. It will continue making more bacteria at the same x = eat+c = eat ec
rate. Therefore, as the total number of bacteria increases,
If we let b = ec (b is a constant, since ec is a constant):
their rate of reproduction increases. This is an exponen-
tial relationship with a positive value of b. x = beat
Of course, this model is awed since, in reality, the bac-
teria will eventually have eaten all the agar jelly, and so
the relationship will stop being exponential.
10.1.4 Questions

1. Simplify Newtons Law of Cooling for the case when

Emptying Tank I place a warm object in a large tank of water which is on
the point of freezing. Measure temperature in C.
If you ll a large tank with water, and make a hole in the 2. What will the temperature of an object at 40 C be
bottom, at rst, the water will ow out very fast. How- after 30 seconds? (Take r=103 s1 .)
ever, as the tank empties, the pressure of the water will
3. A body is found in a library (as per Agatha Christie) at
decrease, and so the rate of ow will decrease. The rate
8am. The temperature of the library is kept at a constant
of change of the amount of water in the tank depends on
temperature of 20 C for 10 minutes. During these 10
the amount of water in the tank. This is an exponential re-
minutes, the body cools from 25 C to 24 C. The body
lationship with a negative value of b - it is an exponential
temperature of a healthy human being is 36.8 C. At what
decay.
time was the person murdered?
4. Suppose for a moment that the number of pages on
Cooling Wikibooks p can be modelled as an exponential relation-
ship. Let the number of pages required on average to at-
A hot object cools down faster than a warm object. So, tract an editor be a, and the average number of new pages
as an object cools, the rate at which temperature 'ows created by an editor each year be z. Derive an equation
out of it into its surroundings will decrease. Newton expressing p in terms of the time in years since Wiki-
expressed this as an exponential relationship (known as books was created t.
Newtons Law of Cooling):
5. Wikibooks was created in mid-2003. How many pages
Tt = Tenv + (T0 Tenv )ert , should there have been 6 years later? (Take a = 20, z =
1
where T is the temperature at a time t, T0 is the temper- 10 yr .)
ature at t = 0, T is the temperature of the environment 6. The actual number of pages in Wikibooks in mid-2009
around the cooling object, and r is a positive constant. was 35,148. What are the problems with this model?
Note that a here is equal to (T0 - T ) - but a is still a What problems may develop, say, by 2103?
constant since T0 and T are both constants. The '-' sign
Worked Solutions
in front of the r shows us that this is an exponential decay -
the temperature of the object is tending towards the tem-
perature of the environment. The reason we add T is
merely a result of the fact that we do not want the temper- 10.2 Capacitors
ature to decay to 0 (in whatever unit of temperature we
happen to be using). Instead, we want it to decay towards If you place two conducting plates near each other, with
the temperature of the environment. an insulator (known as a dielectric) in between, and you
charge one plate positively and the other negatively, there
will be a uniform electric eld between them. Since:
10.1.3 Mathematical Derivation V
E= d ,
We have already said that an exponential relationship oc- as the distance between the two plates decreases, the en-
curs when the rate of change of a variable depends on ergy stored increases. This system is known as a capacitor
the value of the variable itself. If we translate this into - it has a capacitance for storing charge. The capacitance
algebra, we get the following: C of a capacitor is:
dx Q
dt = ax , where a is a constant. C= V ,
10.2. CAPACITORS 47

10.2.1 Exponential Decay

Current is the rate of ow of charge. However, current is

given by the formula:
V
I= R
But, in a capacitor, the voltage depends on the amount of
charge left in the capacitor, and so the current is a function
of the charge left on the capacitor. The rate of change of
charge depends on the value of the charge itself. And so,
we should expect to nd an exponential relationship:
Q = Q0 e RC ,
t

where R is the resistance of the resistor in series with the

capacitor, Q is the charge on the capacitor at a time t and
Q0 was the charge on the capacitor at t = 0. Since Q =
It:
It = I0 te RC
t

I = I0 e RC ,
t

where I is the current owing at a time t and I0 was the

initial current owing at t = 0. Since V = IR:
V = V0 e RC
t
A 10 F capacitor
The power being dissipated across the resitors in the cir-
cuit is IV, so:
P = I0 V0 e RC e RC = P0 e RC
t t 2t

where Q is the charge stored by the capacitor, and V is

the potential dierence between the plates. C is therefore
the amount of charge stored on the capacitor per unit po-
tential dierence. Capacitance is measured in farads (F).
Just as 1 coulomb is a massive amount of charge, a 1F
10.2.2 Energy
capacitor stores a lot of charge per. volt.
Any capacitor, unless it is physically altered, has a con-
The energy stored by a capacitor E is dened as:
stant capacitance. If it is left uncharged, Q = 0, and so the
V
potential dierence across it is 0. If a DC power source is E = 0 Q dV
connected to the capacitor, we create a voltage across the
In other words, it is the area under a graph of charge
capacitor, causing electrons to move around the circuit.
against potential dierence. Charge is proportional to po-
This creates a charge on the capacitor equal to CV. If
tential dierence (Q = CV), so the area under the graph
we then disconnect the power source, the charge remains
is that of a triangle with base V and height Q. You can
there since it has nowhere to go. The potential dierence
show this mathematically:
across the capacitor causes the charge to 'want' to cross
V [ 2 ]V
the dielectric, creating a spark. However, until the voltage E = 0 CV dV = C V2 = 12 CV 2
between the plates reaches a certain level (the breakdown 0
voltage of the capacitor), it cannot do this. So, the charge Since Q = CV:
is stored.
E = 21 QV
If charge is stored, it can also be released by reconnecting
the circuit. If we were to connect a wire of negligible
resistance to both ends of the capacitor, all the charge
would ow back to where it came from, and so the charge
on the capacitor would again, almost instantaneously, be
10.2.3 Circuits
0. If, however, we put a resistor (or another component
with a resistance) in series with the capacitor, the ow
of charge (current) is slowed, and so the charge on the The circuit symbol for a capacitor is . A simple circuit
capacitor does not become 0 instantly. Instead, we can with a capacitor in series with a resistor, an ideal amme-
use the charge to power a component, such as a camera ter (no resistance), and in parallel with an ideal voltmeter
ash. (innite resistance) looks like the following:
48 CHAPTER 10. DECAY

Worked Solutions

10.3 Radioactive Decay

In the position shown, the capacitor is charging. If the
switch were put in the other position, the capacitor would 10.3.1 Decay Constant
be discharging exponentially through the resistor. In this
circuit, the capacitor charges instantly since there is no We can model radioactive decay by assuming that the
resistance to slow it down. In reality there will be inter- probability that any one nucleus out of N nuclei decays
nal resistance in the battery, meaning that the capacitor in any one second is a constant . is known as the decay
charges exponentially. constant, and is measured in s1 (technically the same as
1
If capacitors are placed in parallel, they act as one ca- Hz, but it is a probability, not a frequency, so we use s ).
pacitor with a capacitance equal to the total of all the ca-
pacitances of all the individual capacitors. If capacitors
are placed in series, the distances between the plates in
10.3.2 Activity
each of them result in the capacitance of the imaginary
As our N nuclei decay, the number of nuclei decreases.
resultant capacitor C being given by:
The activity of the N nuclei we have left is, on average,
1 1 1 1
C = C1 + C2 + ... + Cn the probability that any one nucleus will decay per. unit
time multiplied by the number of nuclei. If we have 200
nuclei, and the decay constant is 0.5, we would expect,
on average, 100 nuclei to decay in one second. This rate
would decreases as time goes by. This gives us the follow-
ing formula for the activity A of a radioactive sample:
A = dN
dt = N
Activity is always positive, and is measured in becquerels
(Bq). It is easy to see that the rate of change of the num-
10.2.4 Questions ber of nuclei is -A = -N.

10.3.3 Decay
1. A 2 mF capacitor is connected to a 10V DC power
supply. How much charge can be stored by the capacitor? The solution of the dierential equation for activity given
2. What is the highest possible energy stored by this ca- above is an exponential relationship:
pacitor? N = N0 et ,
3. The capacitor is placed in series with a 5 resistor where N is the number of nuclei present at a time t, and
and charged to capacity. How long would it take for the N0 is the number of nuclei present at time t=0. You can
charge in the capacitor to be reduced to 1 mC? dene t=0 to be any point in time you like, provided you
4. After this time has elapsed, how much energy is stored are consistent. Since A = N and therefore A0 = N0 :
in the capacitor? A = A0 et ,
5. What is the capacitance of the equivalent capacitor to where A is the activity of the sample at a time t, and A0
the following network of capacitors? is the activity at time t=0.
10.4. HALF-LIVES 49

10.3.4 Questions 10.4.2 Half-Life of a Capacitor

1 mole = 6.02 x 1023 atoms You can also use this formula for other forms of decay
simply by replacing the decay constant with the constant
1u = 1.66 x 1027 kg
that was in front of the t in the exponential relationship.
1. Americium-241 has a decay constant of 5.07 x So, for the charge on a capacitor, given by the relation-
1011 s1 . What is the activity of 1 mole of americium- ship:
241? t
Qt = Q0 e RC
1
2. How many g of lead-212 ( = 18.2s ) are required
to create an activity of 0.8 x 1018 Bq? So, substitute:
1
3. How long does it take for 2kg of lead-212 to decay to = RC
1.5kg of lead-212? Therefore, the half-life of a capacitor is given by:
4. Where does the missing 0.5kg go? t 12 = RC ln 2
5. Some americium-241 has an activity of 3kBq. What
is its activity after 10 years? 10.4.3 Time Constant of a Capacitor
6. This model of radioactive decay is similar to taking
some dice, rolling them once per. second, and removing However, when dealing with capacitors, it is more com-
the dice which roll a one or a two. What is the decay mon to use the time constant, commonly denoted ,
constant of the dice? where:
t1
7. If you started out with 10 dice, how many dice would = RC = ln22
you have left after 10s? What is the problem with this
At t = :
model of radioactive decay? RC
Qt = Q0 e RC = Qe0
Worked Solutions
So, the time constant of a capacitor can be dened as
the time taken for the charge, current or voltage from the
capacitor to decay to the reciprocal of e (36.8%) of the
10.4 Half-lives original charge, current or voltage.

The half life of something that is decaying exponentially

is the time taken for the value of a decaying variable to 10.4.4 Questions
halve.
1. Radon-222 has a decay constant of 2.1s1 . What is
its half-life?

10.4.1 Half Life of a Radioisotope 2. Uranium-238 has a half-life of 4.5 billion years. How
long will it take for a 5 gram sample of U-238 to decay
The most common use of half-lives is in radioactive de- to contain 1.25 grams of U-238?
cay. The activity is given by the equation: 3. How long will it be until it contains 0.5 grams of U-
A =A e t 238?
t 0

At t=t, A = A0 , so: 4. Tritium, a radioisotope of Hydrogen, decays into

t 1
Helium-3. After 1 year, 94.5% is left. What is the half-
A0 A0
2 = A0 e 2 = t 1 life of tritium (H-3)?
e 2

t 1 5. A large capacitor has capacitance 0.5F. It is placed in

2=e 2
series with a 5 resistor and contains 5C of charge. What
ln 2 = t 12 is its time constant?
Therefore: 6. How long will it take for the charge in the capacitor to
ln 2 reach 0.677C? ( 0.677 = e52 )
t 12 =
Worked Solutions
It is important to note that the half-life is completely unre-
lated to the variable which is decaying. At the end of the
half-life, all decaying variables will have halved. This also
means that you can start at any point in the decay, with
any value of any decaying variable, and the time taken for
the value of that variable to halve from that time will be
the half-life.
Chapter 11

Gravity

11.1 Force 11.1.1 Gravitational Force Inside an Ob-

ject

The nature of gravity is a deep question. What exactly

goes on to give rise to gravitational forces is considered
one of the greatest mysteries left to solve in physics. We
should all be familiar with the fact that gravity gives ob-
jects weight, which is why an apple will fall to the Earth.
In fact, any object with mass exerts a gravitational force
on any other object with mass. The Earth exerts a pull on
an apple, and the apple equally exerts a pull on the Earth.
Gravity does not just allow us to describe the paths of
objects that will eventually hit the ground. It describes
how planets move, with remarkable precision. It predicts
the dates and times of solar eclipses hundreds of years
before they happen.
Thus gravitational force of attraction between two objects
is given by:
GM m
Fgrav = r2 ,
where r is the distance between the spheres, and G is the
Gravitational constant. Experiments have shown that G = A lift acting under gravity in a lift shaft going through the centre
6.67 x 1011 Nm2 kg2 . of the Earth.
This equation better describes some facts we already
know. We should remember from GCSE science that Inside a roughly spherical object (such as the Earth), it
can be proved geometrically that the eects of the gravi-
force is inversely proportional to the distance squared. It
explains why as mass increases, weight on the Earth in- tational force resulting from all the mass outside a radius
creases. at which an object is located can be ignored, since it all
cancels itself out. So, the only mass we need to consider
Note that this formula says nothing about where gravity is the mass inside the radius at which the object is located.
comes from. It only describes what gravity does. How- The density of an object is given by the following equa-
ever, it describes it extremely well. tion:
Gravity is not just about objects hitting the Earth. How- = M ,
V
ever, it does have a lot to do with falling.
where M is mass, and V is volume. Therefore:
We should also be aware that from circular motion that:
2
M = V
F = mv r ,
If we substitute the volume of a sphere for V:
where F is the centripetal force, m is the mass of an ob- 4 3
ject, r is the distance between the objects and v is the ve- M = 3 r
locity of the object, perpendicular to the centripetal force And if we substitute this mass into the formula for grav-
and thus tangential at any point to the orbit. itational force given above:

50
11.2. FIELD 51

Fgrav =
Gm 43 r 3
r2 = 43 Gmr 11.2 Field
In other words, inside a sphere of uniform mass, the grav-
itational force is directly proportional to the distance of The gravitational eld, or gravitational eld strength is the
an object from the centre of the sphere. Incidentally, this force exerted by gravity on an object per. unit mass of the
results in a simple harmonic oscillator such as the one on object:
the right. This means that a graph of gravitational force g=
Fgrav
m
against distance from the centre of a sphere with uniform
density looks like this: As gravitational eld strength is a measure of the force
exerted on each unit of mass, its unit is Nkg1 . If we
consider a planet, Body A, the gravitational eld strength
experienced by another object, Body B, is given by:
GM m
r2 GM
g= m = r2

Dimensions :- [g] = M
L2 = M L 2
This is the total force exerted on Body B divided by the
mass of Body B. Inside the planet, force is proportional
to the distance from the centre, so the eld is also propor-
tional to distance.

11.2.1 Acceleration

Force is given by:

F = ma
This means that:
ma
g= m =a
This shows that the gravitational eld strength is also the
acceleration due to gravity on any object. This accelera-
tion is the same for any object, regardless of mass. When
considering small heights above the Earths surface, such
as those in our day-to-day experiences, g remains roughly
constant.

11.1.2 Questions 11.2.2 Field Lines

1. Jupiter orbits the Sun at a radius of around 7.8 x

1011 m. The mass of Jupiter is 1.9 x 1027 kg, and the mass
of the Sun is 2.0 x 1030 kg. What is the gravitational force
acting on Jupiter? What is the gravitational force acting
on the Sun?
2. The force exerted by the Sun on an object at a certain
distance is 106 N. The object travels half the distance to
the Sun. What is the force exerted by the Sun on the
object now?
3. What is the magnitude of the gravitational force that
two 1kg weights exert on each other when they are 5cm
apart?
4. The radius of the Earth is 6360km, and its mass is
5.97 x 1024 kg. What is the dierence between the grav-
itational force on 1kg at the top of your body, and on 1kg
at your head, and 1kg at your feet? (Assume that you are
2m tall.)
Worked Solutions Gravitational eld lines around the Earth.
52 CHAPTER 11. GRAVITY

The gravitational eld can be represented using eld lines. energy is 0 in a way which makes the maths easy.
These run in the direction that a mass would be acceler- The diculty with this simple formula is that g does not
ated in initially. The object will not necessarily fall along remain the same over large distances:
the eld lines, but the acceleration will always be in the
GM
direction of the eld lines. The closer the eld lines are g= r2
together, the denser the gravitational eld. So, over a distance r, x becomes r and so:
GM mr GM m
Egrav = r2 = r
11.2.3 Questions So, if you're dealing with gravitational potential energy
over large distances, use this formula. If you're deal-
G = 6.67 x 1011 m3 kg1 s2 ing with gravitational potential energy over short dis-
tances, such as with ramps on the Earths surface, where
1. A 15kg object has a weight of 8000N. What is the
g=9.81ms2 , use E = mgh.
gravitational eld strength at this point?
2. Draw a graph of gravitational eld strength against dis-
tance. 11.3.1 Graphs
3. What is the gravitational eld strength of the Sun (mass
2 x 1030 kg) on the Earth (mass 6 x 1024 kg, mean orbital
radius 15 x 1010 m)?
4. What is the dierence in the acceleration due to gravity
over a vertical distance d?
5. How far would one have to travel upwards from the
Earths surface to notice a 1Nkg1 dierence in gravita-
tional eld? (The Earth has a radius of 6400 km.)
Worked Solutions

11.3 Potential Energy

The area under a graph of gravitational force against distance is
If you throw a ball into the air, you give it kinetic en- the gravitational potential energy.
ergy. The ball then slows down because of the eect of
the Earths gravitational eld on it. However, we know
that energy cannot be created or destroyed. The kinetic
energy you gave the ball is transformed into gravitational
potential energy. The further away from the Earth you
manage to throw the ball, the greater the potential there
is for kinetic energy to be created on the way back down.
However, for kinetic energy to be created, there must be
an acceleration. If there is an acceleration, there must be
a force.
You should already know that energy is the same as the
work done to move something a distance x:
Egrav = F x
Work done is given by the force applied multiplied by the
distance moved in the direction of the force. To move The gradient of a graph of gravitational potential energy against
an object against gravity, the force applied upwards must distance is the magnitude of the force.
equal the downwards force gravity exerts on the object,
We have just done something sneaky. You probably
mg. So, if I move an object against gravity a distance x,
the work done is given by: didn't notice. Lets see what happens when we integrate
the gravitational force F with respect to r between r and
Egrav = mgx :
GM m [ ]
It is usual to call this x the height, so you will often see dr = GMr m r = GM
m GM m
r r2 r
E =mgh. The deltas are important. They mean that it
doesn't matter which distance x I move the object across Since

dividing anything by innity gets you practically 0:
- I can decide the point at which gravitational potential r F dr = GMr m = Egrav
11.4. POTENTIAL 53

And therefore: 11.4.2 Summary of Gravity

dEgrav
dr =F
You should now know (if you did the gravity section in the
So, if you have a graph of gravitational potential energy right order) about four attributes of gravitational elds:
against radius, the gradient of the graph is the gravita- force, eld strength, potential energy and potential. These
tional force. If you have a graph of gravitational force can be summarised by the following table:
against radius, the area under the graph between any point
and the F-axis is the gravitational potential energy at this
point. The area under the graph between any two points 11.4.3 Questions
is the dierence in gravitational potential energy between
them. G = 6.67 x 1011 m3 kg1 s2
g = 9.81 ms2
1. What is the gravitational potential at the Earths sur-
11.3.2 Questions face? (mass of Earth = 5.97 x 1024 kg,radius of Earth =
6371 km)
1. A ball rolls down a 3m-high smooth ramp. What speed 2. Taking the Earths surface as V = 0, what is the
does it have at the bottom? gravitational potential 2m above the ground?
2. In an otherwise empty universe, two planets of mass 3. A 0.2kg rework reaches a gravitational potential rel-
1025 kg are 1012 m apart. Both the planets have a radius ative to the ground of 500Jkg1 . If the rework is 30%
of 106 m. What are their speeds when they collide? ecient, how much energy was expended to get there?
3. What is the least work a 2000kg car must do to drive 4. Express gravitational potential in terms of gravitational
up a 100m hill? force.
4. How does the speed of a planet in an elliptical orbit 5. Draw the equipotentials and eld lines surrounding the
change as it nears its star? Earth.
Worked Solutions Worked Solutions

11.4 Potential

Gravitational potential is the gravitational potential en-

ergy given to objects per unit mass:
Egrav GM m
GM
Vgrav = m = m
r
= r
For short changes in distance h (h << r), gravitational
potential energy is given by:
Egrav mgh ,
where
GM
g= r2
So, for short changes of distance, gravitational potential
is equal to gh. Gravitational potential is measured in
Jkg1 .

11.4.1 Equipotentials

On a eld diagram, lines can be drawn which, like con-

tours on a map, show all the points which have the same
gravitational potential. These lines are known as equipo-
tentials. Equipotentials are always perpendicular to eld
lines, and get closer together as the eld strength in-
creases, and the density of eld lines increases. Over
short distances, equipotentials are evenly spaced.
Chapter 12

Mechanics

12.1 Simple Harmonic Motion 12.1.1 Angular Velocity

Simple harmonic motion occurs when the force on an ob-

ject is proportional and in the opposite direction to the
displacement of the object. Examples include masses on
springs and pendula, which 'bounce' back and forth re- Angular velocity in circular motion is the rate of change
peatedly. Mathematically, this can be written: of angle. It is measured in radians per. second. Since
F = kx , 2 radians is equivalent to one complete rotation in time
period T:
2
= T = 2f

x(t) If we substitute this into the equation for displacement in

T simple harmonic motion:
x = A cos 2f t

A The reason the equation includes angular velocity is that

simple harmonic motion is very similar to circular mo-
tion. If you look at an object going round in a circle
t side-on, it looks exactly like simple harmonic motion. We
have already noted that a mass on a spring undergoes sim-
ple harmonic motion. The following diagram shows the
similarity between circular motion and simple harmonic
motion:
Graph of displacement against time in simple harmonic motion.

where F is force, x is displacement, and k is a positive

constant. This is exactly the same as Hookes Law, which
states that the force F on an object at the end of a spring
equals -kx, where k is the spring constant. Since F = ma,
and acceleration is the second derivative of displacement
with respect to time t:
2
m ddt2x = kx
d2 x kx
dt2 = m
The solution of this second order dierential equation is:
x = A cos t ,
where A is the maximum displacement, and is the 'an-
gular velocity' of the object. The derivation is given here,
since it will seem very scary to those who haven't met
complex numbers before. It should be noted that this so-
lution, if given dierent starting conditions, becomes:
x = A sin t ,

54
12.2. ENERGY IN SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION 55

12.1.2 Time Period

The time period of an oscillation is the time taken to re-

peat the pattern of motion once. In general:
2
T =
However, depending on the type of oscillation, the value
of changes. For a mass on a spring:

k
= m
For a pendulum:

= gl ,
where g is the gravitational eld strength, and l is the
length of the string. By substitution, we may gain the
following table:

12.1.3 Velocity and Acceleration

6. A pendulum can only be modelled as a simple har-
monic oscillator if the angle over which it oscillates is
The displacement of a simple harmonic oscillator is: small. Why is this?

x = A cos t Worked Solutions

Velocity is the rate of change of displacement, so:

v= dx
= A sin t
dt
12.2 Energy in Simple Harmonic
Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity, so:
d2 x
Motion
a= dv
dt = dt2 = A 2 cost = 2 x
A mass oscillating on a spring in a gravity-free vacuum
has two sorts of energy: kinetic energy and elastic (po-
tential) energy. Kinetic energy is given by:
Ek = 12 mv 2
Elastic energy, or elastic potential energy, is given by:
12.1.4 Questions Ee = 21 kx2
So, the total energy stored by the oscillator is:
1. A 10N weight extends a spring by 5cm. Another E = 1 (mv 2 + kx2 )
2
10N weight is added, and the spring extends another 5cm.
What is the spring constant of the spring? This total energy is constant. However, the proportions of
this energy which are kinetic and elastic change over time,
2. The spring is taken into outer space, and is stretched since v and x change with time. If we give a spring a dis-
10cm with the two weights attached. What is the time placement, it has no kinetic energy, and a certain amount
period of its oscillation? of elastic energy. If we let it go, that elastic energy is
3. What force is acting on the spring after 1 second? In all converted into kinetic energy, and so, when the mass
what direction? reaches its initial position, it has no elastic energy, and all
the elastic energy it did have has been converted into ki-
4. A pendulum oscillates with a frequency of 0.5 Hz. netic energy. As the mass continues to travel, it is slowed
What is the length of the pendulum? by the spring, and so the kinetic energy is converted back
5. The following graph shows the displacement of a sim- into elastic energy - the same amount of elastic energy as
ple harmonic oscillator. Draw graphs of its velocity, mo- it started out. The nature of the energy oscillates back
mentum, acceleration and the force acting on it. and forth, but the total energy is constant.
56 CHAPTER 12. MECHANICS

If the mass is oscillating vertically in a gravitational eld,

the situation gets more complicated since the spring now
has gravitational potential energy, elastic potential energy
and kinetic energy. However, it turns out (if you do the
maths) that the total energy is still constant, although the
equilibrium position will be lower.

12.2.1 Questions

1. A 10g mass causes a spring to extend 5cm. How much

energy is stored by the spring?
2. A 500g mass on a spring (k=100) is extended by 0.2m,
and begins to oscillate in an otherwise empty universe.
What is the maximum velocity which it reaches?
3. Another 500g mass on another spring in another oth-
erwise empty universe is extended by 0.5m, and begins
to oscillate. If it reaches a maximum velocity of 15ms1 ,
what is the spring constant of the spring?
12.3.1 Critical Damping
4. Draw graphs of the kinetic and elastic energies of a
mass on a spring (ignoring gravity). Critical damping occurs when a system is designed to
5. Use the trigonometric formulae for x and v to derive an return an oscillator to its equilibrium position in the
equation for the total energy stored by an oscillating mass least time possible. A critically damped oscillator, when
on a spring, ignoring gravity and air resistance, which is damped, ceases to oscillate, and returns to its equilibrium
constant with respect to time. position, where it stops moving. An example is the door
closer. Normally, the door would swing back and forth,
Worked Solutions being damped by friction in the hinges, and air resistance.
The door closer forces the door to stop swinging, and shut
immediately. When closed, the door is in its equilibrium
position.

12.3.2 Questions

12.3 Damping 1. Draw a graph of displacement for a critically damped

oscillation.
2. How would you critically damp an oscillating pendu-
Previously, our mathematical models of simple harmonic lum?
motion have assumed that the energy stored by a simple 3. How would you damp an oscillating pendulum using
harmonic oscillator is constant. In reality, of course, re- only a weighted polystyrene block?
sistive forces slow an oscillator down, transferring its en-
ergy to its surroundings. A pendulum will lose energy by 4. What would the displacement graph look like for this
moving the air. In addition to this, the motion of a mass oscillation, before and after damping began?
on a spring will cause the spring to heat up, 'losing' the 5. The graph above is an exponentially damped oscilla-
energy. This process is known as damping. tion. If the displacement of the undamped oscillation is
The principal eect of damping is to reduce the ampli- given by sin t, what is an approximate equation for the
tude of an oscillation, not to change its frequency. So, damped oscillation, in terms of a constant k which de-
the graph of the amplitude of a normal damped oscilla- scribes the degree to which the oscillation is damped?
tion might look like the following: Worked Solutions
12.5. CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM 57

12.4 Resonance 12.4.1 Reading

Instead of doing questions this time, read the following

articles on Wikipedia about these dierent types:
Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Resonance occurs when an oscillating system is driven
(made to oscillate from an outside source) at a frequency Resonance in Water Molecules (Microwave Ovens)
which is the same as its own natural frequency. All oscil- No Highway - a novel with a plot that uses things sus-
lating systems require some form of an elastic force and piciously similar to resonance.
a mass e.g. a mass at the end of a spring. All oscillators
have a natural frequency. If you have a mass on a spring, Millenium Bridge
and give it an amplitude, it will resonate at a frequency:

1 k
f = 2 m 12.5 Conservation of Momentum
This frequency is independent of the amplitude you give
the oscillator to start with. It is the natural frequency of Momentum is the product of the mass of an object and
the oscillator. If you keep giving the oscillator amplitude its velocity. It is usually denoted p:
at this frequency, it will not change the frequency of the
oscillation. But, you are still doing work. This energy p = mv ,
must go somewhere. The only place it can go is into ad- where m is mass, and v is velocity. The total momentum
ditional kinetic and gravitational potential energy in the in a closed system is always conserved. This fact is use-
oscillation. If you force an oscillation at its resonant fre- ful, since it allows us to calculate velocities and masses in
quency, you add signicantly to its amplitude. collisions.
Put simply, resonance occurs when the driving frequency
of an oscillation matches the natural frequency, giving
rise to large amplitudes. 12.5.1 Collisions
If you were to force an oscillation at a range of frequen- Let us consider a basic example: a ball of mass M collides
cies, and measure the amplitude at each, the graph would with velocity u with a stationary ball of mass m. The sta-
look something like the following: tionary ball has no momentum before the collision, and
the moving ball has momentum Mu. This must equal the
momentum of both balls after the collision. If we let their
velocities be v1 and v2 :
M u = M v1 + mv2
At this point, we would need to know one of the velocities
afterwards in order to calculate the other.
Alternatively, we could have one ball of mass M colliding
with another ball of mass m, with both balls moving in
opposite directions with velocities u1 and u2 respectively.
If we dene the direction of motion of the ball with mass
M as the positive direction:
M u1 mu2 = M v1 + mv2
We do not need to worry about the signs on the right-
hand side: they will take care of themselves. If one of
our velocities turns out to be negative, we know that it is
in the opposite direction to u1 .

12.5.2 Elasticity

Although momentum within a closed system is always

conserved, kinetic energy does not have to be. If kinetic
There are many types of oscillators, and so practically energy is conserved in a collision, then it is known as
everything has a resonant frequency. This can be used, a perfectly (or totally) elastic collision. If it is not con-
or can result in damage if the resonant frequency is not served, then the collision is inelastic. If the colliding par-
known. ticles stick together, then a totally inelastic collision has
58 CHAPTER 12. MECHANICS

12.6 Forces and Impulse in Colli-

sions

You should already know that the force exerted on an ob-

ject is proportional to its acceleration. The constant of
proportionality is known as the mass of the object:
F = ma
In the case of a collision, for one of the particles in the col-
The collisions in a Newtons cradle are almost perfectly elastic. lision, the acceleration is simply the dierence between
its velocity before the collision (u) and its velocity after
the collision (v) per unit. time:
m(vu) mvmu
occurred. This does not necessarily mean that the parti- F = t = t
cles have stopped. In a totally inelastic collision, the two So, force is the rate of change of momentum. The quan-
particles become one, giving the equation: tity on top is known as the impulse of the collision, mea-
M u1 + mu2 = (M + m)v sured in Ns; t is the length of time it took for the colli-
sion to take place. So, the impulse I is given by:
v = M uM1 +mu
+m
2

I = p = mv mu = F t
In a collision where a certain change in momentum (im-
pulse) occurs, a force is exerted. If the collision time is
12.5.3 Explosions small, a larger force is exerted. If the collision time is
long, a smaller force is exerted. If you have a graph of
force against time, impulse is the area under the graph,
In an explosion, two particles which are stuck together are since:
no longer stuck together, and so gain separate velocities:
I = F dt
(M + m)u = M v1 + mv2
The impulse on one particle in a simple collision is the
negative impulse on the other particle.

12.5.4 Questions

1. A ball of mass 0.5kg collides with a stationary ball of

0.6kg at a velocity of 3ms1 . If the stationary ball moves
o at a speed of 2ms1 , what is the new velocity of the 12.6.1 Questions
rst ball?
2. Two balls are moving in opposite directions with ve- 1. Escape velocity from the Earth is 11.2kms1 . How
locities 5ms1 and 10ms1 . They collide, and move o much impulse must be exerted on a 47000kg payload to
in opposite directions with new velocities of 7.5ms1 get it to travel away from the Earth?
each. If the mass of the rst ball was 1.25kg, what is 2. Two billiard balls, of mass 10g, collide. One is moving
the mass of the second ball? at 5ms1 , and the other at 2ms1 . After the collision,
3. A totally elastic collision occurs between two balls of the rst billiard ball is moving backwards at 4ms1 . The
equal mass. One of the balls is stationary. What happens? collision takes 1 ms. What force was exerted on this ball?
4. A particle explodes to become two particles with 3. What impulse and force were exerted on the second
masses 1kg and 2kg. The 1kg particle moves with veloc- ball?
ity 45ms1 . With what velocity does the other particle 4. A 60kg spacewalker uses a jet of gas to exert an im-
move?
pulse of 10Ns. How many times would he have to do this
5. A 3kg ball moving at 3ms1 collides with a 5kg ball to reach a speed of 1 ms1 from stationary?
moving at 5ms1 . The collision is perfectly elastic. 5. A 5kg bowling ball collides with a stationary tennis ball
What are the new velocities of the balls? of mass 0.1kg at 3ms1 , slowing to 2.5ms1 . It exerts a
6. A ball collides with a wall, and rebounds at the same force of 100N on the ball. How long did the collision
velocity. Why doesn't the wall move? take?
Worked Solutions Worked Solutions
12.8. CIRCULAR MOTION
12.7 Rockets, Hoses and Machine 12.7.1 Questions
Guns 1. A machine gun res 300 5g bullets per.
Apollo 15 launches itself to the moon by means of the change in
momentum of its fuel.
We have already seen that force is the rate of change of
momentum. This applies to continuous ows of momen-
tum as well as to collisions:
dp
F = dt = v dm
dt
If I have a machine gun, explosions give the bullets of
mass m momentum, causing them to move at a velocity
v. This occurs several times each second - the momentum
of the bullets is changing, and so there is a roughly contin-
uous force acting on them. Momentum, of course, must
be conserved. This results in a change in the momentum
of the gun each time it res a bullet. Overall, this results
in a roughly continuous force on the gun which is equal
and opposite to the force acting on the bullets.
If I have a tank of water and a hose, with a pump, and I
pump the water out of the tank, a similar thing occurs -
a force pushes me away from the direction of ow of the
water. This force is equal to the ow rate (in kgs1 ) of
the water multiplied by its velocity. Bear in mind that 1
litre of water has a mass of about 1kg.
Rockets work on this principle - they pump out fuel, caus-
ing it to gain momentum. This results in a thrust on the
rocket. When designing propulsion systems for rockets,
the aim is to give the fuel as high a velocity per. unit mass
as possible in order to make the system fuel-ecient, and
to get a high enough change in momentum.
59
minute at
800ms1 . What force is exerted on the gun?
2. 1 litre of water is pumped out of a tank in 5 seconds
through a hose. If a 2N force is exerted on the tank, at
what speed does the water leave the hose?
3. If the hose were connected to the mains, what prob-
lems would there be with the above formula?
4. The thrust of the rst stage of a Saturn V rocket is
34 MN, using 131000kg of solid fuel in 168 seconds. At
what velocity does the fuel leave the tank?
5. Escape velocity from the Earth is 11km1 . What is
the velocity of the rocket after the rst stage is used up,
if the total mass of the rocket is 3 x 106 kg? How does
this compare to escape velocity?
Worked Solutions
12.8 Circular Motion
Diagram showing the key variables involved in circular motion.
Very rarely, things move in circles. Some planets move in
roughly circular orbits. A conker on a string might move
around my head in a circle. A car turning a corner might,
briey, move along the arc of a circle. The key thing to
note about circular motion is that there is no force pulling
outwards from the circle, and there is no force pulling the
moving object tangential to the circle. Centrifugal force
does not exist. There is only one force acting in circular
motion, which is known as centripetal force. It always
acts towards the centre of the circle. The object does not
follow a circular path because two forces are balanced.
Instead, the centripetal force accelerates the object with
60 CHAPTER 12. MECHANICS

a constant magnitude in an ever-changing direction. The 2. A planet orbits a star in a circle. Its year is 100 Earth
object has a velocity, and will continue moving with this years, and the distance from the star to the planet is 70
velocity unless acted on by the centripetal force, which Gm from the star. What is the mass of the star?
is perpetually adding velocity towards the centre of the 3. A 2000kg car turns a corner, which is the arc of a
circle. circle, at 20kmh1 . The centripetal force due to friction
If you were to subject a stationary object to the centripetal is 1.5 times the weight of the car. What is the radius of
force, it would simply fall. If you gave it a little bit of ve- the corner?
locity, it would still fall, but it would not land directly be- 4. Using the formulae for centripetal acceleration and
neath its starting position. If you kept increasing the ve- gravitational eld strength, and the denition of angular
locity and dropping it, there would come a point when it velocity, derive an equation linking the orbital period of
would land innitely far away - it would go into orbit. The a planet to the radius of its orbit. 5.A planet of 1.5g re-
relationship between this 'magic' velocity and the magni- volves around the earth at a radius if 0.5cm at a of fre-
tude of the centripetal force is as follows: quency of 2Hz. Find force.
mv 2
F = r , Worked Solutions
where m is the mass of the object in circular motion, v is
the magnitude of its velocity, and r is the distance from
the centre of the circle to the object. Since F=ma, the
centripetal acceleration is:
v2
a= r
The centripetal force may manifest itself as many things:
the tension in a string, friction, gravity or even an electric
or magnetic eld. In all these cases we can equate the
equation for centripetal force with the equation for the
force it really is.

12.8.1 Angular Velocity

Velocity is the rate of change of displacement. Angular

velocity is the rate of change of angle, commonly denoted
and measured in radians per. second:

= t
In circular motion:
2
= T = 2f ,
where T is the time for one revolution and f is the fre-
quency of rotation. However:
2r
v= T
v 2
r = T
Therefore, the relationship between velocity and angular
velocity is:
v
= r
If we substitute this into the formula for centripetal ac-
celeration:
(r)2 2 r2
a= r = r = 2 r

12.8.2 Questions

1. A tennis ball of mass 10g is attached to the end of a

0.75m string and is swung in a circle around someones
head at a frequency of 1.5Hz. What is the tension in the
string?
Chapter 13

Astrophysics

13.1 Radar and Triangulation d2 = ct2

2
2. Calculate the distance the object has travelled between
Radar and triangulation are two relatively easy meth- the two pulses. This is the dierence between the two
ods of measuring the distance to some celestial objects. distances previously calculated:
Radar can also be used to measure the velocity of a ce-
d = d2 d1
lestial object relative to us.
3. Calculate the time between the transmission (or recep-
tion, but not both) of the two pulses:
13.1.1 Radar t = t2 t1

Essentially, radar is a system which uses a radio pulse to 4. Divide the distance calculated in step 2 by the time cal-
measure the distance to an object. The pulse is transmit- culated in step 3 to nd the average velocity of the object
ted, reected by the object, and then received at the site between the transmission of the two pulses:
of the transmitter. The time taken for all this to happen d
v= t
is measured. This can be used to determine the distance
to a planet or even the velocity of a spaceship.
13.1.2 Triangulation
Distance

The speed of electromagnetic waves (c) is constant in a

vacuum: 3 x 108 ms1 . If we re a pulse of radio waves
to a planet within the Solar System, we know that:
d = ct
where d is the distance to the object, and t is the time
taken for the pulse to travel there and back from the ob-
ject. However, the pulse has to get both there and back,
so:
2d = ct
ct
d= 2
where d is the distance to the object, and t is the time The distance from the solar system to a relatively nearby celestial
taken for the pulse to return. object can be found using triangulation.

We know that the Earth is, on average, about 150 Gm

Velocity
away from the Sun. If we measure the angle between the
vertical and the light from a nearby star 6 months apart
The velocity of an object can be found by ring two radar (i.e. on opposite sides of the Sun), we can approximate
pulses at an object at dierent times. Two distances are the distance from the Solar System to the star.
measured. When asked to calculate the relative velocity
of an object in this way, use the following method: Let r be the radius of the Earths orbit (assumed to be
constant for simplicitys sake), a and b be the angles to
1. Calculate the distance to the object at both times: the star (from the horizontal) when the Earth is on either
d1 = ct2
1
side of the Sun, and let d be the perpendicular distance

61
62 CHAPTER 13. ASTROPHYSICS

from the plane of the Earths orbit to the star, as shown less commonly used, but may be calculated in a similar
in the diagram on the right. By simple trigonometry: fashion.
d d d(tan a+tan b)
2r = tan a + tan b = tan a tan b
Therefore: 13.2.2 Astronomical Units
2r tan a tan b
d= tan a+tan b
1 astronomical unit (denoted AU) is the mean average
distance from the Earth to the Sun. This is approximately
13.1.3 Questions 150 x 109 m.

1. A radar pulse takes 8 minutes to travel to Venus and

back. How far away is Venus at this time? 13.2.3 Parsecs
2. Why can't a radar pulse be used to measure the dis-
tance to the Sun? Degrees can be divided into minutes and seconds. There
are 60 minutes in a degree, and 60 seconds in a minute.
Regardless of () wavelength, power density, or wave- This means that 1 second is 1 /3600 of a degree. A degree
front properties, the pulse would be absorbed with no re- is denoted , a minute ' and a second ". The denition
ection possible. Distances to pure energy sources are of a parsec uses a simplied form of triangulation. It as-
generally measured in terms of received light intensity, sumes that the perpendicular to the plane of the Earths
shifts of the light spectrum, and radio interferometry. orbit passes through the Sun and a celestial object. A
The RF spectrum; and Laser (light) spectrum can be used parsec is the distance from the Sun to this celestial object
to listen to radiation, but not bounce a pulse from an en- if the angle between the perpendicular and the line con-
ergy source having no true angle of incidence. Just as an necting the Earth to the celestial object is one arcsecond
observation, I will note that the sun can be seen on most (1/3600 of a degree). This gives us the following right-
radars either sunrise or sunset, usually when the sun is angled triangle (the distance from the Earth to the Sun is
just above the horizon. But these receptions are unusable 1 AU):
strobes (interference) and not a result of receiving a radar
pulse from the sun. Radar technicians also use the sun as
a known exact position to align the system to true north
(and magnetic variations); this is called solar-boresighting
and, again, only receives the radiation.
3. Radar is used to measure the velocity of a spacecraft
travelling between the Earth and the Moon. Use the fol-
lowing data to measure this velocity:
( )
1
4. The angles between the horizontal and a star are mea- tan 1 = tan 3600 = 4.85 106 = parsec
1

sured at midnight on January 1 as 89.99980 and at mid-

night on July 1 as 89.99982. How far away is the star? Therefore, a parsec is 206,265 AU.
5. Why can't triangulation be used to measure the dis-
tance to another galaxy? 13.2.4 Questions
Worked Solutions
1. What is one parsec in m?
2. Convert 3 light days into km.
13.2 Large Units 3. Convert 5.5 parsecs into light years.
4. The dierence in angle of a star on the perpendicular
The distances in space are so large that we need some very
to the plane of the Earths orbit which passes through the
large units to describe them with.
Sun when viewed from either side of the Earths orbit is
0.1. How far away is the star in parsecs?
13.2.1 Light Years Worked Solutions

A light year is the distance that light travels in one year.

The velocity of light is constant (3 x 108 ms1 ), so 1 light
year is:
13.3 Orbits
3 108 365.24 24 60 60 9.46 1015 m When a planets orbit a star, theoretically, their orbit may
Light seconds, light minutes, light hours and light days are be circular. This case is dealt with under circular motion.
13.4. DOPPLER EFFECT 63

value of C for Jupiters moons?

5. Ganymede, another of Jupiters moons, has a mean
orbital radius of 1070400km. How long is its year?
Worked Solutions

13.4 Doppler Eect

The Doppler eect is a change in the frequency of a wave
which occurs if one is in a dierent frame of reference
from the emitter of the wave. Relative to us, we observe
such a change if an emitter of a wave is moving relative
to us.
All waves travels in a medium. So, they have a velocity
relative to this medium v. They also have a velocity rela-
The total of the distances from any point on an ellipse to its foci tive to their source v and a velocity relative to the place
is constant. where they are received v. The frequency at which they
are received f is related to the frequency of transmission
f by the formula:
In reality, planets orbit in ellipses. An ellipse is a shape 0 ( )
which has two foci (singular 'focus). The total of the dis- f = v+v v+vs f0
r

tances from any point on an ellipse to its foci is constant.

All orbits take an elliptical shape, with the sun as one of The Doppler eect can be used to measure the velocity
the foci. As the planet approaches its star, its speed in- at which a star is moving away from or towards us by
creases. This is because gravitational potential energy is comparing the wavelength receive with the wavelength
being converted into kinetic energy. we would expect a star of that type to emit 0 . Since
the speed of light c is constant regardless of reference
A circle is an ellipse, in the special case when both foci medium:
are at the same point.
c = f = f0 0
Therefore:
13.3.1 Keplers Third Law c c
f= and f0 = 0
Keplers third law states that: By substitution:
( )
Mathematically, for orbital period T and semi-major axis c v+vr c
= v+vs 0
R:
( )
T 2 R3 1 v+vr
= v+vs
1
0

This result was derived for the special case of a circular 0 (v+vs )
= v+vr
orbit as the fourth circular motion problem. The semi-
major axis is the distance from the centre of the ellipse In this case, v is the speed of light, so v = c. Relative to
(the midpoint of the foci) to either of the points on the us, we are stationary, so v = 0. So:
edge of the ellipse closest to one of the foci. = 0 (c+vs )
c
(c+vs ) vs
0 = c =1+ c
13.3.2 Questions
If we call the change in wavelength due to Doppler shift
1. The semi-major axis of an elliptical orbit can be ap- , we know that = 0 + . Therefore:
proximated reasonably accurately by the mean distance 0 + 0 = 1 +
0 = 1 + c
vs

of the planet for the Sun. How would you test, using the
So, the important result you need to know is that:
data in the table above, that the inner planets of the Solar
vs
System obey Keplers Third Law? 0 = c = z

2. Perform this test. Does Keplers Third Law hold? This value is known as the red-shift of a star, denoted
z. If z is positive, the star is moving away from us - the
3. If T2 R3 , express a constant C in terms of T and R. wavelength is shifted up towards the 'red' end of the elec-
4. Io, one of Jupiters moons, has a mean orbital radius tromagnetic spectrum. If z is negative, the star is moving
of 421600km, and a year of 1.77 Earth days. What is the towards us. This is known as blue shift. Note that we have
64 CHAPTER 13. ASTROPHYSICS

13.5 The Big Bang

Big Bang theory states that space-time began as a single
point, and that, as time passed, space itself expanded.

13.5.1 Hubbles Law

Hubbles Law describes the expansion of the universe
mathematically:
v = H0 d ,
where v is the velocity of recession of a celestial object,
and d is the distance to the object. H0 is the Hubble con-
stant, where H0 = 70km s1 Mpc1 . The '0' signies
that this is the Hubble constant now, not in the past or the
future. This allows for the fact that the Hubble constant
might be changing, but very slowly.

13.5.2 The Age of the Universe

Imagine a galaxy which ies out from the big bang at the
speed of light (c). The distance it has travelled d is given
by:
d = vt ,
where t is the age of the universe, since the galaxy has
been travelling since the beginning. If we substitute in
Hubbles Law for v, we get:
d = H0 dt

Redshift of spectral lines in the optical spectrum of a supercluster 1 = H0 t

of distant galaxies (right), as compared to that of the Sun (left). t= 1
H0
So, the reciprocal of the Hubble constant is the age of the
universe - but be careful with the units.
assumed that v is much smaller than c. Otherwise, special
relativity makes a signicant dierence to the formula.
13.5.3 More Doppler Eect
We have already seen that red-shift z is given by:
vs
z= s = c ,
13.4.1 Questions where is the amount by which radiation is red-shifted
from a celestial object, s is the wavelength of the radi-
ation relative to the celestial object, vs is the velocity of
1. M31 (the Andromeda galaxy) is approaching us at recession of the object, c is the speed of light, and v is
about 120kms1 . What is its red-shift? much less than c. If is the wavelength of the radiation
2. Some light from M31 reaches us with a wavelength of relative to us:
590nm. What is its wavelength, relative to M31? z = s = s 1
s

3. Some light has a wavelength, relative to M31, of z + 1 =

s
480nm. What is its wavelength, relative to us?
However, if it is actually space that is being stretched,
4. A quasar emits electromagnetic radiation at a wave- then this is actually the ratio of the distances between us
length of 121.6nm. If, relative to us, this wavelength is and the celestial object at two times: the time at which the
red-shifted 0.2nm, what is the velocity of recession of the radiation was emitted, and the time at which the radiation
quasar? was received. We can apply this to any distance between
Worked Solutions any two stars:
13.5. THE BIG BANG 65

Rnow
Rthen =z+1

13.5.4 Evidence for the Big Bang

Red Shift

If we measure the red shift of celestial objects, we see

that most of them are moving away from us - the light
from them is red-shifted. This is not true of all celestial
objects - the Andromeda galaxy, for example, is blue-
shifted; it is moving towards us due to the gravitational
attraction of the Milky Way. Some galaxies are partly
red-shifted, and partly blue-shifted. This is due to their
rotation - some parts of the galaxy are rotating towards
us, while others are rotating away from us. However, the
majority of celestial objects are moving away from us. If
we extrapolate backwards, we nd that the universe must
have started at a single point. However, we are assuming
that the universe has always expanded and that movement
alone can cause redshift [1] . Red shift provides evidence
for a Big Bang, but does not prove it.

Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

Models of the Big Bang show that, at the beginning of the

universe, radiation of a relatively short wavelength would
have been produced. Now, this radiation, due to the ex-
pansion of space, has been stretched - it has become mi-
crowave radiation. Cosmic microwave background radi-
ation ts in extremely well with Big Bang theory, and so
is strong evidence for it.

13.5.5 Questions
1. What is the Hubble Constant in s1 ?
2. How old is the universe?
3. What eect might gravity have had on this gure?
4. Polaris is 132pc away. What is its velocity of recession,
according to Hubbles Law?
Worked Solutions

13.5.6 Footnotes
[1] Arp, Halton C.,Quasars, Redshifts and Controversies
(ISBN 0-521-36314-4)
Chapter 14

Thermodynamics

14.1 Heat and Energy

Plasma
Matter is made of particles. These particles are constantly n
a tio
moving. When we feel some matter, we feel something bin
com n
that we call 'heat'. This is just our impression of how fast Re tio
iza
Ion

Enthalpy of system
the particles are moving. The higher the average speed of
the particles, the hotter something is. Gas
Va
Note that there is a technical dierence between 'heat' pori
za
Co tio
and 'temperature'. Heat is energy in transit, also known as nd
en
n
sa
work. Temperature is the internal energy of a substance. Sublimation tio
Deposition

n
We feel heat, not temperature, for if the energy did not
Liquid
move from an object, we would not be able to measure it.
g
If we had some matter which was made of stationary par- e zin
Fre
g
ticles, then we would not be able to make the particles ltin
Me
more stationary. The concept is meaningless. When mat-
ter is in this state, it is at the coldest temperature possi- Solid
ble. We call this temperature 0K. This corresponds to
273.15C. If the temperature rises by 1K, the temper-
ature rises by 1C. The only dierence between the two
The relationships between the states of matter.
scales is what temperature is dened as 0 - in Kelvin, 0 is
absolute zero. In Celsius, 0 is the freezing point of water.
In both scales, 1 is one hundredth of the dierence in stay at its boiling point until it has all changed into wa-
temperature between the freezing and boiling points of ter vapour since the energy being taken in is being used
water. to change state, instead of to increase the temperature
Some matter of temperature T consists of many particles. of the water. The average energy per. particle required
Their motion is essentially random - they are all moving to change state can be approximated using the formula
at dierent speeds, and so they all have dierent kinetic above, where T is the temperature at which the substance
energies. The temperature is related to the average energy changes state.
per. particle E by the following approximate relationship:
E kT , 14.1.2 Activation Energy
where k is a constant known as the Boltzmann constant.
k = 1.38 x 1023 JK1 . T must always be measured in Many things have an activation energy. In order for a
Kelvin. chemical reaction to start, for example, the average en-
ergy per. particle must reach a certain level. However,
most of the time, chemical reactions start at a lower aver-
14.1.1 Changes of State age energy per. particle than the activation energy. This
is because there is always a chance that some particles
Dierent substances change state at dierent tempera- have the required activation energy, since the particles
tures. In other words, when the average energy per. are moving at random. If the reaction is exothermic (this
particle reaches a certain level, the substance changes means that it gives out heat, raising the average energy
state. The situation complicates itself since, in order to per. particle), then, once one reaction has happened,
change state, additional energy is required (or is given more of the particles have the activation energy, and so
out). When liquid water reaches its boiling point, it will the reaction accelerates until all the reagants are used up.

66
14.3. IDEAL GASES 67

The activation energy can be related to the temperature 14.3 Ideal Gases
of the substance using the formula E=kT.

14.1.3 Questions

1. Carbon dioxide sublimes at 195K. Roughly what en-

ergy per. particle does this correspond to?
2. A certain chemical reaction requires particles with
mass of the order 1026 kg to move, on average, at
10ms1 . Roughly what temperature does this correspond
to?
3. The boiling point of water is 100C. Roughly what
energy per. particle does this correspond to?
4. Thermionic emission from copper requires around
5eV of energy per. particle. How hot will the wire be An animation showing the relationship between pressure and vol-
at this energy level? ume when mass and temperature are held constant.

Worked Solutions

14.2 Specic Heat Capacity

It takes energy to heat things up, since heat is work. If we

heat a more massive thing up, it takes more work, because
we have to give more particles, on average, an energy kT.
Some substances require more work to heat up than oth-
ers. This property is known as specic heat capacity. This
gives us the formula:
E = mc ,
where E is the work put in to heating something up (in
An animation demonstrating the relationship between volume
J), m is the mass of the thing we are heating up (in kg),
and temperature.
c is the specic heat capacity (in Jkg1 K1 ), and is
the dierence in temperature due to the work done on the
Real-world gases can be modelled as ideal gases. An ideal
substance (in degrees Celsius or Kelvin).
gas consists of lots of point particles moving at random,
It should be noted that the specic heat capacity changes colliding with each other elastically. There are four sim-
slightly with temperature, and more than slightly when ple laws which apply to an ideal gas which you need to
the material changes state. A table of the specic heat know about:
capacities of various substances is given below:

14.3.1 Boyles Law

14.2.1 Questions Boyles Law states that the pressure of an ideal gas is in-
versely proportional to its volume, assuming that the mass
1. How much work would it take to heat 100kg of liquid and temperature of the gas remain constant. If I com-
water from 20C to 36.8C? press an ideal gas into half the space, the pressure on the
2. How much work would it take to heat a well-insulated outsides of the container will double. So:
room from 15C to 21C, if the room is a cube with side p V1
length 10m, and the density of the air is 1.2kgm3 ?
3. A 10kg block of iron at 80C is placed in the room
14.3.2 Charles Law
above once it has reached 21C. If the iron cools by 40C,
what is the new temperature of the room? Charles Law states that the volume of an ideal gas is pro-
Worked Solutions portional to its temperature:
68 CHAPTER 14. THERMODYNAMICS

V T
T must be measured in kelvin, where a rise of 1K is equal
to a rise 1C, and 0C = 273K. If we double the temper-
ature of a gas, the particles move around twice as much,
and so the volume also doubles.
14.3.3 Amount Law
pV = 13 N mc2 ,
where p is the pressure of the gas, V is its volume, N is
the number of molecules, m is the mass of each molecule,
and c2 is the mean square speed of the molecules. If you
knew the speeds of all the molecules, you could calculate
the mean square speed by squaring each speed, and then
taking the mean average of all the squared speeds.

This law states that the pressure of an ideal gas is propor- 14.4.1 Derivation
tional to the amount of gas. If we have twice the number
of gas particles N, then twice the pressure is exerted on
the container they are in:
pN
A mole is a number of particles. 1 mole = 6.02 x 1023
particles. So, the pressure of a gas is also proportional to
the number of moles of gas present n:
pn

14.3.4 Pressure Law

The pressure law states that the pressure of an ideal gas is

proportional to its temperature. A gas at twice the tem-
perature (in K) exerts twice the pressure on the sides of
a container which it is in:
pT Some happy ideal gas particles

These laws can be put together into larger formulae link-

ing p, V, T and N. To do this we require a constant of pro-
portionality, (R) the universal molar gas constant, with an
experimental value of 8.31Jmol1 K1
14.3.5 Questions
1. I heat some argon from 250K to 300K. If the pressure and back (another l), it hits the wall, so:
of the gas at 250K is 0.1 MPa, what is its pressure after
heating?
This formula can be derived from rst principles by mod-
elling the gas as a lot of particles colliding. The particles
have a momentum p = mc. If we put them in a box of
volume V and length l, the change in momentum when
they hit the side of the box is:
p = m(c (c)) = 2mc
Every time the particle travels the length of the box (l)
c = 2lt ,

2. The argon is in a 0.5m long cylindrical tank with radius where t is the time between collisions. Therefore:
10cm. What volume does it occupy? t= 2l
c
3. The argon is then squeezed with a piston so that in Each collision exerts a force on the wall. Force is the rate
only occupies 0.4m of the tanks length. What is its new of change of momentum, so:
pressure? 2 2
F = p t = 2l
2mc
= 2mc
2l = mcl
4. What is its new temperature? c

However, we have got N particles all doing this, so the

5. 25% of the argon is sucked out. What is its pressure
total force on the wall is given by:
now?
2
F = N ml c
Worked Solutions
The molecules all have dierent velocities, so we have to
taken an average - the mean square speed. This force is
the force in all three dimensions. The force in only one
14.4 Kinetic Theory dimension is therefore:
N mc 2
One formula which sums up a lot of the kinetic theory of F = 3l
an ideal gas is the following: Pressure, by denition, is:
14.5. BOLTZMANN FACTOR 69

F N mc2
p= A = 3Al
molecules have mass m. Let the number of particles in
the chunk be N.
But area multiplied by length is volume, so:
N N
N mc2 n= V = A dh
p= 3V
Therefore:
Therefore:
V = A dh (which makes sense, if you think about it)
pV = 13 N mc2
By denition:
N = nV = nA dh
14.4.2 Questions
The total mass m is the mass of one molecule (m) mul-
1. Five molecules are moving at speeds of 1,5,6,8, and tiplied by the number of molecules (N):
36ms1 . What is their mean square speed? m = mN = mnA dh
2. What is the mass of one molecule of N2 (atomic mass Then work out the weight of the chunk:
14, 1u = 1.66 x 1027 kg)?
W = gm = nmgA dh
3. Atmospheric pressure is 101,325 Pa. If one mole of
Nitrogen takes up 2.3 m3 at about 10C, what is the mean The downwards pressure P is force per. unit area, so:
square speed of the molecules in the air outside, assuming P = W nmgA dh
A = A = nmg dh
that the atmosphere is 100% nitrogen (in reality, it is only
We know that, as we go up in the atmosphere, the pressure
78%)?
decreases. So, across our little chunk there is a dierence
4. What is the average speed of a nitrogen molecule under in pressure dP given by:
the above conditions?
dP = nmg dh (1) In other words, the pressure is de-
5. The particles in question 1 are duplicated 3000 times. creasing (-) and it is the result of the weight of this little
If they have a completely unrealistic mass of 1g, what is chunk of atmosphere.
their pressure when they are crammed into a cube with
We also know that:
side length 0.5m?
P V = N kT
Worked Solutions
So:
N kT
P = V
14.5 Boltzmann Factor But:
N
Particles in a gas lose and gain energy at random due to n= V
collisions with each other. On average, over a large num- So, by substitution:
ber of particles, the proportion of particles which have
P = nkT
at least a certain amount of energy is constant. This is
known as the Boltzmann factor. It is a value between 0 So, for our little chunk:
and 1. The Boltzmann factor is given by the formula: dP = kT dn (2)

n
n0 =e kT , If we equate (1) and (2):
where n is the number of particles with kinetic energy dP = nmg dh = kT dn
above an energy level , n0 is the total number of particles
Rearrange to get:
in the gas, T is the temperature of the gas (in kelvin) and
23 1 dn nmg
k is the Boltzmann constant (1.38 x 10 JK ). dh = kT
This energy could be any sort of energy that a particle can dndh
= kT
nmg
have - it could be gravitational potential energy, or kinetic
Integrate between the limits n0 and n:
energy, for example. n 1
kT kT n
h = mg n0 n dn = mg [ln n]n0 =
kT kT
mg (ln n ln n0 ) = mg ln n0
n
14.5.1 Derivation
mgh
ln nn0 = kT
In the atmosphere, particles are pulled downwards by n mgh

gravity. They gain and lose gravitational potential energy n0 = e kT

(mgh) due to collisions with each other. First, lets con- Since we are dealing with gravitational potential energy,
sider a small chunk of the atmosphere. It has horizon- = mgh, so:
tal cross-sectional area A, height dh, molecular density n

(the number of molecules per. unit volume) n and all the n0 = e

kT
70 CHAPTER 14. THERMODYNAMICS

14.5.2 A Graph of this Function

This topic comes up in Q10 494 June 2010. The Values
used for various things in that question are
k = 1.4 1023 JK 1 , g = 9.8, m = 4.9
1026 Kg, T = 290K

Shows how Energies are achieved with Height

14.5.3 Questions
1u = 1.66 x 1027 kg
g = 9.81 ms2
1. A nitrogen molecule has a molecular mass of 28u.
If the Earths atmosphere is 100% nitrous, with a tem-
perature of 18C, what proportion of nitrogen molecules
reach a height of 2km?
2. What proportion of the molecules in a box of hydrogen
(molecular mass 2u) at 0C have a velocity greater than
5ms1 ?
3. What is the temperature of the hydrogen if half of the
hydrogen is moving at at least 10ms1 ?
4. Some ionised hydrogen (charge 1.6 x 1019 C)is
placed in a uniform electric eld. The potential dierence
between the two plates is 20V, and they are 1m apart.
What proportion of the molecules are at least 0.5m from
the positive plate (ignoring gravity) at 350K?
Worked Solutions
Chapter 15

Magnetic Fields

15.1 Flux we use lines of ux. These obey the following rules:
1. Lines of ux go from the north pole of a permanent
A coil of wire creates magnetic ux. The amount of mag- magnet to the south pole.
netic ux created depends on three things: the number of
2. Lines of ux go clockwise about wires carrying current
coils in the wire, the amount of current owing through
away from you.
the wire, and the permeance of the object through which
the ux is owing. So: 3. Lines of ux never touch, intersect, or cross.
= N I , The direction of the ux is shown with an arrow. Flux is a
bit like electricity in that it must have a complete circuit.
where is ux (in webers, denoted Wb), is permeance
1 The lines of ux always take the route of most permeance.
(in WbA ) and I is current (in A). This is the total ux
Iron has around 800 times as much permeability as air.
induced. NI is the number of current-turns. Perme-
So, ux goes through the iron, and not the air.
ance is related to permeability (a material property) by
the following equation:
A
= L ,
15.1.1 Questions
where is permeability, A is cross-sectional area, and L
is length. A permanent magnet is just like a coil, except 1. A circular steel core has a cross-sectional area of 9
that a current does not need to be generated to maintain cm2 , and a length of 0.5m. If the permeability of steel is
the ux. Over smaller areas, we need to know the ux 875 NA2 , what is the permeance of that core?
density B. This is the amount of ux per. unit area:
2. A coil of insulated wire is wrapped 60 times around
B=A the top of the core, and a 9A direct current is put through
Therefore: the coil. How much ux is induced?
= AB 3. Assuming that all the ux goes through the core, what
is the ux density at any point in the core?
4. Draw a diagram showing the lines of ux within the
core.
Worked Solutions

15.2 Induction

A magnetic eld creates a current in a wire moving

through it. This process is known as induction.

15.2.1 Flux Linkage

Lines of ux around a permanent magnet.
A magnetic eld going through a coil of wire has a prop-
The ux around a coil of wire varies - NI only gives the erty known as ux linkage. This is the product of the ux
total ux, not the ux across a certain area. To show this, and the number of coils in the wire N.

71
72 CHAPTER 15. MAGNETIC FIELDS

15.2.2 Faradays Law Worked Solutions

Electric current is only induced in a coil of wire if the

magnetic eld is moving relative to the coil. Faradays 15.3 Force
Law gives the electromotive force (emf) produced in a
coil by a magnetic eld:
Magnetic elds exert a force on a charge when the charge
= N d
dt is moving. If the charge is stationary, no force is exerted.
In other words, the emf (electric potential) induced in the This force is given by:
coil is proportional to the rate of change of ux linkage.
F = q(

v B) ,
In practice, this means that if the coil is stationary rel-
ative to the magnetic eld, no emf is induced. In order where q is the charge on the point charge, v is its velocity
to induce emf, either the coil or the magnetic eld must and B is the magnetic eld strength. This involves a vector
move. Alternatively, we may change the number of coils, cross product, which you don't need to know about for A-
for example, by crushing the coil, or pressing a switch level. However, you do need to know a simplied version
which added more coils into the circuit, or moving more of this. The magnitude of this force F is given by:
of the coils into the magnetic eld. F = Bqv sin ,
Faradays Law also works the other way. If we were to where is the angle between the direction of motion of
integrate both sides and rearrange the formula in terms the point charge and the direction of the magnetic eld.
of , we would nd that the ux depends on the integral If the velocity and the magnetic eld are in the same di-
of the voltage - not on its rate of change. If we put an rection, the = 0, so sin = 0 and F = 0. If the velocity
emf across a coil, it induces a magnetic eld. The ux and the magnetic eld are perpendicular to each other,
does not depend on the rate of change of emf, but the emf = , so sin = 1. This means that, in the special case
does depend on the rate of change of the ux linkage. where velocity is perpendicular to the magnetic eld:
F = Bqv
15.2.3 Lenzs Law If q is negative (for example, for an electron), the force is
in the opposite direction.
Lenzs Law describes the direction of the current / emf
induced by a change in magnetic ux. It states that current
induced opposes the magnetic eld. It does this by creat- 15.3.1 Current
ing its own magnetic eld. This explains the minus sign
in Faradays Law. This also means that the ux induced A current is just a ow of moving electrons, and so a mag-
by a current (not a change in current) is proportional to netic eld will exert a force on a wire with a current ow-
the current, since the ux is produced in response to the ing through it. The case you need to know about is when
current. the magnetic eld is perpendicular to the wire. In this
case, the magnitude of the force on the wire is given by:
So, a change in ux induces a current and a voltage which
is proportional to the rate of change of ux. This ts with F = BIL ,
Ohms Law (V = IR). A current and a voltage in a coil where I is current, and L is the length of the wire.
induce a ux which is proportional to the current and the
voltage.
15.3.2 Direction
15.2.4 Questions The direction of the force on either a point charge or on a
wire can be worked out using Flemings left-hand rule, as
1. What is the ux linkage of a 30cm coil of 0.5mm thick shown in the diagram on the right. The direction of the
wire with a ux perpendicular to it of 10Wb? thumb is that of the force (or thrust), the direction of the
2. If the above coil is crushed steadily over a period of first nger is that of the magnetic field, and the direction
2s, what emf is maintained? of the second nger is that of the current (or the motion
of the point charge).
3. The ux in a ux circuit varies according to the equa-
tion = sin t. What is the equation for the emf in- On a 2D diagram, the direction of a magnetic eld is rep-
duced? resented by one of two symbols, which resemble the point
and etchings of an arrow pointing in the direction of the
4. Using a constant k, what is the equation for a current magnetic eld. The symbol means that the eld is
which could induce the ux in the ux circuit above? pointing towards you (just as the arrow would be, if you
5. Draw a graph of the ux, ux linkage, emf and current were looking at the point). The symbol means that the
as deduced in the previous two questions. eld is pointing away from you (just as the arrow would
15.4. TRANSFORMERS 73

F
B

Flemings left-hand rule

4. The following diagram shows a wire in a magnetic
eld. Draw an arrow representing the direction of the
force on the wire.

The point and etchings of an arrow.

be, if you were looking at the etching).

Worked Solutions

15.4 Transformers
15.3.3 Questions
We have already seen that a change in ux induces an emf
in a coil, given by Faradays Law:
= N d dt
1. What force is exerted by a 1T magnetic eld on an
19 We have also seen that a voltage in a coil induces a mag-
electron (of charge 1.6 x 10 C) moving at 5% of the
8 1 netic ux inside the coil. If we were to connect two coils
speed of light (3 x 10 ms )?
with the same core, the ux, and the rate of change of
2. What force is exerted by a 5mT magnetic eld on a ux, would be exactly the same inside both coils. We
20cm wire with resistance 1 attached to a 9V battery? would have created a kind of ux circuit known as a trans-
3. The following diagram shows a positive charge moving former. The ratio between the voltage at the primary coil
through a magnetic eld. Draw an arrow representing the V and the voltage at the secondary coil V would have to
direction of the force on the charge. be (since is the same for both transformers):
74 CHAPTER 15. MAGNETIC FIELDS

Primary
15.4.2 Eddy Currents
Secondary
winding
winding
NP turns
NS turns
In reality, the electrical energy is not all conserved - a lot
Primary Magnetic
current
IP
Flux, of it is converted into heat by eddy currents. In a trans-
Secondary
+ IS current former, the magnetic ux created by the primary coil in-
Primary + duces a current in the core. This occurs in order to oppose
voltage
VP
the charge that produced the magnetic ux (Lenzs Law).
Secondary
voltage The currents owing in the core are called eddy currents.
VS

These currents produce heat, using up energy and so caus-
ing ineciency. One way of minimising the eects of
Transform
Core
er eddy currents is to make the core out of iron laminate.
This is layers of iron separated by thin layers of an insu-
lator such as varnish. The amplitude of the eddy currents
produced is reduced as currents cannot ow through the
An ideal step-down transformer showing magnetic ux in the layers of insulator. (Note: OCR B question papers tend
core.
to have a question on eddy currents.)

Vp Np d Np
15.4.3 Questions
Vs = dt
Ns d
= Ns ,
dt
1. A step-down transformer has 300 coils on one coil, and
where N and N are the numbers of coils in the primary
50 coils on the other. If 30 kV AC is put in, what voltage
and secondary coils respectively.
comes out?
In other words, we can change the voltage of some elec-
2. A step-up transformer has 200 coils on one coil, and
tricity by varying the number of coils in each coil. In
980 coils on the other. If 25 kV AC comes out, what
order for this to work, the current used must be an al-
voltage was put in?
ternating current (AC). This means that the current and
voltage are constantly changing sinusoidally, and so there 3. An ideal transformer transforms a 50A current into
is a sinusoidal change in ux. This means that an emf is a 1A current. It has 40 coils on the primary coil. How
induced in the secondary coil. If the ux did not change many coils are in the secondary coil?
(i.e. we were using direct current), then no emf would be 4. Transformers tend to vibrate. Why is this? What eect
induced, and the transformer would be useless except as does this have on the eciency of the transformer?
a magnet (since it would still have a ux circuit in it).
5. Air does have some permeability. What eect does
this have on the eciency of the transformer? Why?
Worked Solutions

15.4.1 Ideal Transformers

15.5 Motors
An ideal transformer is one in which all the electrical en-
Just as a moving magnetic eld induces current in conduc-
ergy put into one coil comes out of the other coil. An
tors, a changing current in a magnetic eld induces mo-
ideal transformer does not exist, but, since it makes the
tion. When this motion is used to ensure that the current
maths easy, we like to pretend that it does. In this case,
keeps changing relative to the magnetic eld, the motion
the power in must equal the power out:
will continue, and so we have an electric motor. There
P = Pp = Ps = Ip Vp = Is Vs , are several types of electric motor.
where I and I are the currents in the primary and sec-
ondary coils, respectively. So:
15.5.1 Simple DC Motor
P P
Vp = Ip and Vs = Is
When a coil is placed inside a stationary magnetic eld,
By substitution into the transformer equation for voltage:
and a direct current is run through the coil, the coil tries
P 1
Np Vp Ip Ip Is to align itself with the eld since it becomes an electro-
Ns = Vs = IP = I1 = Ip
s s magnet. This would be useless as a motor, since it would
So, in an ideal transformer, the ratio between the voltages always move to the same position when you turned it on,
is equal to the ratio between the numbers of coils, but the and then stop. If, however, we use a split-ring commuta-
ratio between the currents is equal to the reciprocal of the tor which changes the direction of the current every half-
ratio between the numbers of coils. rotation, then the coil would try to align itself in the oppo-
15.5. MOTORS
Diagram of a simple DC motor, showing the repulsion between
the poles.
site direction every half-rotation. This means that, once
the rotor starts to move, it continues to move. This is a
DC electric motor. The permanent magnets can be re-
placed with electromagnets as well. The main advantage
of this type of motor is that the commutator works, re-
gardless of the frequency of rotation.
Animation of a three-phase motor with an electromagnet as the
rotor.
15.5.2 Three-phase Motor
The three-phase power produced by a three-phase gener-
ator may be used to power a motor. Each phase of power
is connected to one of three coils. This creates a magnetic
eld which rotates once for each cycle of the power. If a
permanent magnet is placed in the middle, at any given
time, its north pole will be attracted to a south pole in one
of the coils, and will be repelled by a north pole in one of
the coils. The converse would be true for its south pole.
This means that the rotating magnetic eld drags the mag-
75
net around with it, causing the magnet to rotate with the
same frequency as the magnetic eld. The disadvantage
of this type of motor is that it goes at one frequency only
- the frequency of the current.
The permanent magnet can be replaced with a coil with
direct current in it. This creates a magnetic eld, the ad-
vantage being that there is no need for a permanent mag-
net which is expensive and heavy. The main disadvan-
tages are that electricity must be used to power the elec-
tromagnet, and that a slip-ring commutator must be used
to prevent the coil getting tangled up and stopping the
motor from running.
Animation of a squirrel-cage AC motor
Squirrel Cage Motor
A squirrel cage motor works on a similar principle, except
that the rotor is no longer a permanent magnet. Instead,
a series of metal rods run through the rotor, connected to
each other at either ends. The rods run perpendicular to
the rotating magnetic eld. Once the rotor starts to rotate,
an electric current is created in the rods - eddy currents.
This creates a magnetic eld which is perpendicular to the
rotating magnetic at all times. As the rotating magnetic
eld created by the stator rotates, it pulls the induced mag-
netic eld around after it, causing the rotor to continue to
rotate.
A squirrel cage motor relies on the fact that the two mag-
netic elds are rotating at dierent rates. If they were not,
then there would be no change in ux in the rotor, and so
no eddy currents would be induced.
15.5.3 Questions
1. How could you adapt the simple DC motor to use AC?
2. Why does a three-phase motor have a constant angular
velocity?
3. What is the dierence between a split-ring and a slip-
ring commutator?
76 CHAPTER 15. MAGNETIC FIELDS

4. How could the angular velocity of a three-phase motor If a coil of wire is placed in a magnetic eld and rotated,
be increased? an alternating (sinusoidal) current is induced. As it ro-
5. A squirrel-cage motor relies on eddy currents running tates, sometimes it is 'cutting' through lots of ux, and so
along the rotor to function. However, if eddy currents run lots of current is induced. At other times, it is moving
across the rotor, then the force on the rotor is reduced. parallel to the ux, and so no ux is cut, and no current
How may these eddy currents be reduced without reduc- is induced. In between, some current is induced. This
ing the desired eddy currents? creates an alternating current.

Worked Solutions Either end of the coil can be connected to wires outside of
the generator in order to use the current elsewhere. This
would be ne for the rst few rotations, but after this, the
wires would get tangled up and the generator would be
15.6 Generators useless. To avoid this, we use a commutator. In an AC
generator, this is a pair of rotating conducting 'slip rings
attached to either end of the coil. Carbon brushes bring
these into contact with the outside world.

DC Generator

Flemings right-hand rule

We have seen that a change in ux induces an electric

current in a coil of wire. One way of changing the ux
is to move the magnet. Alternatively, we can move the
coil relative to the magnet. Generators work on this prin-
ciple - a non-electrical source of energy is used to rotate
something (known as the rotor), which induces an elec-
tric current in either the rotor or the stator (the stationary
part of any electromagnetic machine). For a generator,
the relationships between the directions of current, eld
and motion are given by Flemings right-hand rule (right).
15.6.1 Moving Coil
AC Generator
Attaching wires to a split-ring commutator results in an DC gen-
erator.
If we replace the slip-ring commutator in an AC genera-
tor with a pair of brushes which the ends of the coil rotate
inside, the generator creates direct current (DC) instead.
Halfway through the rotation, the brushes come into con-
tact with the other end of the coil, and so the AC changes
direction every half a rotation. This approximates to a di-
rect current. This direct current is not perfect since it con-
sists of a series of positive-voltage pulses. These pulses
can be smoothed out using a capacitor or a complex sys-
tem of commutators.

15.6.2 Moving Magnet

Simple AC Generator

An alternative method of generating an alternating cur-

Attaching carbon brushes to a slip-ring commutator results in an
AC generator.
rent is to rotate a permanent magnet in a gap between
two coils. This has the advantage of not requiring a com-
mutator (the coil is the stator), but often a coil is lighter
than a magnet, and so it is more ecient to use a rotating
coil.
15.6. GENERATORS 77

Three-Phase Generator

If we place three pairs of coils, evenly spaced, around

the rotating magnet, then three dierent alternating cur-
rents, with three dierent phases, will be generated. This
is a more ecient method of generating electricity, since
current is always being generated. The sum of all three
currents is zero, so three dierent cables must be used to
transport the currents. Three-phase power is often used
in motors with three coils in the stator.

15.6.3 Questions
1. Draw diagrams of an alternating current, the 'direct
current' produced by a DC generator, and this current
once it has been smoothed with a capacitor.
2. What is the phase dierence (in radians) between the
voltages produced by a three-phase generator?
3. According to Faradays law, what three things will in-
crease the amplitude of the emf created by a generator?
4. If an albatross touched two power cables carrying AC
in phase, what would happen?
5. What would happen if the two cables carried three-
phase power?
Worked Solutions
Chapter 16

Electric Fields

16.1 Force 3. The acceleration due to gravity around a point mass

is constant, irrespective of the mass of the objects it is
Electric elds are caused by charge. This charge can be acting on. The acceleration due to electricity around a
either positive or negative. Like charges repel each other, point charge is not. Use Newtons Second Law (F=ma)
and opposite charges attract each other. If we have two to explain this.
point charges of charge Q and q respectively, and they are 4. An insulator contains charged particles, even though
a distance r apart, the force on each of them is: the overall charge on the insulator is 0. Why is the insu-
F kQq
= 2 = Qq
2 ,
lator attracted by a nearby charge?
electric r 40 r
5. Where in the charged conducting plates which create a
where k and 0 are constants (k = 8.99 x 109 Nm2 C2 ,0
12 2 1 2 uniform electric eld would you expect to nd the charge
= 8.85 x 10 C N m ). This means that, twice as far
located? Why?
away from the point charge, the force on another charge
decreases by a factor of 4. Electric force around a point Worked Solutions
charge is very similar to gravitational force around a point
mass.
A uniform electric eld consists of two conducting plates. 16.2 Field
These plates are oppositely charged, and innitely wide.
Obviously, innitely wide conducting plates do not exist, Electric eld E is the force per. unit charge caused by an
so uniform electric elds do not exist. However, elds electric eld:
which approximate uniform electric elds do exist, pro- Felectric
vided we look towards the middle of the plates, and the Eelectric = q
plates are not too far apart - at the ends, the formulae for
The unit of electric eld is NC1 or Vm1 .In general,
uniform elds no longer apply. the electric eld is the rate of change of electric potential
The force on a charge in a uniform electric eld is given (voltage) with respect to distance:
by: E = dVelectric
electric dx
qV
Felectric = d ,
where V is the potential dierence between the two
16.2.1 Special Cases
plates, q is the charge of the point charge upon which
the force is acting, and d is the distance between the two
There are two dierent types of eld which you need to
plates. This force remains constant as the charge travels
know about. Uniform elds occur between two plates
within the electric eld.
with opposite charges. Here, the electric eld is simply:
Velectric
Eelectric = d
16.1.1 Questions A charged sphere also has an electric eld. To gain a for-
mula for this, we divide the formula for force around a
e = 1.6 x 1019 C
charged sphere by q, so:
1. A positron (charge +e) is 1 m from a lithium nucleus
Eelectric = 4Q0 r2 ,
(charge +3e). What is the magnitude of the force acting
on each of the particles? In what direction is it acting? where 0 = 8.85 x 1012 C2 N1 m2 .
2. An electron is 1mm from the positively charged plate in The electric eld around a point charge is called a radial
a uniform electric eld. The potential dierence between eld. The eld strength is highest at the centre and de-
the plates is 20V, and the plates are 10cm apart. What creases as the distance from the centre increases. This is
force is acting on the electron? In what direction? reected in the above formula, which shows that E

78
16.2. FIELD 79

1
is proportional to r2 .

16.2.2 Field Lines

We can represent electric eld using eld lines. These go

from positive charge to negative charge. They are more
closely packed together when the electric eld is stronger.
In a uniform eld, they look like the following:

16.2.3 Questions

1. Two metal plates are connected to a 9V battery with

Around two oppositely charged spheres (known as a point will the electric eld be 0?
dipole), they look like the following:
negligible internal resistance. If the plates are 10cm
apart, what is the electric eld at either of the plates?
2. What is the electric eld at the midpoint between the
plates?
3. The charge on an electron is 1.6 x 1019 C. What is
the electric eld 1m from a hydrogen nucleus?
4. What is the direction of this eld?
5. A 2C charge is placed 1m from a 1C charge. At what
Worked Solutions
80 CHAPTER 16. ELECTRIC FIELDS

16.3 Potential the same electric potential. They always run perpendic-
ular to electric eld lines. As the eld lines get closer
together, the equipotentials get closer together.
16.3.1 Relationship to Electric Potential
Energy
16.3.4 Questions
You will probably remember from AS (or even GCSE)
that the energy U which ows along a wire is given by: 0 = 8.85 x 1012 Fm1
U =Vq, 1. Draw a diagram of a uniform electric eld between
where V is the potential dierence between either end of two plates, showing the eld lines and the equipotentials.
the wire, and q is the amount of charge which ows. A 2. Do the same for the electric eld around a point charge.
simple rearrangement shows that:
3. The potential dierence between two plates is 100V.
V = Uq What is the potential dierence between a point halfway
This potential dierence is the same thing as electric between the plates and one of the plates?
potential. In a wire, the electric eld is very simple. 4. What is the electric potential at a point 0.2m from an
There are other electric elds, and in these elds as well, alpha particle (charge on an electron = 1.6 x 1019 C)?
the electric potential is the electric potential energy per.
5. What is the electric potential energy of an electron at
unit charge. Electric potential energy between two point
the negative electrode of an electron gun if the potential
charges Q and q is given by:
dierence between the electrodes is 10V?
Qq
U= 40 r Worked Solutions
So, the electric potential at a distance r from any point
charge Q (ignoring other charges) is:
V = Q
40 r
16.4 Potential Energy
Just as an object at a distance r from a sphere has grav-
16.3.2 Relationship to Electric Field itational potential energy, a charge at a distance r from
Strength another charge has electrical potential energy . This
is given by the formula:
Electric potential is also the integral of electric eld
elec = Velec q ,
strength. This is why it is often called potential dier-
ence - it is an integral between two limits (two points in where V is the potential dierence between the two
space) with respect to distance. So, the potential dier- charges Q and q. In a uniform eld, voltage is given by:
ence between two points a and b is: Velec = Eelec d ,
b b [ ]b
Vab = a E dx = a 4Q0 x2 dx = 4 Q
0x
where d is distance, and E is electric eld strength.
a
Combining these two formulae, we get:
But, if we dene b as innity and a as r:
[ ] ( ) elec = qEelec d
V = 4 Q
0x
= Q
40 Q
40 r =
Q
40 r For the eld around a point charge, the situation is dier-
r
So, the area under a graph of electric eld strength against ent. By the same method, we get:
distance, between two points, is the potential dierence elec = kQq
r
between those two points.
If a charge loses electric potential energy, it must gain
For a uniform electric eld, E is constant, so: some other sort of energy. You should also note that force
is the rate of change of energy with respect to distance,
V = r E dx = Er
and that, therefore:
In other words, V is proportional to r. If we double the
distance between us and a point, the potential dierence elec = F dr
between us and that point will also double in a uniform
electric eld.
16.4.1 The Electronvolt
The electronvolt (eV) is a unit of energy equal to the
16.3.3 Equipotentials
charge of a proton or a positron. Its denition is the ki-
Equipotentials are a bit like contours on a map. Contours netic energy gained by an electron which has been accel-
are lines which join up all the points which have the same erated through a potential dierence of 1V:
height. Equipotentials join up all the points which have 1 eV = 1.6 x 1019 J
16.4. POTENTIAL ENERGY 81

For example: If a proton has an energy of 5MeV then in

Joules it will be = 5 x 106 x 1.6 x 1019 = 8 x 1013 J.
Using eV is an advantage when high energy particles are
involved as in case of particle accelerators.

16.4.2 Summary of Electric Fields

You should now know (if you did the electric elds section
in the right order) about four attributes of electric elds:
force, eld strength, potential energy and potential. These
can be summarised by the following table:
This table is very similar to that for gravitational elds.
The only dierence is that eld strength and potential
are per. unit charge, instead of per. unit mass. This
means that eld strength is not the same as acceleration.
Remember that integrate means 'nd the area under the
graph' and dierentiate (the reverse process) means 'nd
the gradient of the graph'.

16.4.3 Questions
k = 8.99 x 109 Nm2 C2
1. Convert 5 x 1013 J to MeV.
2. Convert 0.9 GeV to J.
3. What is the potential energy of an electron at the neg-
atively charged plate of a uniform electric eld when the
potential dierence between the two plates is 100V?
4. What is the potential energy of a 2C charge 2cm from
a 0.5C charge?
5. What is represented by the gradient of a graph of elec-
tric potential energy against distance from some charge?
Worked Solutions
Chapter 17

Particle Physics

17.1 The Standard Model

The standard model of particle physics attempts to ex-

plain everything in the universe in terms of fundamental
particles. A fundamental particle is one which cannot be
broken down into anything else. These fundamental par-
ticles are the building blocks of matter, and the things
which hold matter together.
The standard model is usually represented by the follow-
ing diagram:

82
17.2. QUARKS 83

The particles in the standard model can be put into two
groups: fermions and bosons. Fermions are the build-
ing blocks of matter. They all obey the Pauli exclusion
principle. Bosons are force-carriers. They carry the elec-
tromagnetic, strong, and weak forces between fermions.
17.1.1 Bosons
There are four bosons in the right-hand column of the
standard model. The photon carries the electromagnetic
force - photons are responsible for electromagnetic radia-
tion, electric elds and magnetic elds. The gluon carries
the strong nuclear force - they 'glue' quarks together to
make up larger non-fundamental particles. The W+ , W-
and Z0 bosons carry the weak nuclear force. When one
quark changes into another quark, it gives o one of these
bosons, which in turn decays into fermions.
17.1.2 Fermions
2. What observable phenomena does the Standard Model
not explain?
3. How much more massive is an up quark than an elec-
tron?
4. How many fermions are there in the Standard Model?
5. The antiparticle of the electron (e- ) is the positron.
What is the charge and rest mass of a positron?
Worked Solutions
17.2 Quarks
Quarks (pronounced like 'orcs with a 'qu' on the front)
are a subset of the fermions - they make up part of mat-
ter, most notably the nuclei of atoms. Quarks interact
with all four of the fundamental forces: gravity, electro-
magnetism, and the weak and strong nuclear forces.

Fermions, in turn, can be put into two categories: quarks
and leptons. Quarks make up, amongst other things, the
protons and neutrons in the nucleus. Leptons include
electrons and neutrinos. The dierence between quarks
and leptons is that quarks interact with the strong nuclear
force, whereas leptons do not.
17.1.3 Generations
Fermions are also divided into three generations. The rst
generation contains the fermions which we are made of
- electrons, the up and down quarks, and the neutrino.
The rst generation particles have less mass than the sec-
ond, and the second generation particles have less mass
than their respective third generation particles. The sec-
ond generation (the generation) contains two leptons:
the muon and the muon-neutrino. It also contains the
charm and strange quarks. The third generation (the
generation) contains another two leptons: the tau and the
tau-neutrino. Its quarks are the top and bottom quarks.
17.2.1 Generations
There are four quarks in each of the three generations
of fermions. The rst contains the up quark ( u ), down
quark ( d ), antiup quark ( u ) and antidown quark ( d
). The second generation contains the charm quark ( c ),
strange quark ( s ), anticharm quark ( c ) and antistrange
quark ( s ). The third generation contains the top quark (
t ), bottom quark ( b ), antitop quark ( t ) and antibottom
quark ( b ).
17.2.2 Charge
The up, charm and top quarks have a charge of +e, and
so their respective antiparticles have a charge of -e. The
down, strange and bottom quarks have a charge of -e,
and so their respective antiparticles have a charge of +e.
17.2.3 Hadrons

When quarks are combined, they form larger particles,

17.1.4 Antiparticles which are not fundamental. These larger particles are
known as hadrons and are held together by the strong nu-
Every fermion has its antiparticle. An antiparticle has the clear force. There are two types of hadrons: baryons and
same mass as a particle, but the opposite charge. So, the mesons.
standard model contains 12 quarks, 12 leptons, and the
bosons (which are even more complex).
Baryons

17.1.5 Questions Baryons are hadrons which are made up of three quarks.
The two most common baryons are the proton and the
1. The third generation top quark was the last quark in the neutron. Protons are made up of two up quarks and one
Standard Model to have its existence proven experimen- down quark, giving them a total charge of +1e. Neutrons
tally (in 1995). It is also the most massive of the quarks. are made up of one up quark and two down quarks, giving
Why was it so dicult to observe a top quark? them net charge of 0.
84 CHAPTER 17. PARTICLE PHYSICS

Mesons

Mesons are hadrons which are made up of a quark and

an antiquark. For example, pions are made up of two
rst generation quarks - the 0 is made up of either an
up quark and an antiup quark, or a down quark and an
antidown quark. The + is made up of an up quark and an
antidown quark (total charge +1e), and The - is made up
of a down quark and an antiup quark (total charge 1e).

It is often useful to dene our units of space and time in

such a way that, if something is travelling at the speed of
17.2.4 Questions light, it makes a 45 angle. Bosons are virtual particles,
so they are given wavy lines. So, a photon travelling at
1. The baryon is made up of up quarks. What is its the speed of light from A to B looks like the following:
++

total charge?
2. The - baryon has a total charge of 1e. Given that
it is made up of only one type of rst generation quark,
what is this quark?
3. What is an antiproton made of? What is its charge?
4. A K+ meson is made of an up quark and an antistrange
quark. What is its total charge?
5. Lambda () baryons are made up of an up quark, a
down quark, and another quark (not an antiquark). The
0 is neutral, and contains a second generation quark.
What is this quark?
Worked Solutions Dierent particles can, of course, interact with each
other. These interactions must take place at a denite
point in space-time. They can be represented by a cer-
tain point on a Feynman diagram, with lines coming in
and out of the point representing the velocities of parti-
cles which take part in the interaction.
17.3 Bosons

Bosons are particles with an integer spin, such as 1, 2 17.3.2 Photons

etc and mediate a specic force. All interactions can be
described by one of the four forces, gravity, electromag-
netic, weak and strong which are caused by the release of Photons are massless, have a spin of +1, neutral charge
a corresponding boson. and carry the electromagnetic force. They are 'given o'
by one particle, causing it to change its velocity. They
are then 'received' by another particle, causing it too to
change its velocity. This can be represented on a Feyn-
man diagram in the following way:
e- e-
17.3.1 Feynman Diagrams

One way of representing these interactions is the Feyn-

man diagram. This is a graph with time on the vertical
axis, and space on the horizontal axis showing the paths
of particles through space and time as lines. So, a station-
ary electron looks like this: e- e-
17.4. LEPTONS 85

17.3.3 W and Z Bosons +1.6 x 1019 C: the positron (e+ ), the antimuon (+ ), and
the antitauon (+ ), respectively.
W and Z bosons carry the weak nuclear force between
particles. This occurs, for example, in decay, which ac-
tually takes place in two stages. First, a neutron turns into
a proton (or vice versa), emitting a W boson. Then, the 17.4.2 Neutrinos
W boson 'turns into' an electron / positron and an (anti-)
neutrino. This is shown in the following Feynman dia- Neutrinos are chargeless, and almost massless. Loads of
gram: them travel around the universe and through you at speeds
close to the speed of light. The symbol for a neutrino is
the Greek letter nu (), with its generation (e, or ) in
subscript. If it is an antineutrino, the symbol has a bar
above it. So, the symbol for a muon-antineutrino is .

17.4.3 Lepton Number

All leptons have a lepton number of 1. All antileptons

have a lepton number of 1. In a nuclear reaction, the
lepton number before the reaction must equal the lepton
number after the reaction. This necessitates the existence
of neutrinos. When a nucleus gives o a beta particle
(electron), the lepton number before the emission is 0.
17.3.4 Gluons Without neutrinos, the lepton number after the emission
would be 1, not 0. In reality, an electron-antineutrino is
Gluons carry the colour force between quarks, holding also emitted, with a lepton number of 1, and so the total
them together. Quarks have a property known as 'colour', lepton number both sides of the reaction is 0.
as do gluons. The gluons carry colour between the quarks,
mediating the colour force. The strong force is the resid- The situation is actually slightly more complicated, as the
ual colour force that holds hadrons together. You proba- lepton number from each generation of particles must also
bly won't be asked about gluons in the exam. be conserved. The lepton number from the beta particle
cannot be balanced out by a tauon-antineutrino, since this
is from a dierent generation.
17.3.5 Questions
1. A stationary light source emits single photons at regular
intervals. Draw a Feynman diagram to represent this. 17.4.4 Questions
2. Write two equations (including a W+ boson) which
1. An electron is produced by a nuclear reaction, but an
describe positron emission.
electron-antineutrino is not produced. What other parti-
3. What is the charge on a W- boson? cle is produced?
Worked Solutions 2. Why do electrons not make up part of the nucleus?
3. Why did it take until the 1950s to detect the rst an-
tineutrino?
17.4 Leptons
4. Complete the following equation for the emission of a
beta particle from a nucleus:
Leptons are particles which interact with all the funda-
mental forces except for the strong nuclear force. There 0 n 1 p + ? + ?
1 1

are two types of leptons: electrons and neutrinos. 5. Complete the following equation for the emission of
an antielectron from a nucleus:

17.4.1 Electrons
1
1p 10 n + ? + ?
6. Complete the following equation for the capture of an
Electrons are particles with a charge of 1.6 x 1019 C. electron by a nucleus:
There are three types of leptons: the electron (e- ), the 1
muon (- ), and the tauon(- ), one for each generation. 1 p+ ? 0 n + ?
1

These leptons have antiparticles, each with a charge of Worked Solutions

86 CHAPTER 17. PARTICLE PHYSICS

17.5 Millikans Experiment 17.6 Pair Production and Annihi-

lation
Electrons have a nite charge, which is approximately
1.6 x 1019 C. This was rst proven by Robert Millikan
in 1909. Millikan sprayed drops of oil which were then 17.6.1 Pair Production
charged (ionised) either by friction as they were sprayed,
or with x-rays. They were then allowed to fall into a uni- Sometimes, a photon turns into a particle and its antipar-
form electric eld. ticle, for example, an electron and a positron. It could not
turn into just an electron, since this would leave the lepton
number unbalanced. The photon must have enough en-
ergy to create the masses of the two particles. The energy
required to create one of the particles is given by:
E = mc2 ,
where m is the mass of the particle, and c is the speed of
light (3 x 108 ms1 ). However, two particles must be cre-
ated. Since the two particles are each others antiparticle,
they have identical masses. So, the total energy required
Once in the uniform electric eld, the strength of the eld is:
was adjusted in order to keep an oil drop stationary. This E = 2mc2
was done by hand, looking through a microscope. In a
stationary position, the gravitational force and the electric
force were balanced - there was no net force on the oil 17.6.2 Annihilation
drop. So, at this point:
qV When a particle meets its antiparticle, the two annihi-
d = mg late each other to form 2 photons (due to conservation
The electric eld strength was adjusted by changing the of momentum) with sum total energy equivalent to the
voltage between the two plates. The voltage at which total mass-energy of both particles.
the drops were stationary was measured. The charge on
Sometimes, a pair of particles annihilates, but then the
each drop was then calculated. Millikan found that these
photon produces another pair of particles. Also, a photon
charges were all multiples of 1.6 x 1019 C, thus show-
could produce a pair of particles which then annihilate
ing that the charge of each drop was made up of smaller
each other.
charges with a charge of 1.6 x 1019 C.

17.6.3 Questions
17.5.1 Questions
h = 6.63 x 1034 Js
h = 6.63 x 1034 Js
1. The mass of an electron is 9.11 x 1031 kg. What is
c = 3 x 108 ms1 the minimum amount of energy a photon must have to
g = 9.81 ms2 create an electron?
1. Rearrange the formula above in terms of q. 2. A 1.1 MeV electron annihilates with a 1.1 MeV
positron. What is the total energy of the photon pro-
2. The mass of an oil drop cannot be measured easily. duced?
Express the mass of an oil drop in terms of its radius r
and its density , and, by substitution, nd a more useful 3. What is its frequency?
formula for q. 4. What is its wavelength?
3. An oil droplet of density 885kgm3 and radius 1m 5. A newly produced electron-positron pair are likely
is held stationary in between two plates which are 10cm to annihilate almost immediately. Under what circum-
apart. At what potential dierences between the plates is stances can this be avoided?
this possible?
Worked Solutions
4. If the X-rays used to ionise the oil are of wavelength
1nm, how much energy do they give to the electrons?
Why does this mean that the oil drops are ionised?
17.7 Particle Accelerators
5. In reality, the oil drops are moving when they enter the
uniform electric eld. How can this be compensated for? Modern experimental particle physics requires particles
Worked Solutions to be accelerated to very high energies. This is accom-
17.8. CLOUD CHAMBERS AND MASS SPECTROMETERS 87

plished by passing them through an electric eld multi- 17.7.3 Questions

ple times, in a similar fashion to an electron gun. Types
of particle accelerator include linear accelerators and cy- 1. Use the formula for centripetal force to show that the
clotrons. radius of motion depends on the speed of the moving ob-
ject.
2. A cyclotron with a diameter of 1.5m is used to ac-
17.7.1 Linear Accelerators celerate electrons (mass 9.11 x 1031 kg). The maximum
force exerted on an electron is 2.4 x 1018 N. What is the
In a linear accelerator, particles pass through a series of maximum velocity of the electrons?
tubes. At either end of each tube are electrodes. An al-
3. What are the problems involved in constructing a large
ternating current is used. This means that, when particles
cyclotron?
pass an electrode to which they are being attracted, the
electrode switches charge, and starts to repel the parti- 4. Why don't particles stick to the electrodes when pass-
cle. The distances between electrodes increase as you go ing through them?
along the accelerator, since, as the particles accelerate, Worked Solutions
they travel further per. oscillation of the current.

17.8 Cloud Chambers and Mass

Spectrometers

Aerial photo of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, with de-

tector complex at the right (east) side

A cloud chamber without a magnetic eld, so the particles move

The original patent for a cyclotron. in straight lines.

17.7.2 Cyclotrons 17.8.1 Cloud Chambers

A cyclotron is like a linear accelerator, except that, in-
stead of using lots of dierent electrodes, it uses the same
two over and over again. The particles move around in a
circle due to a magnetic eld. The radius of this circle
depends on the velocity of the particles. The orbits of the
particles are enclosed by two semi-cylindrical electrodes.
An alternating current is used to accelerate the particles.
When the particles enter one half of the cyclotron, they
are pulled back to the other half. When they reach the
other half, the current switches over, and they are pulled
back to the rst half. All the time, the magnetic eld
keeps them moving in circles. As they gain energy from
the electric eld, the radii of their orbits increase, and
their velocities increase, until the radius is as large as the
cyclotron.
The magnitude of the magnetic force on a moving
charged particle is given by:
F = qvB ,
where B is the magnetic eld strength, v is the speed of the
particle and q is the charge on the particle. This force is
exerted in a direction perpendicular to both the magnetic
eld and the direction of motion. If a charged particle
enters a uniform magnetic eld which is perpendicular to
its velocity, then it will move in a circle, since there will
be a force of constant magnitude acting on it in a direc-
tion perpendicular to its motion. Using the equation for
centripetal force, we can derive a formula for the radius
of this circle:
mv 2
r = qvB
88 CHAPTER 17. PARTICLE PHYSICS

mv
r = qB velocity selector into the rest of the mass spectrometer.
r= mv
= p
, If we equate these two forces, we get:
qB qB
qE = qvB ,
where p is the momentum of the particle, and m is the
mass of the particle. This equation makes sense. If the where q is the charge on the particle, E is the strength of
particle has a higher momentum, then its circle of mo- the uniform electric eld, v is the velocity of the particle,
tion will have a larger radius. A stronger magnetic eld and B is the strength of the uniform magnetic eld. The
strength, or a larger charge, will make the radius smaller. charge may be eliminated from both sides:
In a cloud chamber, particles enter a magnetic eld, and E = vB
also a liquid which they ionise. This ionisation causes Therefore:
the paths of the particles to become visible. When the
E
particle loses its charge, its track ceases. When the parti- v= B
cle loses momentum, the radius of the circle decreases, This means that, by adjusting the strengths of the electric
and so, particles spiral inwards. The direction of this and magnetic elds, we can choose the velocity at which
spiralling depends on the direction of the magnetic eld. particles emerge from the velocity selector.
If the direction of the magnetic eld causes a positively
charged particle to spiral clockwise, then it will cause a
negatively charged particle to spiral anticlockwise. Cloud
chambers can, therefore, be used to identify particles by
their charge and mass.

17.8.2 Mass Spectrometers

Mass spectrometers work on a similar principle. Parti-
cles to be identied (such as nuclei) are accelerated using
an electric eld. Then, a velocity selector is used to en-
sure all the nuclei are at a known velocity - all the rest are
discarded. These nuclei enter a uniform magnetic eld
where they move in a circle. However, they are only al-
lowed to move half a circle, since they are collected at this
point, and the number of particles arriving at each point Diagram of the mass spectrometer which went to the moon on
is measured. Apollo 16.

Finding Mass

The particles then move at a speed v into another uniform

magnetic eld. Here, as in the cloud chamber, the radius
of the circle in which the particle moves is given by:
mv mEselector
r= qB = qBBselector
If we know the charge on the particle (for example, we
know what element it is), we can measure the radius of the
circle, and nd the mass of the particle (i.e. what isotope
it is, since neutrons have no charge) using the formula:
qBr qrBBselector
m= v = Eselector
A velocity selector If we do not know the charge, then we can nd the mass
to charge ratio:
m rBBselector
q = Eselector
Velocity Selector

In the velocity selector, both a uniform electric eld and 17.8.3 Questions
a uniform magnetic eld act on the particle. The only
way a particle can travel through the velocity selector in Charge of electron = 1.6 x 1019 C
a straight line is if the electric force on it is equal and
opposite to the magnetic force on it. If this is not the case, Mass of electron = 9.11 x 1031 kg
the particles path is bent, and so it does not get out of the u = 1.66 x 1027 kg
17.8. CLOUD CHAMBERS AND MASS SPECTROMETERS 89

1. An electron enters a cloud chamber, passing into a

0.1T magnetic eld. The initial curvature (the reciprocal
of its radius) of its path is 100m1 . At what speed was it
moving when it entered the magnetic eld?
2. The electron spirals inwards in a clockwise direction,
as show in the diagram on the right. What would the path
of a positron, moving with an identical speed, look like?
3. Using a 2T magnetic eld, what electric eld strength
must be used to get a velocity selector to select only par-
ticles which are moving at 100ms1 ?
4. Some uranium (atomic number 92) ions (charge +3e)
of various isotopes are put through the velocity selector
described in question 3. They then enter an 0.00002T
uniform magnetic eld. What radius of circular motion
would uranium-235 have?
Worked Solutions
Chapter 18

Nuclear Physics

18.1 Quantum Principles the moment they try and do this, then they must be mov-
ing at dierent velocities, and so no longer be collapsing
There are two principles which you do not need to know in on each other.
for the exam, but may be helpful in understanding some
of the concepts in the course.
18.2 Radioactive Emissions
18.1.1 Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
The Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that the mo-
mentum and position of an object are limited. Within a
certain uncertainty, when we measure a quantums posi-
tion, it does not have a denite momentum. When we
measure its momentum, it ceases to have a denite posi-
tion. If we try and measure both, the uncertainty in both
will be limited. If we let the uncertainty in our knowledge
of momentum be p, and the uncertainty in our knowl-
edge of position be x:
h
xp = 4 ,
where h is Plancks constant (6.63 x 1034 Js). The
Heisenberg uncertainty principle explains what happens
when electrons occupy energy levels - within these lev-
els, they are limited to a certain range of momentums
and positions, but it is meaningless to say which exact
momentum and position they occupy. If we measure the
momentum with no uncertainty, then the uncertainty in
position becomes innite, and vice versa.

18.1.2 Pauli Exclusion Principle

The Pauli exclusion principle states that no two fermions
(a set of particles including the electron) may occupy the
same quantum state as each other. In laymans inaccurate
terms, this means that, although two such particles can be Table of the number of neutrons and protons in the nuclei of
in the same place as each other, if they are, they will be isotopes, showing their most common mode of decay.
moving at dierent velocities and so will shortly no longer
be in the same place as each other. 'Radioactivity' is a catch-all term for several dierent
emissions from the nuclei of 'radioactive' atoms. There
This is why, for example, electrons appear to have 'shells
are three main types of radiation: alpha (), beta () and
- there is only a limited number of quantum states that the
gamma (). When radiation occurs, four things must be
electrons can occupy, so some have to occupy a dierent
conserved:
'shell'. Also, without the Pauli exclusion principle, matter
would collapse in on itself - the attractive forces between
particles are greater than the repulsive forces. However, Mass

90
18.3. ENERGY LEVELS 91

Charge 18.2.4 Questions

Lepton Number You will need a periodic table.

1. Americium-241 is an emitter. What element, and
Baryon Number what isotope, is produced by this decay?
2. Iodine-129 is a - emitter. What element, and what
In formulae, mass and charge are shown next to the sym- isotope, is produced by this decay?
bol of the particle. For example, a neutron with mass 1u 3. Gamma rays are used to kill microbes in food. Why
and no charge is 10 n . The charge on a nucleus is equal to doesn't the food become radioactive?
the number of protons in the nucleus (electrons can be ig-
nored). The lepton and baryon numbers may be obtained 4. Plutonium-244 decays- by emitting an particle. It
by counting the number of leptons and baryons on either does this twice, emits a particle, and then emits a fur-
side of the equation, remembering that antiparticles have ther two particles. The nucleus becomes a dierent el-
negative lepton and baryon numbers. ement each time. What element is produced at the end?
5. Carbon-11 changes into Boron-11 by a radioactive
emission. What was emitted?
18.2.1 Radiation 6. Uranium-236 decays, following the equation:
Unstable nuclei with a mass greater than 82u emit ra- 236 92 U 90 T h + X
232
4
diation. This consists of an Helium nucleus ( 2 He ). The Identify the particle X in this equation.
alpha particle simply splits o from the nucleus. Since
the particle has no electrons, it has a charge of +2e. This, Worked Solutions
combined with its relatively large mass, means that it re-
acts easily with other particles, ionising them, meaning
that it cannot penetrate more than a few centimetres of
air.
18.3 Energy Levels
As an electron approaches a nucleus from innity, it be-
18.2.2 Radiation comes 'bound' - it is attached to the nucleus, if you like.
In this bound state, the electron occupies what is called
Unstable nuclei with a mass below 82u emit radiation. an energy level. A nucleus has a discrete number of en-
There are two types of radiation. - radiation consists ergy levels, and so electrons bound to a certain nucleus
of an electron ( 01 e ). This is produced by nuclei with can only take on certain potential energies. These ener-
many more neutrons than protons. A neutron changes gies are negative by convention.
into a proton, emitting an electron and an antineutrino The lowest (most negative) energy level is denoted n=1,
in order to balance the lepton number. + radiation con- the next lowest n=2, and so on. The values of these can
sists of an positron ( 01 e ). This is produced by nuclei be found using formulae which you don't need to know
with roughly the same number of neutrons as protons. A about. Alternatively, they may be determined experimen-
proton changes into a neutron, emitting a positron and a tally.
neutrino.
At random, electrons jump between energy levels. If they
particles also ionise particles, but since they have less jump to a lower energy level (more negative), they release
charge and mass, they do this less easily, and so they travel energy in the form of a photon. If they jump to a higher
further (on average). Both and radiation result in the energy level, they must absorb a photon of the appropriate
nucleus which emitted them being changed into another energy. The energies of these photons can be calculated
element (Transmutation). using the following formulae, which you should already
know from AS:
18.2.3 Radiation E = hf
c = f ,
The binding energies of nuclei are quantized - they can
only take on certain values. When an electron jumps where E is energy, h is Plancks constant (6.63 x 1034 J
down an energy level, this energy has to go somewhere s), f is frequency, c is the speed of light, and is wave-
- it takes the form of a photon. The structure of the nu- length.
cleus is not changed by radiation. radiation is ionising, The energy levels of dierent nuclei are dierent. Ev-
but only at the right frequency - the resonant frequency of idence for these energy levels comes from the emission
the things it ionises. radiation travels very far, and only and absorption spectra of atoms. An emission spectrum
a good thick layer of lead can stop it. can be obtained by heating a sample of an element. This
92 CHAPTER 18. NUCLEAR PHYSICS

18.3.1 Questions

The following table gives the wavelengths of light given

Energy levels in a hydrogen atom. The transition shown from the
n=3 level to the n=2 level gives rise to visible light of wavelength
656 nm (red).
o when electrons change between the energy levels in
hydrogen as described in the rst row:
1. Calculate the potential energy of an electron at level
n=2.
2. Calculate the dierence in potential energy between
levels n=2 and n=3.
3. What is the potential energy of an electron at level
n=3?
4. If an electron were to jump from n=7 to n=5, what
would the wavelength of the photon given o be?
5. Prove that the wavelength of light emitted from the
transition n=4 to n=2 is 486.1nm (HINT: e = hf and
c = f )
Worked Solutions

18.4 Fission
gives the electrons energy, so they jump up the energy Nuclear ssion is the splitting of the nucleus of a massive
levels. At random, they then jump down again, giving atom into smaller nuclei. This is used to produce energy
o photons with measurable frequencies. The formu- in power stations and nuclear bombs.
lae above can be used to calculate the dierence in en-
ergy between the levels between which the electrons have
jumped.
18.4.1 Chain Reaction
An absorption spectrum can be found by passing light
through (for example) a gas, and observing the frequen- In order to start nuclear ssion, one nucleus must be made
cies of light which are absorbed. These frequencies cor- to split apart. This is achieved by getting the nucleus to
respond to jumps between energy levels which electrons absorb a slow-moving neutron. When the nucleus splits,
have undergone when they absorb the photons, gaining it releases energy, two components, and possibly some
energy. more neutrons. If at least one neutron is released, then
It should be noted that electrons do not always jump to a chain reaction occurs. This neutron goes on to make
the next-door energy level - they can, in principle, jump another nucleus unstable, which splits, and produces more
to any energy level. They cannot jump to an energy which neutrons, and so on.
is not that of an energy level. If this chain reaction is uncontrolled, a massive amount of
To work out how much (electrostatic potential) energy energy is released very fast. This is an atomic explosion,
an electron will have at a certain energy level, use the for- which is used in nuclear bombs. In order to use nuclear
mula: E = 13.6 ssion in a power station, the number of neutrons released
n2
must be controlled by inserting a substance such as boron
To work out how much energy an electron will gain when into the reactor, which absorbs the neutrons, preventing
jumping between energy levels, use the formula: E = them from going on to make more nuclei split.
13.6( n12 n12 ) where an electron is transitioning be-
1 2
tween n1 and n2
The value of 13.6 is a constant by itself but is made up 18.4.2 Binding Energy
of a combination of constants from the derivation of the
Bohr radius and Energy Levels in Hydrogen. The reason nuclear ssion produces energy is that the
e3 M e binding energy of the original nucleus is greater than the
13.6 comes from 8h2 0
binding energy of the products of the ssion reaction.
Try it yourself:charge on an electron, e = 1.6 10 19 This dierence in binding energy is the amount of en-
, Mass of an electron, Me = 9.11 10 31 , Plancks ergy released as photons (some of which are infra-red).
Constant, h = 6.63 10 34 , and Permittivity of Free This energy is used to heat up steam, pressurizing it, and
Space, 0 = 8.85 10 12 enabling it to turn a turbine, producing electricity.
18.5. FUSION 93

18.4.3 Neutron Moderator between 1 and 3 femtometers the strong force causes nu-
cleons to be attracted to one another, with the magnitude
Neutrons have to be moving slowly in order to cause a of this force being far greater than that of electromagnetic
nucleus to become unstable and split. If they are moving repulsion. Therefore in order for two nuclei to fuse, they
too fast, then they simply bounce o. A neutron modera- must be suciently close enough together that the attrac-
tor (such as graphite or heavy water) is used to slow them tive force between the baryons due to the strong nuclear
down. force is greater than the repulsive force due to the elec-
tromagnetic force. If this is the case, then the two nuclei
will become a new, larger, nucleus.
18.4.4 Questions
1. A neutron is red at some Uranium-235. Barium-141 18.5.2 Uses
and Krypton-92 are produced:
92 U 56 Ba +36 Kr + N0 n
1
0n +235 141 92 1
Nuclear fusion was used by humans for the rst time in
How many neutrons are produced (i.e. what is the value the hydrogen bomb, whereby a nuclear ssion reaction
of N)? would occur, releasing enough thermal energy so that nu-
clear fusion could occur, which would release free neu-
2. What proportion of the neutrons produced must be trons allowing the nuclear ssion reaction to be more
absorbed in order to make the reaction stable? ecient, with more of the unstable isotope undergoing
3. What would happen if too many neutrons were ab- ssion as well as a modest amount of energy being re-
sorbed? leased during the fusion process. At the time of writ-
ing (2009), commercially viable fusion power has not yet
4. Alternatively, Uranium-235 can split into Xenon-140, been achieved. However, research is under way, specif-
two neutrons and another element. What is this element? ically at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, to bring
(You will need to use a periodic table.) a fusion reaction under control so that it can be used to
Worked Solutions generate electricity. This would have the advantage of
minimal nuclear waste, since the main product would be
non-radioactive helium, with some tritium, which has a
18.5 Fusion relatively short 12-year half-life.

18.5.3 Binding Energy

The fusion of nuclei smaller than Iron-56 releases energy.

This is because, if we were to take all the baryons of both
the nuclei apart, and then stick them all back together as
one, we would do less work than would be required to
stick them together as the two separate nuclei. The dif-
ference in binding energy is the energy which is released
by a fusion reaction. This energy might be given to the
'real' particles which are given o, or to a 'virtual' particle
such as a photon.

18.5.4 Questions
Nuclear fusion of deuterium and tritium.
c = 3 x 108 ms1
Nuclear fusion is the joining together of atomic nuclei to
form a larger nucleus, and possibly some other products, 1. In the Sun, two tritium nuclei ( 31 H ) are fused to pro-
including energy. It occurs naturally in stars, where hy- duce helium-4 ( 42 He ). What else is produced, apart from
drogen is fused together into larger isotopes of hydrogen energy?
and then into helium, releasing energy along the way. 2. In larger stars, carbon-12 ( 12
6 C ) is fused with protium
( 11 H ). What single nucleus does this produce?
3. In this reaction, 1.95MeV of energy is released. What
18.5.1 Forces
dierence in binding energy does this correspond to?
Nuclei repel each other due to the electromagnetic force, 4. If all this energy was emitted as a photon, what would
since they have the same charge. However at a range of its frequency be?
94 CHAPTER 18. NUCLEAR PHYSICS

5. In order to contain a fusion reaction, electromagnetism 9

may be used. What other force could be used? Why is
this not being used for fusion reactors on Earth? O 16 Fe 56
8 C 12
Worked Solutions

Average binding energy per nucleon (MeV)

He 4
7
18.6 Binding Energy
6
It takes energy to pull nuclei apart. The amount of work Li 7
(energy) which must be done in order to pull all of the Li 6
5
neutrons and protons in a nucleus innitely far apart from
each other is known as the binding energy of the nucleus.
Practically, pulling them all apart far enough to stop them 4
interacting will do.
If energy must be put in to a nucleus to break it apart,
3 H3
where does this energy go? The answer lies in the fact
that if you add up the masses of all the protons and neu- He 3
trons in a nucleus individually, it is a little bit more than 2
the actual mass of the nucleus. The binding energy put in
to break the nucleus apart has 'become' mass in the indi-
1 H
2
vidual baryons. So, the binding energy of a nucleus can
be calculated using the following formula:
0 H
1
Eb = (nN mN + nZ mZ M )c2 ,
where nN and nZ are the numbers of neutrons and protons 30 60 0
90 120 150
in the nucleus, mN and mZ are the masses of neutrons and Number of nucleons i
protons, M is the mass of the nucleus and c is the speed
The position of Iron-56 at the top is important. If you take
of light (3 x 108 ms1 ).
two nuclei completely apart, you do work. If you then put
all the baryons back together again as one nucleus, you
will get energy back out. Sometimes, the energy you get
18.6.1 The Unied Atomic Mass Unit back out will be more than the work you had to do to take
the nuclei apart. Overall, you release energy by fusing the
The unied atomic mass unit, denoted u, is roughly equal nuclei together. This happens to nuclei which are smaller
to the mass of one proton or neutron. 1 u = 1.660538782 than Iron-56. Nuclei which are larger than Iron-56 will
x 1027 kg. They are useful since 1 mole of atoms with give out less energy when fused than you had to put in to
a mass of 1 u each will weigh exactly 1 gram. However, take them apart into their constituent baryons in the rst
when dealing with binding energy, you must never use place. To the right of Iron-56, nuclear fusion, overall,
atomic mass units in this way. The mass defect is so requires energy.
small that using atomic mass units will result in a com-
pletely wrong answer. If you want to use them with lots If you take only one nucleus apart you still do work. If
of decimal places, then you will save writing in standard you stick its protons and neutrons back together, but this
form. time in two lumps, you will get energy out. Again, some-
times this energy will be greater than the work you had
to do to take them apart in the rst place. Nuclear ssion
will be releasing energy. This occurs when the nucleus is
18.6.2 Data larger than Iron-56. If the energy released is less than the
initial work you put in, then nuclear ssion, overall, re-
The following table gives the masses in kg and u of the quires energy. This happens when the nucleus is smaller
proton and the neutron: than Iron-56.
This can be summarized in the following table:
18.6.3 The Binding Energy Curve

Dierent nuclei have dierent binding energies. These 18.6.4 Questions

are determined by the combination of protons and neu-
trons in the nucleus. These are shown in the following 1. Deuterium (an isotope of Hydrogen with an extra neu-
graph: tron) has a nuclear mass of 2.01355321270 u. What is its
18.7. RISKS, DOSES AND DOSE EQUIVALENTS 95

binding energy? 18.7.3 Dose Equivalent

2. Uranium-235 has a nuclear mass of 235.0439299 u. It
contains 92 protons. What is its binding energy?
3. How would you expect H-2 and U-235 to be used in
nuclear reactors? Why?
Worked Solutions

18.7 Risks, Doses and Dose Equiv-

alents

18.7.1 Risk
Radioactivity results in risk - this could be a risk of death,
or a risk of developing cancer. In physics, risk is what you Hourly dose equivalent due to cosmic rays per. hour in Sv, across
expect, on average, to happen: the globe.
risk = probability consequence
Absorbed dose does not give a full picture of the potential
So, if there is a 1 in 500 chance that someone gets run harm radioactivity can do to you. Dierent types of ra-
over by a car when crossing the road, the risk involved in diation do dierent amounts of damage. Absorbed dose
allowing 500 people to cross the road is one accident. equivalent, measured in sieverts (denoted Sv) attempts to
compensate. To calculate the dose equivalent, multiply
the dose in grays by the quality factor of the particles ab-
18.7.2 Absorbed Dose sorbed. These quality factors are given in the table below.
Absorbed dose is measured in grays, commonly denoted
Gy. One gray is dened as one joule absorbed per kilo- 18.7.4 Questions
gram. You may be expected to use the equation
1. A mobile phone emits electromagnetic radiation. 1.2
watts of power are absorbed per. kilogram. Assum-
hc ing that the radiation is absorbed uniformly across a 5kg
E = hf =
head, what dose of radiation would be delivered to the
where head when making a 10-minute telephone call?
2. What dose equivalent does this correspond to?
h is the Planck constant 3. How many nuclei are there in 1 mg of Americium-
f is the frequency of the photon 241?
c is the speed of light 4. A ham sandwich becomes contaminated with 1 g of
is the wavelength of the photon Americium-241, and is eaten by an 80kg person. The
half-life of Americium-241 is 432 years. Given that
Americium-241 gives o 5.638 MeV alpha particles,
or
how long would it be before a dose equivalent of 6 Sv
is absorbed, making death certain?
E = ne 5. What assumptions have you made?
Worked Solutions
where

n is the number of particles

e is the magnitude of the charge of one electron

to calculate absorbed dose in terms of numbers of par-

ticles with a given frequency, wavelength or energy (in
eV). If someone is exposed to a certain activity (parti-
cles per second) over a period of time, the absorbed dose
accumulates.
Chapter 19

Appendices

19.1 Trigonometry know the ratio between two sides, and wish to calculate
the angle from it, you can use the sin1 , cos1 and tan1
buttons to use the inverse function. These functions are
Trigonometry is the study of the ratios between sides on technically known as arcsin, arccosin and arctan.
a right-angled triangle. Consider the following diagram:

19.2 Logarithms

B
That formula involved logarithms. If ab = c, then:
loga c = b
In other words, a logarithm is a way of asking the ques-
Opposite

tion, "a to the power of what is c?" a is known as the base

c se
e nu of the logarithm. log a is shorthand for log10 a, and can be
a using the 'log' button on a scientic calculator.
p ot calculated
Hy Just as with indices, there are some laws of logarithms.
At present, we are only concerned with this one:
Adjacent loga (cn ) = n loga c
A C
b If we apply this to the formula for calculating the number
of possible values a pixel can take on (v = 2b ), we can
rearrange it to get a formula for b by taking the logarithm
to the base 10 of both sides:
log v = log(2b )
Depending on the value of the angle BAC, the ratios be-
tween the three sides of the triangle will vary. These three log v = b log 2
sides are generally given the names 'hypotenuse' (H), 'op- b= log v
log 2
posite' (O) and 'adjacent' (A). The opposite side is op-
posite the angle being considered. The hypotenuse is the We can then use a scientic calculator to calculate log 2,
side opposite the right angle, and the adjacent side is the giving us the formula:
remaining side, which is also next to the angle being con- b log v
0.3
sidered.
The three basic trigonometric ratios, in relation to an
acute angle , are the sine, cosine and tangent ratios, as 19.3 Delta - 'dierence in'
follows:
O
sin = H The Greek letter delta means 'dierence in'. So, in the
A case of current, it represents the dierence in charge di-
cos = H vided by the dierence in time. If we write it as we would
O
tan = A in calculus:
It is often helpful to remember them by using the I = dQ dt
mnemonic 'SOH-CAH-TOA'. Without using calculus, we can only take an approxima-
These ratios can be calculated using the appropriate but- tion of I from values as close together as possible on either
tons on a scientic calculator. In addition, if you already side of the point at which we wish to calculate the current.

96
19.5. DERIVATION OF EQUATIONS FOR SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION 97

By using calculus, we can calculate the exact value of the Therefore:

current at a given point. For example, if Q = 2t (i.e. 1 x = P (cos t + i sin t) + Q(cos t i sin t)
coulomb every 2 seconds):
x = (P + Q) cos t + (P Q)i sin t
dt = 1 2t
I = dQ 11
= 2t0 = 2 A
Let: R = P + Q
S =P Q
19.4 Sigma - 'sum of' So, the general solution of the dierential equation is:
x = R cos t + Si sin t
Thats the Greek letter Sigma. It means 'sum of', so Kir-
chos First Law is stating that the sum of all the currents This describes what the simple harmonic oscillator will
going into a point equals the sum of all the currents leav- do given any possible situation. However, we don't want
ing the point. So: an equation which will cover anything and everything.
We want to give our oscillator a starting position - lets
I 1 + I 2 + I 3 + ... + I - + I - + I = I 1 + I 2 +
say, at a position where x = A at t = 0:
I 3 + ... + I - + I - + I
A = R cos ( 0) + Si sin ( 0)
A = R cos 0 + Si sin 0
19.5 Derivation of Equations for Therefore, R = A and S = 0.
Simple Harmonic Motion So, the specic solution is:

The following second-order dierential equation de- x = A cos t

scribes simple harmonic motion:
d2 x kx
dt2 = m
d2 x kx
dt2 + m =0
Since we have a second derivative, we cannot separate the
variables, so let:
x = ezt
Therefore:
dx
dt = zezt
d2 x
dt2 = z 2 ezt
By substitution:
zt
z 2 ezt + kem = 0
( k
)
ezt z 2 + m
ezt is asymptotic at 0, so ezt cannot equal 0, and we can
therefore get away with dividing by ezt :
k
z2 + m =0
k
z2 = m

k
z= m = i mk

Therefore:
k k
x = P eit m + Qeit m ,
where P and Q are constants of integration. At this point,
it is useful to clean things up a bit by letting:
k
2 = m
x = Pe it
+ Qeit
It has been proven elsewhere (de Moivres Theorem) that,
when n is a constant:
eni = cos n + i sin n and eni = cos n i sin n
Chapter 20

Worked Solutions

20.1 Lenses dle?

0.05
0.5 = h1
1. A lens has a focal length of 10cm. What is its 2 = h1
0.05
power, in dioptres?
h1 = 100 mm
Always use SI units, so 10cm = 0.1m.
1 1
P = f = 0.1 = 10 D
2. Light reected o a cactus 1.5m from a 20D lens 20.2 Refraction
forms an image. How many metres is it from the
other side of the lens?
1. A ray of light is reected from a mirror. Its angle
u must be negative, as per. the Cartesian covention, so u to the normal when it reaches the mirror is 70. What
= 1.5. is its angle of reection?
1 1 58
v = 1.5 + 20 = 3 D The angles of reection on both sides of the normal are
v= 3
= 0.0517 m = 51.7 mm always equal, so the angle of reection is 70.
58
8
3. A lens in an RGB projector causes an image to 2. The speed of light in diamond is 1.24 x 10 m/s.
focus on a large screen. What sort of lens is it? Is its What is its refractive index?
power positive or negative? v1
n = 1.2410 8

The wavefronts are being caused to spread out (diverge) Assuming the speed of light in the reference medium is 3
more by the lens. Hence, it is a diverging lens. The x 108 :
wavefronts are losing curvature, so the lens has a nega- 3108
8 = 1.24 2.42
3
n = 1.2410
tive power.
3. The refractive index of ice is 1.31. What is the
4. What is the focal length of a 100D lens?
speed of light in ice?
100 = f1 8
1.31 = 310v2
1
f = 100 = 0.01 m = 10 mm 8
1
1.31 2.29 10 ms
v2 = 310 8
5. The lm in a camera is 5mm from a lens when
automatically focussed on someones face, 10m from 4. A ray of light passes the boundary between air and
the camera. What is the power of the lens? a transparent material. The angle of refraction is 20,
and the angle of incidence is 10. What is the speed
5mm = 0.005m of light in this material? Why is it impossible for this
1
= 1 +P material to exist?
0.005 10
3108 sin 10
200 = P 0.1 v2 = sin 20 0.508
8
P = 200.1 D v2 310
5.91 108
0.508
Since lenses are generally made to have nice round pow- This is greater than the speed of light in a vacuum (3 x
ers, this was probably a 200D lens. However, this is in 108 ), and so is impossible.
real life, and this an hypothetical question with numbers
picked out of thin air by me. 5. What is the critical angle of a beam of light leaving
a transparent material with a refractive index of 2?
6. The light from a candle is enlarged by a factor 1
of 0.5 by a lens, and produces an image of a candle, sin C = 2
0.05m high, on a wall. What is the height of the can- C = 30 (using the sin1 button on a scientic calculator

98
20.5. DIGITISATION 99

- this means 'inverse sine', often denoted arcsine or asin ues on either side of it. This would be unreliable, as sound
for short.) is a wave, so the samples need to vary quite widely. How-
ever, something similar could be used when comparing
repeating patterns in a waveform.
20.3 Digital Storage 2. Which of the above methods would be suitable for
smoothing sharp edges? Why?
1. An image transmitted down a SVGA video cable Mean smoothing - median smoothing would not blur the
is 800 pixels wide, and 600 pixels high. How many edges.
pixels are there in the image?
3. Use median smoothing to remove noise from the
800 600 = 480000 pixels following image of a white cat in a snowstorm (the
2. A grayscale image is encoded using 3 bits. How black pixels have a value of 255):
many possible values can each pixel have? 4. Why would mean sampling not be appropriate for
3
2 =8 smoothing the image given in question 3?

3. The characters in a text document are numbered It would produce a really blurred mess, instead of an im-
from 0 - 255. How many bits should each character age, as the noise is too dense.
be encoded with? 5. Use mean smoothing to remove noise from the fol-
There are 256 possible values. lowing image of a black cat in a coal cellar:
log 256
b= log 2 =8
4. A page contains 30 lines of text, with an average 20.5 Digitisation
of 15 characters on each line. Each character is rep-
resented by 4 bits. How many megabytes of uncom-
pressed storage will a book consisting of 650 pages 1. Take samples for the signal below every 0.1ms, and
like this ll on a computers hard disk? then produce a reconstructed signal. How does it dif-
fer from the original?
Total number of characters = 650 x 30 x 15 = 292 500
Total amount of information = 292500 x 4 = 1 170 000
bits
1170000 bits = 1170000
8 bytes = 146250 bytes =
146250
10242 Mbytes 0.14 Mbytes
5. A 10cm wide square image is scanned into a com-
puter. Each pixel is encoded using 3 channels (red,
green and blue), and each channel can take on 256
possible values. One pixel is 0.01 mm wide. How
much information does the scanned image contain?
Express your answer using an appropriate unit.
10cm = 0.1
pixels = 10000 pixels The high frequency elements of the signal have been lost.
0.01103
2. A signal is sampled for 5 seconds at a sampling
Total number of pixels = 10 0002 = 100 000 000 pixels
rate of 20 kHz. How many samples were taken?
b = loglog256
2 = 8 bits per. channel per. pixel = 8 No. of samples
3 bits per. pixel = 24 bits per. pixel 20 103 = 5

Total information = 24 x 100 000 000 = 2 400 000 000 No. of samples = 20 10 5 = 100000
3

bits = 300 000 000 bytes 3. Most sounds created by human speech except for
300000000
10242 286 Mbytes (This is why we usually com- 'ss and '' have a maximum frequency of 4 kHz.
press images before storage, or at least use fewer bits per. What is a suitable sampling rate for a low-quality
pixel.) telephone?
4 2 = 8 kHz
4. Using a sampling rate of 20 kHz and 3 bits, sam-
20.4 Digital Processing ple the following signal, and then produce a recon-
structed signal. What is the maximum frequency that
1. How could the above methods be applied to a dig- can be perfectly reconstructed using this sampling
ital sound sample? rate?
By taking the median or mean of the sample and the val- First, calculate the length of each sample, by letting the
100 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

number of samples equal 1: 4. Approximately how many harmonics does it con-

20 10 = Length of one sample
3 1 tain?
There are 14 other big spikes, plus a few other spikes
1
Length of one sample = 20103 = 0.00005 s = which may be large enough to be harmonics.
0.05 ms
5. The three sine waves sin x, 4sin(2x-50) and
Then, we can sample the waveform and create a recon- 0.5sin(3x+120) are added together to form a signal.
structed signal: What are the frequencies of each of the waves? What
is the signals fundamental frequency? Assume that
the waves are travelling at the speed of light, and that
60 = 1mm
sin x has a wavelength of 360. Using this, we can calcu-
late the wavelengths of the other two waves, since f(ax)
stretches f(x) by the reciprocal of a on the x axis. The
frequency of each wave is given by the formula:
v 3108
f= = 103
sin x has the lowest frequency, so 50 GHz is the funda-
mental frequency of the signal.
To calculate the maximum frequency that can be perfectly
reconstructed using this sampling rate (20 kHz):
20
= 10 kHz
2
20.7 Bandwidth

20.6 Signal Frequencies 1. A broadband internet connection has a bit rate of

8Mbit s1 when downloading information. What is
the minimum bandwidth required to carry this bit
1. What is the frequency of an X-ray (wavelength rate?
0.5nm)?
2B = 8 106
X-rays are electromagnetic waves, so they travel at the 6

speed of light (3 x 108 ms1 ). B = 810 2 = 4 106 Hz = 4 MHz

3 x 108 = f x 0.5 x 109 2. The same connection has a bandwidth of 100

8 kHz reserved for uploading information. What is the
9 = 600 10
310 15
f = 0.510 Hz = 600 PHz maximum bit rate that can be attained when upload-
2. A sound wave, with a frequency of 44 kHz, has a ing information using this connection?
wavelength of 7.7mm. What is the speed of sound? b = 2 x 100 x 103 = 200 x 103 bits / second = 24.4 kbytes
V = 44 x 103 x 7.7 x 103 = 338.8ms1 / second
3. A lighthouse uses a ashing light and Morse Code
to communicate with a nearby shore. A 'dash' con-
sists of the light being on for 2s. The light is left o
for 1s between dots and dashes. What is the band-
width of the connection?
One bit takes 3 seconds to transmit.
B= 1
3 Hz 333 mHz
4. The broadband connection in question two is used
to upload a 1Mbyte image to a website. How long
does it take to do this?
The bit rate is 200 x 103 bits / second.
Frequency spectrum from qs. 3 & 4
1 Mbyte = 1048576 bytes = 8388608 bits.
3. What is the fundamental frequency of the follow- b = no. of bits
no. of seconds
ing signal?
200 103 = no. 8388608
of seconds
The big spike on the left is at approximately 750 Hz, so
3 42 s
8388608
this is the fundamental frequency. no. of seconds = 20010
20.10. VOLTAGE 101

20.8 Charge I
1. How much charge do 1234 electrons carry?
1234 x 1.6 x 1019 = 1.9744 x 1016 C = 197.44 aC
(attocoulombs)
2. How many electrons does is take to carry 5 C of
charge?
5 = 1.6 x 1019 x n
n= 5
1.61019 = 31.25 1018 electrons
3. The total charge on 1 mole of electrons (6 x 1023 R1 R2
particles) is equal to 1 faraday of charge. How many
coulombs of charge are equal to 1 faraday?
1 faraday = 6 x 1023 x 1.6 x 1019 coulombs = 96000
coulombs =96kC
4. The mass of a ball is 50mg. It is supplied 5C of
charge. Will there be any change in the mass of the I1 I2
ball? If so, calculate the change of the mass.
5 = 1.6 x 1019 x n
n= 5
1.61019 = 31.25 1018 electrons
31.25 1018 electrons 9.11 1031 kg/electron =
2.84 1011 kg 20.10 Voltage
1. A battery has an EMF of 5V. What is the total
20.9 Current potential dierence across all the components in the
circuit?
1. 10 coulombs ow past a point in a wire in 1 minute. They are the same! The voltage decreases across the cir-
How much current is owing through the point? cuit from the voltage at one end of the battery to the other.
I = 10
60 0.17 A 2. The voltages (relative to the voltage of the battery)
2. How long does it take for a 2A current to carry 5C? on either side of a resistor are 6V and 5V. What
is the potential dierence across the resistor?
2 = 5t
5 - 6 = 5 + 6 = 1V
t = 52 = 2.5 s
3. At a given point in a circuit, 5C of charge have
3. In the diagram on the right, I = 9A, and I1 = 4.5A.
10 kJ of potential energy. What is the voltage at this
What is the current at I2 ?
point?
9 = 4.5 + I2 3
V = 10105 = 2 kV
I2 = 4.5 A
4. Why do the electrons move to a point 1cm further
4. What would I equal if I1 = 10A and I2 = 15A? along the wire?
I = 10 + 15 = 25A The point further down the wire has a lower voltage (i.e.
5. In the diagram on the right, in 5 seconds, 5C of less energy per. coulomb) - the electrons will be at a lower
charged particles ow past I1 , and 6.7C ow past I2 . potential energy at this point, and fall to it, just as objects
How long does it take for 10C to ow past I? fall to lower potential energies due to gravity.
10 5 6.7
t = 5 + 5 = 2.34

2.34 4.27 s
10
t=
20.11 Power
1. The potential dierence across a 9W light bulb is
240V. How much current is owing through the light
bulb?
9 = 240I
102 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

9 2
I= 240 = 0.0375 A Gradient = 3 = Resistance
1 3
2. How much energy is dissipated by a 10W compo- G = 2 = = 1.5 S 2
3
nent in 1 hour?
5. On another graph of potential dierence and cur-
E
10 = 60 2 rent, the graph curves so that the gradient increases
2
E = 60 x 10 = 36000 J = 36 kJ as current increases. What can you say about the re-
sistor?
3. The potential dierence across a top-notch kettle,
which can hold up to 1 litre of water, is 240V, and the The resistor is not an Ohmic conductor.
current is 12.5 A. 4.2 kJ of energy is required to raise 6. 3 resistors, wired in series, have resistances of
the temperature of 1kg of water by 1 C. Assuming 1k, 5k and 500 each. What is the total resis-
100% eciency and the temperature has to be raised tance across all three resistors?
80K (20C to 100C), how long does it take to boil 1 litre
of water? R = (1 x 103 ) + (5 x 103 ) + 500 = 6500 = 6.5k

12.5 240 = 3000 = 4.210t 80

3 7. 2 conductors, wired in parallel, have conductances
of 10S and 5S. What is the total resistance of both
3
80
t = 4.210
3000 = 112 s branches of the parallel circuit?
In practice it may take longer than this as energy will G = 10 + 5 = 15 S = R1
be lost heating the surrounding air, heating the materi- R = 1 0.0667
15
als used in the kettle and the water may be colder than
20C. 8. The circuit above is attached in series to 1 10
resistor. What is the total conductance of the circuit
4. How much energy is dissipated by a 100 resistor now?
in 10 seconds if 2A of current are owing?
1
R = 10 + 15 = 151
15
10 = 2 100 = 400
E 2
G = 151 0.0993 S
15
E = 4000 J = 4 kJ
5. The charge on an electron is 1.6 x 1019 C. How
long does it take for a mole (6 x 1023 particles) of elec- 20.13 Internal Resistance
trons to ow through a 40W light bulb on a 240V ring
main?
1. A 9V battery is short-circuited. The potential dif-
Total charge = 1.6 x 1019 x 6 x 1023 = 96000 C ference across the battery is found to be 8V, and the
40 = 96000240
= 23040000 current is 5A. What is the internal resistance of the
t t
23040000
battery?
t = 40 = 576000 s = 9600 min = 160 h =
6 days 16 hours 8 = 9 - 5R
5R = 1
R = 0.2
20.12 Resistance and Conductance
1. The potential dierence across a resistor is 4V,
and the current is 10A. What is the resistance of the
resistor?
V 4
R= I = 10 = 0.4
2. What is the conductance of this resistor?
1 1
G= R = 0.4 = 2.5 S
3. A conductor has a conductance of 2S, and the po-
tential dierence across it is 0.5V. How much current
is owing through it?
I = GV = 2 0.5 = 1A
I = 1A 2. What is the EMF of the battery in the following
4. A graph is drawn of potential dierence across an circuit?
( )1 ( )
Ohmic conductor, and current. For every 3cm across, R = 1
+ 1
= 13
1
=3
external 8+4 4
the graph rises by 2cm. What is the conductance of
the conductor? V = 5 x 3 = 15 V
20.15. SENSORS 103

15 = E - (5 x 10) voltmeter?
E = 50 + 15 = 65 V First, work out the resistances of the resistors:
1
R= G = 13 , 21 , 1
Then, work out the external potential dierence (i.e. ex-
cluding the potential dierence lost due to the batterys
internal resistance):
V = E - IR = 9 - (2 x 0.8) = 7.4V
1 1
3+2
V3,2 = 7.4 1 1 3.36 V
3 + 2 +1

20.15 Sensors
Note to the reader: I am not entirely happy with the an-
swers given on this page. --Sjlegg (talk) 15:01, 19 De-
3. What is the internal resistance of the battery in the cember 2007 (UTC)
following circuit?
( )1 ( ) An LDRs resistance decreases from a maximum re-
4 1
Rexternal = 2+4 1 1
+ 3+6+1 = 15 = 3.75 sistance of 2k to a minimum resistance of 0 as
light intensity increases. It is used in a distance sens-
V = 7.5 x 3.75 = 28.125 ing system which consists of a 9V power supply, a 1.6
Which actually makes this question impossible because k resistor, the LDR and a multimeter which dis-
the current is too high for the resistance supplied to the plays voltage to 2 decimal places measuring the po-
circuit. tential dierence across one of the two resistors.
1. Across which resistor should the multimeter be
connected in order to ensure that, as the distance
20.14 Potential Dividers from the light source to the sensor increases, the po-
tential dierence recorded increases?
1. A 12 k resistor and a 20 k resistor are con- As light intensity increases, distance decreases. So, as
nected to a 9V battery. A voltmeter is connected distance increases, light intensity decreases. As light in-
across the 12 k resistor. What is the reading on the tensity decreases, the LDRs resistance increases, as does
voltmeter? (Assume negligible internal resistance.) the potential dierence across it. So, as distance in-
V12k = 9 12+20
12
= 3.375V creases, the potential dierence increases. Since we want
the potential dierence to change in the same direction
2. A potential divider consists of 100 5 resistors, as the distance, the multimeter must go across the LDR,
with a wiper which moves on one resistor for every not the resistor.
3.6 a handle connected to it turns. The wiper is con-
nected to a voltmeter, and the circuit is powered by 2. In complete darkness, what voltage is recorded on
the multimeter?
a 120V power source with negligible internal resis-
tance. What is the reading on the voltmeter when the The voltage is split between the 1.6k resistor and the
handle turns 120? LDR, which currently has a resistance of 2k. Therefore,
First, work out the number (n) of resistors between the the potential dierence across the LDR is:
terminals of the voltmeter: V = 2
2+1.6 9 = 5V
n = 120 = 33.3 3. When a light source moves 0.5m away from the
3.6
The handle, then, has not turned enough to reach the 34th sensor, the voltage on the multimeter increases by 2V.
What is the sensitivity of the sensing system when us-
resistor, so the voltmeter is connected just after the 33rd
resistor. ing this light source, in V m1 ?

V = 120 335
= 39.6 V S= 2
0.5 = 4 Vm1
1005
3. A 9V battery with internal resistance 0.8 is con- 4. When the same light source is placed 0m from the
nected to 3 resistors with conductances of 3, 2 and 1 sensor, the potential dierence is 0V. When the light
Siemens. A voltmeter is connected across the 3 and 2 source is 1m away, what voltage is displayed on the
Siemens resistors. An ammeter is placed in the cir- multimeter?
cuit, between the battery and the rst terminal of the Assuming a linear relationship between distance and po-
voltmeter, and reads 2A. What is the reading on the tential dierence, we know that:
104 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

0.25 = m
V 20.16 Resistivity and Conductivity
Hence:
m 1 1. A material has a conductivity of 106 S m1 . What
V = 0.25 = 0.25 = 4V
is its resistivity?
5. What is the resolution of the sensing system?
= 1
= 1
106 = 106 m = 1 m
The multimeter measures to 2 decimal places, so the
2. A pure copper wire has a radius of 0.5mm, a re-
smallest measurable voltage is 0.01V.
sistance of 1 M, and is 4680 km long. What is the
0.25 = m V resistivity of copper?
Hence: 6
(0.5103 )2
= 10 4680103 168 109 m =
m = 0.25 V = 0.25 0.01 = 0.0025 m = 2.5 mm 168 n m
6. Draw a circuit diagram showing a similar sensing 3. Gold has a conductivity of 45 MS m1 . What is the
system to this, using a Wheatstone bridge and ampli- resistance of a 0.01m across gold connector, 0.05m
er to improve the sensitivity of the system. long?
First, work out resistivity:
9
6 = 22.2 10
1
= 4510 m
Then, substitute everything possible into the resistivity
formula:
2
22.2 109 = ((0.50.01) )R 1.57 103 R
0.05
2109
22.
R 1.57103 14.2 106 = 14.2
4. A strand of metal is stretched to twice its origi-
nal length. What is its new resistance? State your
assumptions.
The material does not change, so resistivity is constant.
Length doubles, and we know that volume must be con-
stant.
V = AL
A = V/L
RA R( V
L) RV
= L = L = L2
L2 L2
Rold =
1 V = V
When we double L, we get:
(2L)2 4L2
Rnew = V = V = 4 Rold
7. What is the maximum potential dierence that can We are assuming that and V are constant.
reach the amplier using this new system (ignore the 5. Which has the greater resistivity: a plank or a
amplication)? piece of sawdust, made from the same wood?
The maximum potential dierence will occur when the Sawdust and a plank are artefacts, not materials. Hence,
LDR has no resistance. This will result in 9V on the left- they do not have a resistivity. Even if they did, they are
hand side of the voltmeter, and 5V on the right-hand side. made of the same thing, so they would have equal resis-
The dierence is 4V. tivity.
8. If this signal were to be amplied 3 times, would
it exceed the maximum voltage of the system? What
would the limits on the signal be?
20.17 Semiconductors
4 3 = 12V > 9V
The signal would be limited to the range 9V < V < 9V. 1. What is the resistivity of silicon, at room temper-
ature?
= 1
= 1
435106 2300m = 2.3km
2. What sort of variable resistor would a semicon-
ductor be useful in?
20.19. METALS 105

A thermistor, as the resistance of a semiconductor de- 7. (Extra nasty question which you won't ever get in
creases as heat increases (but, assuming use of a poten- an exam) What is the toughness of glass?
tial divider, the voltmeter would have to be on the other Toughness equals the area under the above graph. Since
resistor). glass is brittle, we can assume that the gradient of the
3. If positive ions are added to silicon (doping it), how graph is constant, and, since the graph passes through the
does its conductivity change? origin, it is a triangle. So:
Positive ions mean more free electrons, and so greater Atriangle = base height = Toughness =
2
conductivity. strain stress = 0.004240106 = 480000 Jm3 =
2 2
480 kJm3

20.18 Stress, Strain & the Young

Modulus 20.19 Metals
1. Would you expect a metal to have more or less con-
1. 10N of force are exerted on a wire with cross- ductivity than a semiconductor? Why?
sectional area 0.5mm2 . How much stress is being ex-
erted on the wire? A metal has more conductivity than a semiconductor be-
cause a metal has more ions than a semiconductor, and
0.5mm2 = 0.5 x (103 )2 m2 = 0.5 x 106 m2 hence more free (delocalized) electrons.
10N
= 0.510 6 m2 = 20 000 000 Pa = 20 MPa
2. How can the stress-strain graph for a metal be ex-
2. Another wire has a tensile strength of 70MPa, plained in terms of ions in a sea of electrons?
and breaks under 100N of force. What is the cross- In the elastic region, the ions are held together by the
sectional area of the wire just before breaking? charge between them and the electrons, and they can
70 106 = 100A
move apart when under stress. Then, once the ions are too
6 far apart, the bonds aren't strong enough to pull them back
6 1.43 10
100
A = 7010 m2 = 1.43 m2
together, so the metal entends under the stress. Eventu-
3. What is the strain on a Twix bar (original length ally, the bonds cannot maintain the structural integrity of
10cm) if it is now 12cm long? the metal any more, so the metal 'necks in one place, and
E= 1210
= 2
= 0.2 then the metal fractures.
10 10
4. What is this strain, expressed as a percentage? 3. As a metal heats up, what happens to its conduc-
tivity? Why?
0.2 x 100 = 20%
As a metal heats up, both ions and electrons vibrate more.
5. 50N are applied to a wire with a radius of 1mm. This means that the collision rate between ions and elec-
The wire was 0.7m long, but is now 0.75m long. What trons goes up, so it is harder for electrons to travel through
is the Youngs Modulus for the material the wire is the metal. So, as a metal heats up, its conductivity goes
made of? down.
50
( )
224000000 Pa =
2 16000000
Y = (110
( 0.750.7
3)
) 0.0714
0.7
224 MPa
20.20 Polymers
6. Glass, a brittle material, fractures at a strain of
0.004 and a stress of 240 MPa. Sketch the stress-
strain graph for glass. 1. Dierent crystalline structures have dierent re-
fractive indexes. Why does this mean that a polycrys-
talline polymer is translucent?
The refractive index of each area is dierent, so the angle
of refraction is dierent for each area. As a result, the
image is blurred.
2. What sort of polymer is a pane of perspex?
Crystalline
3. What sort of polymer does the pane of perspex
become when shattered (but still in one piece)?
Polycrystalline
4. What sort of polymer is a rubber on the end of a
106 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

pencil? has a frequency of approximately 20Hz. Given that

Amorphous the speed of sound in air is 343ms1 , what is the
wavelength of the lowest frequency human-audible
5. What happens to the translucency of an amor- sound?
phous polymer when it is put under stress?
= fv = 343
20 = 17.15m
The polymer becomes more translucent, as it becomes
more polycrystalline as the chains are stretched and
straightened.

20.21 What is a wave? 20.22 Phasors

1. A sine wave with wavelength 0.1m travels through

a given point on the surface of the sea. A phasor ar-
row representing the eect of this wave on this point
rotates 1000. How many wavelengths have gone past
in the time taken for the phasor to rotate this much?
0.1m is irrelevant information.
1000
360 = 2.78
2. A sine wave has a maximum amplitude of 500nm.
What is its amplitude when the phasor has rotated
60 from its start position?
a sin = 500 109 sin 60 433nm
3. Two waves have a phase dierence of 45. When
the rst wave is at its minimum amplitude of 0.3m,
1. Through what medium are sound waves propa- what is the total amplitude of the superposed wave-
gated? forms?
Usually the air, but most material objects will carry The rst wave has an amplitude of 0.300m. The second
sound. is at an angle of 270 - 45 = 225.
2. What aspects of the behaviour of light make it look a sin = 0.3 sin 225 0.212m
like a wave? 0.300 + 0.212 = 0.512m
Superposition and diraction (and others).
3. What aspects of the behaviour of light make it look
like a particle?
Photoelectric eect
20.23 Standing Waves
4. Consider the diagram on the right. White light is
partially reected by the transparent material. Some
of the light, however, is refracted into the transparent 1. The air in a 3m organ pipe is resonating at the fun-
material and reected back by the opaque material. damental frequency. Organ pipes are eectively open
The result is two waves travelling in the same place at both ends. What is the wavelength of the sound?
at the same time at the same polarisation(the light
is not a single beam). Why does, say, the red light 3= 2
disappear? so = 2 x 3 = 6m.
If the refractive index and width of the transparent ma- 2. A string is vibrating at the second harmonic fre-
terial are correct, then the two waveforms leaving it will quency. How many wavelengths long is the standing
be half a wavelength apart, as one will have travelled fur- wave created?
ther. Destructive interference will cause the red light to (2 + 1)
= 3
2 2
become 'invisible'.
3. Express, in terms of , the length of a pipe which
5. What is the wavelength of green light? is closed at one end, where is the length of one wave
500nm at the fundamental frequency.
6. The lowest frequency sound wave humans can hear (this is the distance between a node and an antinode)
20.27. ELECTRON BEHAVIOUR 107

20.24 Youngs Slits First calculate the amount of energy given out per. sec-
ond:
1. A 2-slit experiment is set up in which the slits are P = E t
0.03 m apart. A bright fringe is observed at an angle
E = P t = 20 1 = 20J
10 from the normal. What sort of electromagnetic
radiation was being used? Then, calculate the amount of energy carried by each
3 photon:
= d sin = 0.03 sin 10 5.21 10 m
E = hf = 6.6265451012 1034 3.611019 J
So, microwaves were being used.
Then divide the former by the latter to give the number
2. Light, with a wavelength of 500 nm, is shone
of photons n:
through 2 slits, which are 0.05 m apart. What are the
angles to the normal of the rst three dark fringes? n = 3.611019 5.54 10 photons
20 19

n500109 = 0.05sin , where n is an odd integer. 4. In one minute, a bulb gives out a million photons
9 of frequency 600 THz. What is the power of the bulb?
= arcsin n50010
0.05 = arcsin (n 500 108 )
First calculate the energy carried by one photon:
Then, substitute in n = 1,3 and 5 to gain corresponding
values of : E = hf = 6.6261034 6001012 3.981019 J

3. Some X-rays, with wavelength 1 nm, are shone Then work out the energy carried by 1,000,000 photons:
through a diraction grating in which the slits are 50 E = 106 3.98 1019 = 3.98 1013 J
m apart. A screen is placed 1.5 m from the grating.
Then work out the power of the bulb:
How far are the rst three light fringes from the point
3.981013
at which the normal intercepts the screen? P = Et = 60 = 6.63 1015 W
50106 x
n 109 = 1.5 33.3 106 x , where n ...maybe its a nanobulb.
is an integer. 5. The photons in a beam of electromagnetic radia-
n109
x= 33.3106 = 30 106 n tion carry 2.5J of energy each. How long should the
phasors representing this radiation take to rotate?
Then, substitute in n = 1,2 and 3 to gain corresponding
values of x: First calculate the frequency of each photon:
6
f = E h = 6.6261034 3.77 10 Hz (Thats one
2.510 27

nasty gamma ray.)

20.25 Diraction Then calculate the time taken for one 'wavelength' to go
by:
1. What is the width of the central bright fringe on a f = 1t
screen placed 5m from a single slit, where the slit is
t = f1 = 1
3.771027 2.65 1028 s
0.01m wide and the wavelength is 500nm?
W
L
d
500109
W
5 0.01 20.27 Electron Behaviour
W = 250m, but since this is only half the beam, the beam
is 500m wide. 1. An electron moves at 30,000 ms1 . What is its de
Broglie wavelength?
6.6261034
= h
mv = 9.11031 30,000 = 2.43 108 m
20.26 Light 2. What is its frequency?
1
9.11031 30,0002
E
1. How much energy does a photon with a frequency f = kinetic
h = 2 6.6261034 = 6.18 1011 Hz
of 50kHz carry? 3. What is its kinetic energy, in eV?
E = hf = 6.62650103 1034 = 3.3131029 J From the top half of the fraction in the previous question:
2. A photon carries 1030 J of energy. What is its E 31
30,0002 = 4.10 1022 J =
kinetic = 2 9.1 10
1
frequency? 4.1010 22

1.61019 eV = 2.56 meV

1030
f = h = 6.6261034 1509Hz
E
4. Given that it is travelling out of an electron gun,
3. How many photons of frequency 545 THz does a what was the potential dierence between the anode
20W bulb give out each second? and the cathode?
108 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

2.56 mV thats why we use eV! This angle is known as the argument of a.
5. An electron is accelerated by a potential dierence 5. A more accurate method of modelling the trajec-
of 150 V. What is its frequency? tory of a ball is to include air resistance as a constant
E = 1.6 1019 150 = 2.4 1017 J force F. How would this be achieved?
kinetic

f= Ekinetic
= 2.41017
Hz = 3.62 1016 Hz Once the arrow representing the acceleration due to grav-
h 6.6261034
ity has been added on, add an horizontal arrow pushing
against the motion of the ball. Since F = ma, the magni-
tude of this acceleration is F divided by m.
20.28 Vectors
Note that this model is still not perfect. In fact, F is not
constant - it depends on the horizontal component of the
1. Which of the following are vectors? balls velocity.

20 cm is scalar, not a vector - it does not have a

directional component.

9.81 ms2 towards the centre of the earth is a 20.29 Graphs

vector.

5 km south-east is a vector. 1. In the following distance-time graph,

what is the velocity 4 seconds after
500 ms1 on a bearing of 285.3 is a vector. the beginning of the objects journey?

2. A displacement vector a is the resultant vector of

two other vectors, 5 m north and 10 m south-east.
What does a equal, as a displacement and a bearing?
So, for the resultant vector:
Horizontal displacement = 0 + 10

2
7.07 m
Vertical displacement = 5 10

2
2.07 m
This gives us a right-angled triangle. So:

7.07 16.3 , so the bearing equals 90 +

= arctan 2.07
16.3 = 106.3.

Resultant displacement = 7.072 + (2.07)2
7.4 m
3. If I travel at a velocity of 10 ms1 on a bearing of
030, at what velocity am I travelling north and east?

Vertical velocity (North) = 10 cos 30 = 5 3 ms1
8.66 ms1
Horizontal velocity (East) = 10 sin 30 = 5 ms1
4. An alternative method of writing vectors is in a
column, as follows:
( )
a = xy ,
where x and y are the vertical and horizontal compo-
nents of the vector respectively.
() Express |a| and the At this point, the graph is a straight line. So:
angle between a and 10 in terms of x and y. 1
dt = 60 = 3 1.67ms
v = ds 100 5

By Pythagoras theorem: 2. What is the velocity at 12 seconds?

(|a|)2 = x2 + y 2 Approximately, there is a rough straight line at this point.

|a| = x2 + y 2 The object is travelling towards home 2 ms1 each sec-
(1) ond (look at the previous second, for example). So, its
Let be the angle between a and 0 . velocity is 2 ms1 .
y
tan = x 3. In the following velocity-time graph, how
= arctan xy far does the object travel between 7 and 9 seconds?
20.29. GRAPHS 109

Distance travelled is equal to the area under the graph. 6. Draw the velocity-time graph for the above situa-
Between 7 and 9 seconds, this is the shaded area of the tion.
graph. So, calculate the area of the triangle: The velocity from 0-5s is 10ms1 . The velocity from 5-9s
A = bh2 = 23
2 = 3m is:
3103
4. What is the objects acceleration at 8 seconds? v= 4 = 750 metres/minute = 12.5ms1
There is a straight line between 7 and 9 seconds which we
can use to answer this question. The acceleration is equal
to the gradient of the graph, so:
a= 3
2 = 1.5ms2
5. A car travels at 10ms1 for 5 minutes in a straight
line, and then returns to its original location over the
next 4 minutes, travelling at a constant velocity. Draw
a distance-time graph showing the distance the car
has travelled from its original location.
10ms1 = 600 metres / minute.
110 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

u = 4, a = 1.5, t = 7
v = u + at = 4 + (1.5 x 7) = 14.5 ms1
4. How far does an aeroplane travel if it accelerates
from 400 kmh1 at a rate of 40 kmh2 for 1 hour?
u = 400, a = 40, t = 1
at2 4012
s = ut + 2 = (400 1) + 2 = 420km

20.31 Forces and Power

1. I hit a ball of mass 5g with a cue on a billiards
table with a force of 20N. If friction opposes me with
a force of 14.2N, what is the resultant acceleration of
the ball away from the cue?
Resultant force = 20 - 14.2 = 5.8N
F = ma
5.8 = (5 x 103 )a
a = 1160ms2
2. A 10g ball rolls down a 1.2m slope, and leaves it
with a velocity of 4ms1 . How much work is done by
friction?
7. The velocity of a ball is related to the time since it g.p.e. at top of slope = mgh = 10 x 103 x 9.81 x 1.2 =
was thrown by the equation v = 30 9.8t . How far 0.117J
has the ball travelled after 2 seconds? k.e. at bottom of slope = mv2 = 0.5 x 10 x 103 x 42
t 2
s = t12 f (t) dt = 0 30 9.8t dt = [30t 4.9t2 ]20 = = 0.08J
30(2)4.9(22 )30(0)+4.9(02 ) = 6019.6 = 40.4 m Assuming the remainder of the g.p.e. becomes heat /
sound due to friction:
work done by friction = 0.117 - 0.08 = 0.037J.
20.30 Kinematics 3. An electric train is powered on a 30kV power sup-
ply, where the current is 100A. The train is travelling
at 90 kmh1 . What is the net force exerted on it in a
1. A person accelerates from a speed of 1 ms1 to 1.7
forwards direction?
ms1 in 25 seconds. How far has he travelled in this
time? P = IV = Fv
u = 1, v = 1.7, t = 25 90 kmh1 = 0.025 km1 = 25 ms1
s= u+v
2 t = 1+1.7
2 25 = 1.35 25 = 33.75m 100 x 30 x 103 = 25F
2. A car accelerates at a rate of 18 kmh2 to a speed F = 120000N
of 60 kmh1 , travelling 1 km in the process. How fast
was the car travelling before it travelled this distance?
a = 18, v = 60, s = 1 20.32 Exponential Relationships
2 2
v = u + 2as
602 = u2 + (2 x 18 x 1) 1. Simplify Newtons Law of Cooling for the case
2 when I place a warm object in a large tank of water
3600 = u + 36 which is on the point of freezing. Measure tempera-
u2 = 3564 ture in C.
u = 59.7kmh1 (to 3 signicant gures) Newtons Law of Cooling states that Tt = Tenv + (T0
rt
3. A goose in ight is travelling at 4 ms . It acceler- Tenv )e
1

ates at a rate of 1.5 ms2 for 7 seconds. What is its The freezing point of water is 0 C, so, if we measure T
new speed? in C, T = 0:
20.33. CAPACITORS 111

Tt = 0 + (T0 0)ert
zt
p=ea
Tt = T0 ert 5. Wikibooks was created in mid-2003. How many
pages should there have been 6 years later? (Take a
2. What will the temperature of an object at 40 C be
after 30 seconds? (Take r=103 s1 .) = 20, z = 10 yr1 .)
zt 106
3
T = T ert = 40 e10 30 = 38.8 C p = e a = e 20 = e3 = 20
t 0

3. A body is found in a library (as per. Agatha 6. The actual number of pages in Wikibooks in mid-
Christie) at 8am. The temperature of the library is 2009 was 35,148. What are the problems with this
kept at a constant temperature of 20 C for 10 min- model? What problems may develop, say, by 2103?
utes. During these 10 minutes, the body cools from There are two key problems with this model:
25 C to 24 C. The body temperature of a healthy
human being is 36.8 C. At what time was the person We have estimated the values of the constants.
murdered? These should have been determined statistically.
First, we must calculate r:
We have assumed that the constants are constant. In
24 = 20 + (25 20)e10r reality, as the amount of content on Wikibooks in-
4 = 5e10r creases, more people think Wikibooks already con-
tains this content, so I am not going to add anything.
e10r = 0.8
This means that both z and a change with time. Our
10r = ln 0.8 exponential model only applies over small periods
r= ln 0.8
= 0.0223 minute1 of time. Each of these small periods of time has
10
dierent values for the constants.
Then, calculate t - this is the time between the murder and
8am: In the future, such as 2103, the constants will have
25 = 20 + (36.8 20)e0.0223t changed so radically as to be useless. Question 5 shows
0.0223t how much they change over just 6 years - how much more
5 = 16.8e
must they change over a whole century!
e0.0223t = 16.8
5

0.0223t = ln 16.8
5

5
ln 16.8
20.33 Capacitors
t= 0.0223 = 54 minutes
Therefore, the murder occurred at 7:06am. 1. A 2 mF capacitor is connected to a 10V DC power
4. Suppose for a moment that the number of pages on supply. How much charge can be stored by the capac-
Wikibooks p can be modelled as an exponential rela- itor?
tionship. Let the number of pages required on aver- Q = CV = 2 103 10 = 0.02 C
age to attract an editor be a, and the average number
Note that this is the maximum charge - since capacitors
of new pages created by an editor each year be z. De-
charge, as well as discharge, exponentially, we would have
rive an equation expressing p in terms of the time in
to leave the capacitor charging for an innitely long period
years since Wikibooks was created t.
of time to charge it to capacity.
Let n be the number of editors.
2. What is the highest possible energy stored by this
n = ap capacitor?
dp
dt = nz = z ap E = 12 QV = 0.5 0.02 10 = 0.1 J
dp = z ap dt 3. The capacitor is placed in series with a 5 resistor
1 z and charged to capacity. How long would it take for
p dp = a dt the charge in the capacitor to be reduced to 1 mC?
zt
ln p = a + c (where c is the constant of integration) Q = Q0 e RC
t

zt zt zt
a +c = e ec = ke (where k is a constant - k = t
p=e a a
Q0 = Qe RC
ec ) t Q0
e RC = Q
There must have been a rst page, which marked the point
where t = 0, so:
t
RC = ln QQ0
1 = ke a 0 = ke0 = k
z
t = RC ln QQ0 = 5 0.002 ln 0.001
0.02
= 0.0300 s
Therefore: 4. After this time has elapsed, how much energy is
stored in the capacitor?
112 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

RC
2t 18
E = 1
2 QV = 1
2 Q0 V0 e = 0.5 0.02 10 N = A = 18.2106 = 4.40 10
0.810 22
nuclei = 4.40
27
e 50.002 = 0.25 mJ 10 212 1.66 10
20.03 22
= 15.5 g
3. How long does it take for 2kg of lead-212 to decay
to 1.5kg of lead-212?
Mass is proportional to the number of atoms, so:
m = m0 et
m
m0 = et
m0
m = et
t = ln m
m
0

m0 2
ln ln 1.5
t= m
= 18.2106 = 15807 s = 4.39 hours
4. Where does the missing 0.5kg go?
It becomes another isotope - in this case, mercury-208.
Some also becomes alpha particles.
5. What is the capacitance of the equivalent capacitor 5. Some americium-241 has an activity of 3kBq.
to the following network of capacitors? What is its activity after 10 years?
First, ignore the fact that the capacitances are in mF, not A = A0 et = 3000
11
F - we will not be using any other units, so if we put in e 5.0710 10365.24246060
= 2.952 kBq
mF, we will get out mF.
6. This model of radioactive decay is similar to taking
Then work out the equivalent capacitance of the second some dice, rolling them once per. second, and remov-
row: ing the dice which roll a one or a two. What is the
1 1
= + + = 1 1 11 decay constant of the dice?
C2 1 2 3 6
6 The decay constant is the probability of removing a die -
C2 = mF
11 = .
Then work out the equivalent capacitance of the third
7. If you started out with 10 dice, how many dice
row:
would you have left after 10s? What is the problem
1 1 1
C3 = 2 + 2 = 1 with this model of radioactive decay?
N = N0 et = 10 e 3 10 = 0.357 dice
1
C3 = 1 mF
The equivalent capacitance of the rst row is easy, since Obviously, you can't have 0.357 dice. The problem with
it contains just 1 capacitor: 3mF. So, the total equivalent this model of radioactive decay is that, once you have suf-
capacitance is: ciently few nuclei, the decay ceases to be continuous.
As time passes, the pattern becomes relatively more ran-
11 4.55 mF
6
C = 3 + 11 + 1 = 50
dom. The model also says that the number of nuclei will
always decrease. In reality, since there can only be an in-
teger number of nuclei, there will eventually come a point
20.34 Radioactive Decay when there are no nuclei left.

1 mole = 6.02 x 1023 atoms

1u = 1.66 x 1027 kg 20.35 Half-lives
1. Americium-241 has a decay constant of 5.07 1
x 1011 s1 . What is the activity of 1 mole of 1. Radon-222 has a decay constant of 2.1s . What
americium-241? is its half-life?
ln 2
A = N = 5.07 1011 6.02 1023 = 3.05 t 2 = 2.1106 = 330070 s = 3.82 days
1

1013 Bq 2. Uranium-238 has a half-life of 4.5 billion years.

This is why we only need very small samples for use in, for How long will it take for a 5 gram sample of U-238 to
example, smoke detectors. In fact, safety considerations decay to contain 1.25 grams of U-238?
necessitate a small sample - otherwise we would all have 2 half-lives, since 1.25 is a quarter of 5. 2 x 4.5 = 9 billion
cancer! years.
2. How many g of lead-212 ( = 18.2s1 ) are re- 3. How long will it be until it contains 0.5 grams of
quired to create an activity of 0.8 x 1018 Bq? U-238?
20.37. GRAVITATIONAL FIELD 113

( )
2 63600022 = (1.55
1 1
First calculate the decay constant: Fgrav = GM m 6360000
= ln 2
= ln 2
= 1.54 1010 yr1 1020 )GM m = 1.55 1020 6.67 1011 5.97
t1
2
4.5109
1024 1 = 6.19 N
10
0.5 = 5e1.5410 t This is why it is acceptable to approximate the accelera-
10 tion due to gravity as constant over small distances.
0.1 = e1.5410 t

ln 0.1 = 1.54 1010 t

ln 0.1
t= = 14.9 Gyr
1.541010
20.37 Gravitational Field
4. Tritium, a radioisotope of Hydrogen, decays into
Helium-3. After 1 year, 94.5% is left. What is the
half-life of tritium (H-3)? G = 6.67 x 1011 m3 kg1 s2

0.945 = e1 (if is measured in yr1 ) 1. A 15kg object has a weight of 8000N. What is the
gravitational eld strength at this point?
= ln 0.945 = 0.0566 yr1 = lnt 12 F 1
2 g = grav
m = 8000
15 = 533 Nkg
ln 2
t 12 = 0.0566 = 12.3 yr 2. Draw a graph of gravitational eld strength
5. A large capacitor has capacitance 0.5F. It is placed against distance.
in series with a 5 resistor and contains 5C of charge.
What is its time constant?
= RC = 5 0.5 = 2.5 s
6. How long will it take for the charge in the capacitor
to reach 0.677C? ( 0.677 = e52 )
2 x = 5s

20.36 Gravitational Force

1. Jupiter orbits the Sun at a radius of around 7.8 x
1011 m. The mass of Jupiter is 1.9 x 1027 kg, and the
mass of the Sun is 2.0 x 1030 kg. What is the gravita-
tional force acting on Jupiter? What is the gravita-
tional force acting on the Sun?
6.671011 21030 1.91027
Fgrav = GMr2
m
= (7.81011 )2 =
4.17 10 N
23

2. The force exerted by the Sun on an object at a cer-

tain distance is 106 N. The object travels half the dis-
tance to the Sun. What is the force exerted by the Sun
on the object now?
1 Since gravitational eld strength is proportional to gravi-
2 =4
( 12 ) tational force, the two graphs look very similar.
So, the new force is 4 MN. 3. What is the gravitational eld strength of the Sun
30 24
3. How much gravitational force do two 1kg weights (mass 2 x 10 kg) on the Earth (mass 6 x 10 kg,
10
5cm apart exert on each other? mean orbital radius 15 x 10 m)?
11
210
= 5.93 mNkg1
30
GM 6.6710
6.671011 11
Fgrav = GM m
r2 = = 2.67 g = r2 =
0.052
(151010 )2
108 N 4. What is the dierence in the acceleration due to
In other words, ordinary objects exert negligible gravita- gravity over a vertical distance d?
( )
tional force.
2
GM GM 1 1
g = (r+d) r 2 = GM (r+d) 2 r 2 =
4. The radius of the Earth is 6360km, and its mass GM (r2 (r+d)2 ) GM (r 2 r 2 2rdd2 ) GM d(2r+d)
= = r2 (r+d)2
is 5.97 x 1024 kg. What is the dierence between the r 2 (r+d)2 r 2 (r+d)2

gravitational force on 1kg at the top of your body, and 5. How far would one have to travel upwards from
on 1kg at your head, and 1kg at your feet? (Assume the Earths surface to notice a 1Nkg1 dierence in
that you are 2m tall.) gravitational eld? (The Earth has a radius of 6400
114 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

D GM1 M2
km.) 2d
= Gravitational Potential Energy
r2 dr
1= GM d(2r+d) [ GM1 M2 ]D [1 ] 1
r 2 (r+d)2
r 2d
= GM1 M2 D 2d
1
= 2 M2 v 2
GM d(2r + d) = r2 (r + d)2 [1 ]
2GM1 D 2d
1
= v = 25, 800ms1
2GM rd + GM d2 = r2 (r2 + 2rd + d2 ) = r4 + 2r3 d +
r 2 d2 3. What is the least work a 2000kg car must do to
drive up a 100m hill?
d2 (r2 GM ) + dr(2r2 2GM ) + r4 = 0
mgh = 2000 9.81 100 = 1.962 MJ
Using the quadratic formula:
4. How does the speed of a planet in an elliptical orbit
2GM r2r 3 r 2 (2r 2 2GM )2 4r 4 (r 2 GM )
d = 2(r GM )
2 = change as it nears its star?

2GM r2r 3 4r 6 8GM r 4 +4G2 M 2 r 2 4r 6 +4GM r 4
2(r 2 GM )
As it nears the star, it loses gravitational potential energy,
and so gains kinetic energy, so its speed increases.
= 2GM r2r r 4r 8GM r 2 +4G2 M 2 4r 4 +4GM r 2
3 4
2(r 2 GM )

Which is very horrible. If you plug in the numbers, you

get:
4.598272102 14.8533415521021
d= 7.18481014
Since we want a negative d (because of the minus sign we
ignored right at the beginning):
4.598272102 1+4.8533415521021
d= 7.18481014 = 13155 km
Although, I have to confess, there was so much scope for
error that it is almost certain that this is the wrong answer.
If you fancy wading through and checking, feel free!
[*] Solution :
20.39 Gravitational Potential
g'=g-1=9.8-1=8.8N/kg g=GM/(R+d)^2 => (R + d)2 =
GM /g => R + d = sqrt(GM /g ) => d =
sqrt(GM /g ) R G = 6.67 x 1011 m3 kg1 s2
d=349.96 km
g = 9.81 ms2
--Sjlegg (talk) 14:18, 23 April 2009 (UTC)
1. What is the gravitational potential at the Earths
surface? (mass of Earth = 5.97 x 1024 kg,radius of
Earth = 6371 km)
20.38 Gravitational Potential En- 6.671011 5.971024 M Jkg 1
Vgrav = GMr = 6371000 =
ergy 62.5 MJkg1

2. Taking the Earths surface as V = 0, what is the

1. A ball rolls down a 3m-high smooth ramp. What gravitational potential 2m above the ground?
speed does it have at the bottom?
Vgrav gh = 9.81 2 = 19.62 Jkg1
mgh = 12 mv 2
3. A 0.2kg rework reaches a gravitational potential
gh = 12 v 2 relative to the ground of 500Jkg1 . If the rework is
30% ecient, how much energy was expended to get
v = 2gh = 2 9.81 3 = 7.67 ms1
there?
2. In an otherwise empty universe, two planets of Egrav
mass 1025 kg are 1012 m apart. Both the planets have Vgrav = m
a radius of 106 m. What are their speeds when they Egrav = mVgrav = 0.2 500 = 100 J
collide?
However, this is only 30% of the energy expended, so:
Let M1 be the mass of planet 1 and M2 be the mass of
planet 2. Both are 1 1025 kg Eexpended = 1000.3 333 J

Assume planet 1 to be stationary and planet 2 to be ac- 4. Express gravitational potential in terms of gravi-
celerating towards it (relative). tational force.

grav F dr
Let D = 1 10 meters = distance between the center Vgrav =
12 m
of the two planets. Let d = 1 106 meters = radius of 5. Draw the equipotentials and eld lines surround-
planets. ing the Earth.
20.40. SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION 115

The minus sign means that the acceleration is in the op-

posite direction to the initial displacement.
4. A pendulum oscillates with a frequency of 0.5 Hz.
What is the length of the pendulum?
= 2f
g
l = 2 0.5

9.81
l =
9.81
l = 2
9.81
l= 2 = 0.994 m
5. The following graph shows the displacement of a
simple harmonic oscillator. Draw graphs of its veloc-
ity, momentum, acceleration and the force acting on
it.
x is a sine wave, so:
x = A sin t
dx
v= dt = A cos t
d2 x
a= dv
dt = dt2 = A 2 sin t
p = mv = mA cos t
F = ma = mA 2 sin t
20.40 Simple Harmonic Motion Since you haven't been given any details, the amplitudes
of the waves don't matter. The phase dierences, how-
ever, do.
1. A 10N weight extends a spring by 5cm. Another
10N weight is added, and the spring extends another
5cm. What is the spring constant of the spring?
F = kx
10 = 0.05k
So k = 10
0.05 = 200N m1
2. The spring is taken into outer space, and is
stretched 10cm with the two weights attached. What
is the time period of its oscillation?
First calculate the mass of the two weights:
20 = 9.81m
m = 2.04kg

T = 2 m k = 2 2.04
200 = 0.634 s

3. What force is acting on the spring after 1 second?

In what direction?
We are starting the oscillation at t=0 with a displacement.
This displacement is the amplitude of the oscillation, and
we need f(t) to be positive at t=0. So, we use an equation
for the displacement with a cosine in it. We have already
derived the acceleration in this case:
a = 2 cos t 6. A pendulum can only be modelled as a simple har-
2 2 1 monic oscillator if the angle over which it oscillates is
= T = 6.34 = 0.99 rad s small. Why is this?
So: Simple harmonic oscillators work because the force acts
a = 0.992 cos 0.99 t = 0.538 ms2 in the opposite direction to the displacement. As the pen-
116 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

dulum moves away from the area immediately below the cillating mass on a spring, ignoring gravity and air
peg it is hanging on, the force no longer acts in the oppo- resistance, which is constant with respect to time.
site direction to the displacement. x = A cos t
v = A sin t
20.41 Energy in Simple Harmonic Substitute these into the equation for the total energy:

Motion E = 12 (kx2 + mv 2 ) = 12 (k(A cos t)2 +

1
m(A sin t)2 ) = 2
2 (kA cos t
2
+
2
2 2 2 A 2 2 2
1. A 10g mass causes a spring to extend 5cm. How mA sin t) = 2 (k cos t + m sin t)
much energy is stored by the spring? We know that:

Gravitational Potential Energy transferred completely to = k
m
Elastic Potential Energy
Therefore:
Gravitational Potential Energy = mass x gravity x height
k
2 = m
GPE = 0.01m 0.05kg 9.8N kg 1 = 4.9 103 J
By substitution:
2. A 500g mass on a spring (k=100) is extended by
A2 2 mk 2 A2 2
0.2m, and begins to oscillate in an otherwise empty E = 2 (k cos t + m sin t) = 2 (k cos t +
2 2
universe. What is the maximum velocity which it k sin2 t) = kA 2 2 kA
2 (cos t + sin t) = 2
reaches?
1 2
2 mvmax = 12 kx2max
2
vmax =
kx2max
m
20.42 Damping

vmax = xmax k
m = 0.2 100
0.5 = 2.83 ms1 1. Draw a graph of displacement for a critically
3. Another 500g mass on another spring in another damped oscillation.
otherwise empty universe is extended by 0.5m, and
begins to oscillate. If it reaches a maximum velocity
of 15ms1 , what is the spring constant of the spring?
1 2
2 mvmax = 12 kx2max
2
0.5152
= 450 Nm1
mvmax
k= x2max = 0.52

4. Draw graphs of the kinetic and elastic energies of

a mass on a spring (ignoring gravity).
Ee cos2 t
Ek sin2 t

2. How would you critically damp an oscillating pen-

dulum?

Simple HArmonic Motion Grab the weight, move it to its equilibrium position, and
stop it moving.
5. Use the trigonometric formulae for x and v to de- 3. How would you damp an oscillating pendulum us-
rive an equation for the total energy stored by an os- ing only a weighted polystyrene block?
20.43. CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM 117

Put the block in the path of the pendulum, which will what is the mass of the second ball?
bounce o the weight, losing a bit of energy each oscilla- (5 1.25) + (10m) = (7.5 1.25) + (7.5m)
tion.
6.25 10m = 7.5m 9.375
4. What would the displacement graph look like for
this oscillation, before and after damping began? 17.5m = 15.625
m = 0.893 kg
3. A totally elastic collision occurs between two balls
of equal mass. One of the balls is stationary. What
happens?
Since momentum must be conserved:
mu = mv1 + mv2
u = v1 + v2 (1)
Since kinetic energy must be conserved:
mu2 mv1 2 mv2 2
2 = 2 + 2
u = v1 + v2 2
2 2

Substitute in the value of u from (1):

(v1 + v2 )2 = v1 2 + v2 2
v1 2 + 2v1 v2 + v2 2 = v1 2 + v2 2
2v1 v2 = 0
Therefore, either v1 or v2 is 0. Using equation (1), if v1 is
zero, then v2 = u, and vice versa. However, v1 cannot be
the same as u, as this would mean that the rst ball had
to move through the second ball! So, the only physical
solution is that the rst ball stops, and the second ball
5. The graph above is an exponentially damped oscil- continues moving with the rst balls original velocity.
lation. If the displacement of the undamped oscilla- 4. A particle explodes to become two particles with
tion is given by sin t, what is an approximate equa- masses 1kg and 2kg. The 1kg particle moves with
tion for the damped oscillation, in terms of a constant velocity 45ms1 . With what velocity does the other
k which describes the degree to which the oscillation particle move?
is damped?
0 = (1 45) + 2v
x = ekt sin t
2v = 45
If k doubles, the e-kt will be squashed to half its size along
1
the t-axis, so as k increases, the rate of damping increases. v = 22.5 ms
i.e. in the opposite direction to the motion of the 1kg
particle.
20.43 Conservation of Momentum 5. A 3kg ball moving at 3ms1 collides with a 5kg ball
moving at 5ms1 . The collision is perfectly elastic.
1. A ball of mass 0.5kg collides with a stationary ball What are the new velocities of the balls?
of 0.6kg at a velocity of 3ms1 . If the stationary ball Since momentum must be conserved:
moves o at a speed of 2ms1 , what is the new velocity
of the rst ball? (3 3) + (5 5) = 3v1 + 5v2 = 16 kgms1 (1)

0.5 3 = 0.5v + (0.6 2) Since kinetic energy must be conserved:

332 5(5)2 2
5v2 2
1.5 = 0.5v + 1.2 2 + 2 = 3v
2
1
+ 2

0.5v = 0.3 3v1 2 + 5v2 2 = 152

v = 0.6 ms1 From (1):
163v1
2. Two balls are moving in opposite directions with v2 = 5
velocities 5ms1 1
and 10ms . They collide, and ( )2
3v1 2 + 5 163v1
= 152
move o in opposite directions with new velocities of 5
1
7.5ms each. If the mass of the rst ball was 1.25kg,
118 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

( )
3v1 2 + 5 9v1 2 +96v1 +256
25 = 152 The impulse was 0.09Ns and the force was 90N.

9v1 2 +96v1 +256 4. A 60kg spacewalker uses a jet of gas to exert an

3v1 2 + 5 = 152 impulse of 10Ns. How many times would he have to
2 2
15v1 + 9v1 + 96v1 + 256 = 760 do this to reach a speed of 1 ms1 from stationary?
24v1 2 + 96v1 504 = 0 v = I
m = 10
60 = 1
6 ms1
v1 2 + 4v1 21 = 0 So, the spacewalker would have to do this 6 times to reach
a speed of 1ms1 .
(v1 + 7)(v1 3) = 0
5. A 5kg bowling ball collides with a stationary tennis
So, v1 is either 7 or 3 ms1 .
ball of mass 0.1kg at 3ms1 , slowing to 2.5ms1 . It
If v1 = 7ms1 , by (1): exerts a force of 100N on the ball. How long did the
21 + 5v2 = 16 collision take?
m(vu)
5v2 = 5 F = t
m(vu) 5(32.5)
v2 = 1 ms1 t = F = 100 = 0.025 s
1
If v1 = 3ms :
9 + 5v2 = 16
5v2 = 25
20.45 Rockets, Hoses and Machine
v2 = 5 ms1
Guns
This last solution is non-physical since it requires the balls
to move through each other. So, v1 = 7ms1 and v2 =
1ms1 1. A machine gun res 300 5g bullets per. minute at
800ms1 . What force is exerted on the gun?
6. A ball collides with a wall, and rebounds at the
dt = 800
F = v dm 3000.005
same velocity. Why doesn't the wall move? 60 = 20 N
Let the mass of the wall be M, and the mass of the ball 2. 1 litre of water is pumped out of a tank in 5 seconds
be m: through a hose. If a 2N force is exerted on the tank,
at what speed does the water leave the hose?
mu = M vwall mu
The ow rate is about 0.2 kg s1 .
2mu = M vwall
2 = 0.2v
vwall = 2mu
M
v = 0.22
= 10 ms1
The mass of the wall is large. As M tends to innity,
therefore, v tends to 0. 3. If the hose were connected to the mains, what prob-
lems would there be with the above formula?
The force would not be exerted on the tank, but would
instead be referred back through the pipe - it is not gaining
20.44 Forces and Impulse in Colli- velocity at the nozzle.
sions 4. The thrust of the rst stage of a Saturn V rocket is
34 MN, using 131000kg of solid fuel in 168 seconds.
1. Escape velocity from the Earth is 11.2km . How At what velocity does the fuel leave the tank?
1

much impulse must be exerted on a 47000kg payload 34 106 = v 131000 168

to get it to travel away from the Earth? 34106 168
v = 131000 = 43600 ms1
I = m(v u) = 47000(11200 0) = 526.4 MNs
5. Escape velocity from the Earth is 11km1 . What
2. Two billiard balls, of mass 10g, collide. One is is the velocity of the rocket after the rst stage is used
moving at 5ms1 , and the other at 2ms1 . After the up, if the total mass of the rocket is 3 x 106 kg? How
collision, the rst billiard ball is moving backwards does this compare to escape velocity?
at 4ms1 . The collision takes 1 ms. What force was
exerted on this ball? ma = 34 106 mg
6
2
I = m(v u) = 0.01(5 (4)) = 0.09 Ns 3106 9.81 = 1.52 ms
a = 3410
F = I
t = 0.09
0.001 = 90 N v = at = 168 1.52 = 255.92 ms1 0.256 kms1
3. What impulse and force were exerted on the second This is 0.002% of escape velocity, hence the need for the
ball? other stages of the rocket.
20.47. RADAR AND TRIANGULATION 119

20.46 Circular Motion 2d = ct = 3 108 8 60 = 1.44 1011 m

d = 1.44 1011 0.5 = 7.2 1010 m
1. A tennis ball of mass 10g is attached to the end of
2. Why can't a radar pulse be used to measure the
a 0.75m string and is swung in a circle around some-
distance to the Sun?
ones head at a frequency of 1.5Hz. What is the ten-
sion in the string? It would be impossible to pick up the reected signal
1 due to all the other signals coming from the Sun. Also,
= 2f = 2 1.5 = 3 rad s
the signal would almost certainly be absorbed anyway.
F = T = m 2 r = 0.01 (3)2 0.75 = 0.0675 2 = <<Added>> Regardless of () wavelength, power den-
0.666 N sity, or wavefront properties, the pulse would be absorbed
2. A planet orbits a star in a circle. Its year is 100 with no reection possible. Distances to pure energy
Earth years, and the distance from the star to the sources are generally measured in terms of received light
planet is 70 Gm from the star. What is the mass of intensity, shifts of the light spectrum, and radio interfer-
the star? ometry. The RF spectrum; and Laser (light) spectrum
can be used to listen to radiation, but not bounce a pulse
100 days = 100 x 365.24 x 24 x 60 x 60 = 3155673600s from an energy source having no true angle of incidence.
f = T1 = 3155673600
1
= 3.17 1010 Hz Just as an observation, I will note that the sun can be seen
on most radars either sunrise or sunset, usually when the
= 2f = 2 3.17 1010 = 1.99 nrad s1 sun is just above the horizon. But these receptions are
GM
2 = 2
r unusable strobes (interference) and not a result of receiv-
r
9 2
ing a radar pulse from the sun. Radar technicians also
2 3 ) (7010 )
9 3
M = Gr = (1.9910 6.671011 = 2.04 1025 kg use the sun as a known exact position to align the sys-
3. A 2000kg car turns a corner, which is the arc of a tem to true north (and magnetic variations); this is called
circle, at 20kmh1 . The centripetal force due to fric- solar-boresighting and, again, only receives the radiation.
tion is 1.5 times the weight of the car. What is the 3. Radar is used to measure the velocity of a space-
radius of the corner? craft travelling between the Earth and the Moon. Use
1
20kmh = 20000 / 3600 = 5.56ms 1 the following data to measure this velocity:

W = 2000 9.81 = 19620 N First, calculate the distance of the spacecraft from the
Earth at each time:
Fr = 1.5 19620 = 29430 N 3.0108 (45.5121345.31213)
mv 2 20005.562 61728
d1 = ct 2
1
= 2 =
29430 = r = r = r 30, 000 km
61728
r= = 2.1 m 3.0108 (46.5278546.32742)
29430 d2 = ct 2
2
= 2 =
This is a bit unrealistic, I know... 30, 064.5 km
4. Using the formulae for centripetal acceleration Next, calculate the distance the spacecraft has travelled
and gravitational eld strength, and the denition of between the two pulses:
angular velocity, derive an equation linking the or-
d = d2 d1 = 30, 064.5 30, 000 = 64.5 km
bital period of a planet to the radius of its orbit.
Now, calculate the time elapsed between the transmission
2 r = GMrstar 2
of the two pulses:
2 r3 = GMstar
t = t t = 46.32742 45.31213 = 1.01529 s
= 2 T Finally, divide the distance the spacecraft has travelled
4 2 r 3 between the two pulses by the time between the trans-
T 2 = GMstar
mission of the two pulses, to give the average velocity of
4 2 r 3
T 2 = GM star the spacecraft in that interval of time:
So, orbital period squared is proportional to radius of or- v = d = 64.5 63.5 kms1
t 1.01529
bit cubed. Incidentally, this is Keplers Third Law in the
special case of a circular orbit (a circle is a type of el- 4. The angles between the horizontal and a star are
lipse). measured at midnight on January 1 as 89.99980 and
at midnight on June 1 as 89.99982. How far away is
the star?
tan a tan b 2150109 tan 89.9998 tan 89.99982
d = 2rtan a+tan b = =
20.47 Radar and Triangulation 4.52 1013 km
tan 89.9998+tan 89.99982

5. Why can't triangulation be used to measure the

1. A radar pulse takes 8 minutes to travel to Venus distance to another galaxy?
and back. How far away is Venus at this time?
120 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

The dierence between the two angles becomes so tiny radius of 421600km, and a year of 1.77 Earth days.
that we don't have good enough equipment to measure it. What is the value of C for Jupiters moons?
T2 (1.77246060)2
C= R3 = (421600000)3 = 3.12 1016 s2 m3

20.48 Large Units 5. Ganymede, another of Jupiters moons, has a

mean orbital radius of 1070400km. How long is its
year?
1. What is one parsec in m? 2
3.12 1016 = 1070400000
T
3
206265 AU x 150 x 109 = 3.09 x 1016 m
T = 3.12 1016 10704000003 = 618665 s =
2. Convert 3 light days into km.
7.16 days
c = 3 x 105 kms1
Which isn't that accurate, due to the approximations that
3 x 3 x 105 x 24 x 60 x 60 = 7.78 x 1010 km we used.
3. Convert 5.5 parsecs into light years.
1 ly = 9.46 x 1015 m
20.50 Doppler Eect
5.5 pc = 5.5 x 3.09 x 1016 m = 1.70 x 1017 m
Divide by 1 ly in metres to get a nal answer of approxi- 1. M31 (the Andromeda galaxy) is approaching us at
mately 18ly. about 120kms1 . What is its red-shift?
120000
4. The dierence in angle of a star on the perpen- z= vs
c = 300000000 = 0.4 103
dicular to the plane of the Earths orbit which passes
The minus sign is important! Andromeda is blue-shifted!
through the Sun when viewed from either side of the
Earths orbit is 0.1. How far away is the star in par- 2. Some light from M31 reaches us with a wavelength
secs? of 590nm. What is its wavelength, relative to M31?
The angle between the perpendicular and the line which 0.0004 = 590109
0
0 = 0 =

0 1= 0 1
goes through the Earth is 0.05 = 180. So, the star is 9
1/180 pc away. 0.9996 = 59010
0
590109
0 = 0.9996 = 590.23 nm
3. Some light has a wavelength, relative to M31, of
20.49 Orbits 480nm. What is its wavelength, relative to us?

1. The semi-major axis of an elliptical orbit can be 0.9996 = 0 = 480109
approximated reasonably accurately by the mean dis- = 0.9996 480 109 = 479.808 nm
tance of the planet for the Sun. How would you test,
4. A quasar emits electromagnetic radiation at a
using the data in the table above, that the inner plan-
wavelength of 121.6nm. If, relative to us, this wave-
ets of the Solar System obey Keplers Third Law?
length is red-shifted 0.2nm, what is the velocity of re-
Divide T2 by R3 and for each planet and see if this value cession of the quasar?
is roughly constant. vs
c = 0
2. Perform this test. Does Keplers Third Law hold? vs 0.2
8 = 121.6 = 0.00164
So, Keplers Third Law does hold for the inner planets, 310
1
using this rough approximation for the semi-major axis. vs = 3 108 0.00164 = 493 kms
3. If T2 R3 , express a constant C in terms of T and However, this is about as high a velocity as we can use the
R. classical Doppler eect for.
T2
C= R3
This is the constant of proportionality. It should be 20.51 The Big Bang
roughly the same for all the planets around the Sun. Al-
ternatively, you can use:
1. What is the Hubble Constant in s1 ?
R3
C= T2
H0 = 70 kms1 Mpc1 = 0.07 ms1 pc1
We will be using the former to answer the next two ques- 16
tions, but you should be able to get the same answers using 1 pc = 3.09 x 10 m
18 1
16 = 2.27 10
0.07
the latter. H0 = 3.0910 s
4. Io, one of Jupiters moons, has a mean orbital 2. How old is the universe?
20.54. IDEAL GASES 121

1
H0 = 4.41 1017 s = 14.0 bn years 40C, what is the new temperature of the room?
3. What eect might gravity have had on this gure? Energy must be conserved, so:
Gravity would slow the expansion of the universe, so the 10 450 40 = 1200 1010
age of the universe would actually be lower than 14.0 bil- = 180000 = 0.149 C
1212000
lion years.
So, the new temperature of the room is 21.149C.
4. Polaris is 132pc away. What is its velocity of re-
cession, according to Hubbles Law?
v = H0 d = 70 132 106 = 9.24 ms1
20.54 Ideal Gases
1. I heat some argon from 250K to 300K. If the
20.52 Heat and Energy pressure of the gas at 250K is 0.1 MPa, what is its
pressure after heating?
1. Carbon dioxide sublimes at 195K. Roughly what
The temperature has increased by 20%, so the pressure
energy per. particle does this correspond to?
will also increase by 20% (using the pressure law). So,
E kT = 1.38 1023 195 1021 J particle1 the new pressure is 0.1 MPa x 1.2 = 0.12 MPa.
2. A certain chemical reaction requires particles 2. The argon is in a 0.5m long cylindrical tank with
with mass of the order 1026 to move, on average, at radius 10cm. What volume does it occupy?
10ms1 . Roughly what temperature does this corre-
V = r2 l = 0.12 0.5 = 0.016 m3
spond to?
3. The argon is then squeezed with a piston so that in
Ek = 12 mv 2 = 0.5 1026 102 = 5 1025
only occupies 0.4m of the tanks length. What is its
5 1025 = kT new pressure?
51025
T = 1.381023 102 K The volume occupied decreases by 20%, which is equiv-
3. The boiling point of water is 100C. Roughly what alent to multiplying by 0.8. So, by Boyles Law, the pres-
energy per. particle does this correspond to? sure is multiplied by the reciprocal of 0.8 - 1.25. So, the
pressure increases by 25% to 0.15 MPa.
100C = 373K
4. What is its new temperature?
E kT = 1.381023 373 51021 J particle1
If we combine Charles Law with the pressure law, we
4. Thermionic emission from copper requires around nd that:
5eV of energy per. particle. How hot will the wire be
at this energy level? T pV

5eV = 5 x 1.6 x 1019 = 8 x 1019 J particle1 Volume is multiplied by 0.8, but pressure is multiplied by
1.25, so there is no change in temperature - it remains at
81019
23 6 10 K
4
T = 1.3810 300K.
5. 25% of the argon is sucked out. What is its pres-
sure now?
20.53 Specic Heat Capacity
Using the amount law, if N decreases by 25%, the pres-
sure must also decrease by 25% to 0.1125 MPa.
1. How much work would it take to heat 100kg of
liquid water from 20C to 36.8C?
E = mc = 100 4180 16.8 = 7.022 MJ 20.55 Kinetic Theory
2. How much work would it take to heat a well-
insulated room from 15C to 21C, if the room is a 1. Five molecules are moving at speeds of 1,5,6,8, and
cube with side length 10m, and the density of the air 36ms1 . What is their mean square speed?
is 1.2kgm3 ? 2 2 2 2 2
c2 = 1 +5 +65+8 +36 = 284.4 m2 s2
V = 103 = 1000 m3
2. What is the mass of one molecule of N2 (atomic
= m V mass 14, 1u = 1.66 x 1027 kg)?
m = V = 1000 1.2 = 1200 kg 2 14 1.66 1027 = 4.648 1026 kg
E = mc = 1200 1010 6 = 7.272 MJ 3. Atmospheric pressure is 101,325 Pa. If one mole of
3. A 10kg block of iron at 80C is placed in the room Nitrogen takes up 2.3 m3 at about 10C, what is the
above once it has reached 21C. If the iron cools by mean square speed of the molecules in the air outside,
122 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

assuming that the atmosphere is 100% nitrogen (in at 350K?

reality, it is only 78%)? = 0.5 20 1.6 1019 = 1.6 1018 J
1
pV = 3 N mc 2 1.61018
n
= e 1.381023 350 0
n
101235 2.3 = 31 6.02 1023 6.648 1022 c2
0

They would all y onto the positive plate.

2 2
c2 = 6.0210
31012352.3
23 6.6481022 = 1745 m s

4. What is the average speed of a nitrogen molecule

under the above conditions?

20.57 Magnetic Flux
c = c2 = 1745 = 41.8 ms1
5. The particles in question 1 are duplicated 3000 1. A circular steel core has a cross-sectional area of 9
times. If they have a completely unrealistic mass of cm2 , and a length of 0.5m. If the permeability of steel
1g, what is their pressure when they are crammed is 875 NA2 ., what is the permeance of the core?
into a cube with side length 0.5m? = A
= 875106 9104
= 1.58 WbA1
L 0.5
3
N mc2 5300010 284.4
p= 3V = 30.53 = 11376 Pa 2. A coil of insulated wire is wrapped 60 times around
the top of the core, and a 9A direct current is put
through the coil. How much ux is induced?
20.56 Boltzmann Factor = N I = 1.58 106 60 9 = 0.851 mWb
3. Assuming that all the ux goes through the core,
1u = 1.66 x 1027 kg what is the ux density at any point in the core?
g = 9.81 ms2 B=
= 0.851103
= 0.945 Wbm2
A 9104
1. A nitrogen molecule has a molecular mass of 28u. 4. Draw a diagram showing the lines of ux within
If the Earths atmosphere is 100% nitrous, with a the core.
temperature of 18C, what proportion of nitrogen
molecules reach a height of 2km?
= mgh = 28 1.66 1027 9.81 2000 =
9.12 1022 J
9.121022
n
n0 = e 1.381023 291 = 0.797
So, 79.7% reach a height of at least 2km.
2. What proportion of the molecules in a box of hy-
drogen (molecular mass 2u) at 0C have a velocity
greater than 5ms1 ?
= 12 mv 2 = 0.5 2 1.66 1027 52 = 4.15
1026 J
4.151026
n
n0 = e 1.381023 273 = 0.99999
(Practically all of them.)
3. What is the temperature of the hydrogen if half of
the hydrogen is moving at at least 10ms1 ?
= 12 mv 2 = 0.5 2 1.66 1027 102 = 1.66
1025 J

0.5 = e kT

ln 0.5 = ln 2 = kT
1.661025
T = k ln 2 = 1.381023 ln 2 = 0.0174 K
(almost absolute zero)
20.58 Induction
4. Some ionised hydrogen (charge 1.6 x 1019 C)is
placed in a uniform electric eld. The potential dif-
1. What is the ux linkage of a 30cm coil of 0.5mm
ference between the two plates is 20V, and they are
thick wire with a ux perpendicular to it of 10Wb?
1m apart. What proportion of the molecules are at
30102
least 0.5m from the positive plate (ignoring gravity) N = 0.510 3 = 600 coils
20.59. MAGNETIC FORCE 123

N = 600 10 = 6000 Wb 2.4 1012 N

2. If the above coil is crushed steadily over a period This may seem tiny, but remember that the acceleration
of 2s, what emf is maintained? of the electron will be far greater, as it has such a small
| |= dt = 2 = 3000 V
dN 6000 mass. The fact that the electron was moving at 0.05c
means that we don't have to do any relativistic correc-
This principle of removing the ux linkage rapidly (al- tions.
though not usually by destroying ones equipment) is used
to create very high voltages for short periods of time. 2. What force is exerted by a 5mT magnetic eld on a
20cm wire with resistance 1 attached to a 9V bat-
3. The ux in a ux circuit varies according to the tery?
equation = sin t. What is the equation for the
emf induced? V = IR

= dN = N d sin t = N cos t I = VR
dt dt
3
BV l 510 90.2
4. Using a constant k, what is the equation for a cur- F = BIl = R = 106 = 9 kN
rent which could induce the ux in the ux circuit 3. The following diagram shows a positive charge
above? moving through a magnetic eld. Draw an arrow rep-
I = k sin t resenting the direction of the force on the charge.
5. Draw a graph of the ux, ux linkage, emf and
current as deduced in the previous two questions.
In order to keep the scales sane, I used a 2-coil (N=2) coil
to plot the following graph:

Note that, if the charge had been negative, the force

would be in the opposite direction (upwards).
4. The following diagram shows a wire in a magnetic
eld. Draw an arrow representing the direction of the
force on the wire.

Remember that the current here is inducing the ux (and

ux linkage), which is in turn inducing the emf.

20.59 Magnetic Force

1. What force is exerted by a 1T magnetic eld on an
electron (of charge 1.6 x 1019 C) moving at 5% of
the speed of light (3 x 108 ms1 )?
F = Bqv = 1 1.6 1019 0.05 3 108 =
124 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

20.61 Motors

1. How could you adapt the simple DC motor to use

AC?
Connect the coil in the stator in series with the coil in
the rotor via a slip-ring commutator. This must be in the
correct direction to ensure that the elds created by the
two parts of the coil are constantly repelling each other,
rather than constantly attracting each other.
2. Why does a three-phase motor have a constant an-
gular velocity?
The vectorial sum of the three currents is constant, so the
vectorial sum of the forces on the rotor due to each of the
three currents is constant.
3. What is the dierence between a split-ring and a
slip-ring commutator?

20.60 Transformers A split-ring makes the current change direction every

half-rotation, whereas a slip-ring commutator merely
maintains a connection between the moving rotor and the
1. A step-down transformer has 300 coils on one coil, stationary stator.
and 50 coils on the other. If 30 kV AC is put in, what
voltage comes out? 4. How could the angular velocity of a three-phase
300 30000
motor be increased?
50 = Vs = 6
Increase the frequency of the three-phase power.
Vs = 30000 = 5 kV
6 5. A squirrel-cage motor relies on eddy currents run-
2. A step-up transformer has 200 coils on one coil, ning along the rotor to function. However, if eddy
and 980 coils on the other. If 25 kV AC comes out, currents run across the rotor, then the force on the
what voltage was put in? rotor is reduced. How may these eddy currents be re-
200
=
Vp duced without reducing the desired eddy currents?
980 25000
Vp = 25000200
5.1 kV Laminate the plates which connect the rods to each other
980
so that currents are restricted from running in the wrong
3. An ideal transformer transforms a 50A current direction.
into a 1A current. It has 40 coils on the primary coil.
How many coils are in the secondary coil?
50 Ns
1 = 40 = 50
Ns = 40 50 = 2000 coils
4. Transformers tend to vibrate. Why is this? What
eect does this have on the eciency of the trans-
former?
There are wires with current in them going perpendicu-
larly through a magnetic eld. According to F = BIL, a
force is exerted on the wires. This means that some of
the energy is converted into kinetic energy, reducing the
eciency of the transformer.
5. Air does have some permeability. What eect does 20.62 Generators
this have on the eciency of the transformer? Why?
Some of the ux passes through the air instead of the core,
and so does not pass through the secondary coil, and is not
used to create AC. This means that some of the energy put 1. Draw diagrams of an alternating current, the 'di-
in oscillates in and out of the magnetic eld, reducing the rect current' produced by a DC generator, and this
eciency of the transformer. current once it has been smoothed with a capacitor.
20.64. ELECTRIC FIELD 125

1.61019 20
Felectric = qV
d = 0.1 = 3.2 1017 N
3. The acceleration due to gravity around a point
mass is constant, irrespective of the mass of the ob-
jects it is acting on. The acceleration due to electricity
around a point charge is not. Use Newtons Second
Law (F=ma) to explain this.
F
a= m
GM m GM
agrav = mr 2 = r2
kQq
aelectric = mr 2
The m cancels for gravitational acceleration, but not for
electrical acceleration, since charge does not provide a
resistance to a force.
4. An insulator contains charged particles, even
though the overall charge on the insulator is 0. Why
2. What is the phase dierence (in radians) between
is the insulator attracted by a nearby charge?
the voltages produced by a three-phase generator?
2 c The electrons in the atoms can move within certain
3 bounds. Being in an electric eld means that they spend
3. According to Faradays law, what three things will more time closer to a positive charge, and so the parts of
increase the amplitude of the emf created by a gen- the insulator which are attracted to the charge end up be-
erator? ing closer to the charge than those which are repelled.
= dt
dN This means that the attractive force on the insulator is
greater than the repulsive force. This causes the insulator
So, more coils, a stronger magnetic eld or a higher fre- as a whole to be attracted to the charge if it is positive.
quency of rotation will increase the amplitude of the emf. If it is negative, the reverse happens, and the insulator is
4. If an albatross touched two power cables carrying repelled.
AC in phase, what would happen? 5. Where in the charged conducting plates which cre-
Nothing - there is no potential dierence between the two ate a uniform electric eld would you expect to nd
cables. the charge located? Why?
5. What would happen if the two cables carried three- The charges are free to move within a conductor. The
phase power? opposite charges in each plate are attracted to each other
and try to move as close to each other as possible. So,
Unfortunately, dead albatross - there is potential dier-
they end up on the inside edge of the plates.
ence between the two cables.

20.63 Electric Force 20.64 Electric Field

e = 1.6 x 1019 C 1. Two metal plates are connected to a 9V battery

with negligible internal resistance. If the plates are
1. A positron (charge +e) is 1 m from a lithium 10cm apart, what is the electric eld at either of the
nucleus (charge +3e). What is the magnitude of the plates?
force acting on each of the particles? In what direc-
tion is it acting? Eelectric = Velectric
d
9
= 0.1 = 90 Vm1
8.99109 13(1.61019 )2 2. What is the electric eld at the midpoint between
Felectric = kQq = (106 )2 =
r2 the plates?
6.90 1016 N
The whole point of a uniform electric eld is that the eld
This may seem tiny, but the mass of an electron is also does not change anywhere between the plates - at the mid-
tiny, so the acceleration is considerable. point, as anywhere, it is 90 NC1 .
2. An electron is 1mm from the positively charged 3. The charge on an electron is 1.6 x 1019 C. What
plate in a uniform electric eld. The potential dif- is the electric eld 1m from a hydrogen nucleus?
ference between the plates is 20V, and the plates are Q 1.61019
10cm apart. What force is acting on the electron? In Eelectric = 40 r2 = 48.851012 (106 )2 =
what direction? 1440 Vm1
The 1mm is a red herring. 4. What is the direction of this eld?
126 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

The hydrogen nucleus has a positive charge, so the electric 2. Do the same for the electric eld around a point
eld goes away from the nucleus (by convention). charge.
5. A 2C charge is placed 1m from a 1C charge. At
what point will the electric eld be 0?
Dene the distance r as shown:

2 1
40 (1+r)2 = 40 r 2
2 1
(1+r)2 = r2
(1+r)2
2 = r2
(1 + r)2 = 2r2

1+r =r 2

r( 2 1) = 1

r= 1
21
= 2+1

( 21)( 2+1)
= 2 + 1 2.41 m

3. The potential dierence between two plates is

20.65 Electric Potential 100V. What is the potential dierence between a
point halfway between the plates and one of the
plates?
0 = 8.85 x 1012 Fm1
Half of 100 is 50V.
1. Draw a diagram of a uniform electric eld between
4. What is the electric potential at a point 0.2m from
two plates, showing the eld lines and the equipoten-
an alpha particle (charge on an electron = 1.6 x
tials.
1019 C)?
The charge on an alpha particle is 3.2 x 1019 C.
3.21019
V = Q
40 r = 48.851012 0.2 = 1.44 108 V
5. What is the electric potential energy of an electron
at the negative electrode of an electron gun if the po-
tential dierence between the electrodes is 10V?
U = V q = 10 1.6 1019 = 1.6 1018 J =
10 eV

20.66 Electric Potential Energy

k = 8.99 x 109 Nm2 C2

1. Convert 5 x 1013 J to MeV.
51013
1.61019 = 3125000 eV = 3.125 MeV
2. Convert 0.9 GeV to J.
0.9 109 1.6 1019 = 1.44 1010 J
3. What is the potential energy of an electron at the
negatively charged plate of a uniform electric eld
20.69. BOSONS 127

when the potential dierence between the two plates Three identical quarks must have a total charge of 1e,
is 100V? so one of these quarks has a charge of -e. This is a down
elec= V q = 100 1.6 10
elec
19
= 1.6 10 17
J = quark.
0.1 keV 3. What is an antiproton made of? What is its
charge?
4. What is the potential energy of a 2C charge 2cm
from a 0.5C charge? u
ud , total charge 1e.
8.99109 20.5
elec = kQq
r = 0.02 = 4.5 1011 J 4. A K+ meson is made of an up quark and an anti-
strange quark. What is its total charge?
Remember, coulombs are big!
+ = +1e
5. What is represented by the gradient of a graph of
electric potential energy against distance from some 5. Lambda () baryons are made up of an up quark,
charge? a down quark, and another quark (not an antiquark).
The 0 is neutral, and contains a second generation
Force exerted on the charge with that energy.
quark. What is this quark?
0 = + - + q

20.67 The Standard Model q = -

The second generation quark with a charge of -e is the
1. The third generation top quark was the last quark strange quark.
in the Standard Model to have its existence proven
experimentally (in 1995). It is also the most massive
of the quarks. Why was it so dicult to observe a top
quark? 20.69 Bosons
Creating massive particles requires a lot of energy. It took
a long time to develop a particle accelerator which accel- 1. A stationary light source emits single photons at
erated other particles to the energy required to create top regular intervals. Draw a Feynman diagram to rep-
quarks. resent this.
2. What observable phenomena does the Standard
Model not explain?
Gravity, as well as mass, and the large number of con-
stants in the Standard Model.
3. How much more massive is an up quark than an
electron?
2.4
0.511 = 4.7 times
4. How many fermions are there in the Standard
Model?
12 + 12 = 24 (remember the antiparticles)
5. The antiparticle of the electron (e- ) is the positron.
What is the charge and rest mass of a positron?
Charge: +1.6 x 1019 C
Mass: 0.511 MeV/c2 = 9.11 x 1031 kg

20.68 Quarks
1. The ++ baryon is made up of up quarks. What is
its total charge?
Baryons are made of three quarks. 3 x + = +2e
+
2. The - baryon has a total charge of 1e. Given 2. Write two equations (including a W boson) which
that it is made up of only one type of rst generation describe positron emission.
quark, what is this quark? p n + W+
128 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

4gdr 3
W + + e+ q= 3V
3. What is the charge on a W- boson? 3. An oil droplet of density 885kgm3 and radius
1.6 x 1019 C, since it has to balance the charge on a 1m is held stationary in between two plates which
proton. are 10cm apart. At what potential dierences be-
tween the plates is this possible?
q must be a multiple of e, the charge on an electron:
20.70 Leptons q = ne , where n is an integer.
3
ne = 4gdr
1. An electron is produced by a nuclear reaction, but 3V
6 3
an electron-antineutrino is not produced. What other V = 4gdr3 = 48859.810.1(10 )
= 25.7
3ne 31.61019 n n
particle is produced?
Then, to nd some actual values, take n = 1,2,3 ... , so V
A positron, since this is the only other rst-generation = 25.7V, 12.8V, 8.6V ...
particle with a lepton number of 1.
4. If the X-rays used to ionise the oil are of wave-
2. Why do electrons not make up part of the nucleus? length 1nm, how much energy do they give to the elec-
Electrons do not interact with the strong nuclear force. trons? Why does this mean that the oil drops are
ionised?
3. Why did it take until the 1950s to detect the rst
antineutrino? c = f
They are tiny, chargeless, and almost massless. f = c
6.631034 3108
4. Complete the following equation for the emission E = hf = hc = 109 = 1.989
of a beta particle from a nucleus: 1016 J = 1.24 keV

1
0n 11 p + 0
1 e + 00 e This provides the energy required for an electron to es-
5. Complete the following equation for the emission cape from its energy level, becoming unbound.
of an antielectron from a nucleus: 5. In reality, the oil drops are moving when they enter
the uniform electric eld. How can this be compen-
1 p 0 n + 1 e
1 1 0 + 0
+ 0 e
sated for?
6. Complete the following equation for the capture of
an electron by a nucleus: Either:

1
1p + 0
1 e 10 n + 00 e Use a slightly stronger potential dierence to slow
the oil drop down, and then reduce the potential dif-
ference to keep the oil drop stationary.
20.71 Millikans Experiment
Measure the voltage required to keep the oil drop
h = 6.63 x 1034 Js moving at a constant (terminal) velocity, using more
sophisticated equipment.
c = 3 x 108 ms1
g = 9.81 ms2
1. Rearrange the formula above in terms of q. 20.72 Pair Production and Annihi-
qV
d = mg lation
qV = mgd
mgd h = 6.63 x 1034 Js
q= V
1. The mass of an electron is 9.11 x 10-31 kg. What is
2. The mass of an oil drop cannot be measured easily. the minimum amount of energy a photon must have
Express the mass of an oil drop in terms of its radius to create an electron?
r and its density , and, by substitution, nd a more
useful formula for q. E = 2mc2 = 2 9.11 1031 (3 108 )2 = 1.64
m 1013 J = 1.02 MeV
= Volume
2. A 1.1 MeV electron annihilates with a 1.1 MeV
m = Volume positron. What is the total energy of the photon pro-
Assuming that the oil drop is spherical: duced?
Volume = 4
3 r
3
2.2 MeV = 3.52 x 1013 J
m = 43 r 3
3. What is its frequency?
20.74. CLOUD CHAMBERS AND MASS SPECTROMETERS 129

3.521013
f= E
h = 6.631034 = 5.31 1020 Hz u = 1.66 x 1027 kg
4. What is its wavelength? 1. An electron enters a cloud chamber, passing into a
8
13 0.1T magnetic eld. The initial curvature (the recip-
= fc = 5.3110 20 = 5.65 10
310
m
rocal of its radius) of its path is 100m1 . At what
5. What classical physical conditions might cause a speed was it moving when it entered the magnetic
newly produced electron-positron pair to annihilate eld?
almost immediately?
r = mvqB
Electrons and positrons have opposite charges, and so
1.61019 0.10.01
qBr
they attract each other. When they are created, they must v = m = 9.111031 = 1.76 108 ms1 =
have enough kinetic energy to escape each others attrac- 0.585c
tion. If this is not the case, they will annihilate. This is too close to the speed of light to ignore special
relativity, however we just did.
2. The electron spirals inwards in a clockwise di-
20.73 Particle Accelerators rection, as show in the diagram on the right. What
would the path of a positron, moving with an identi-
1. Use the formula for centripetal force to show that cal speed, look like?
the radius of motion depends on the speed of the mov-
ing object.
mv 2
F = r
mv 2
r= F
So, if F is constant:
r v2
2. A cyclotron with a diameter of 1.5m is used to ac-
celerate electrons (mass 9.11 x 1031 kg). The max-
imum force exerted on an electron is 2.4 x 1018 N.
What is the maximum velocity of the electrons?
mv 2
F = r
2.41018 0.75
v2 = Fr
m = 9.111031 = 1.97 1012 m2 s2
v = 1.41 106 ms1
3. What are the problems involved in constructing a
large cyclotron?
Creating a uniform magnetic eld over such a large area
(for example, the land area enclosed by the LHC) means
that cyclotrons have been largely replaced in experimental
particle physics by tubes, instead of at cylinders.
4. Why don't particles stick to the electrodes when 3. Using a 2T magnetic eld, what electric eld
passing through them? strength must be used to get a velocity selector to se-
1
There are two reasons. Firstly, alternating current is sinu- lect only particles which are moving at 100ms ?
soidal, so there is no charge on the electrode when the par- v = E
B
ticles are passing through them. Secondly, even if there 1
were charge on the electrode, the net force on the particle E = Bv = 2 100 = 200 Vm
would still be 0, since the force would be equal in every 4. Some uranium (atomic number 92) ions (charge
direction. +3e) of various isotopes are put through the veloc-
ity selector described in question 3. They then enter
an 0.00002T uniform magnetic eld. What radius of
20.74 Cloud Chambers and Mass circular motion would uranium-235 have?
m rBBselector
Spectrometers q = Eselector
2351.661027
31.61019 =r 20.00002
200 = 0.0000002r
19
Charge of electron = 1.6 x 10 C
2351.661027
r= = 4.06 m
Mass of electron = 9.11 x 1031 kg 0.000000231.61019
130 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

20.75 Radioactive Emissions therefore X must have 2 Protons.

Therefore it can be concluded that X is an alpha particle.
You will need a periodic table.
1. Americium-241 is an emitter. What element,
and what isotope, is produced by this decay? 20.76 Energy Levels
241
95 Am b
a? + 4
2
The following table gives the wavelengths of light
b = 241 - 4 = 237
given o when electrons change between the energy
a = 95 - 2 = 93 levels in hydrogen as described in the rst row:
So, 237
93 N p (Neptunium-237) is produced. 1. Calculate the potential energy of an electron at
2. Iodine-129 is a emitter. What element, and what level n=2.
-

isotope, is produced by this decay? c = f

129
53 I b
a? + 0
1 + 00 3 108 = 364.6 109 f
b = 129 f = 8.23 1014 Hz
a = 53 + 1 = 54 E = hf = 6.631034 8.231014 = 5.46
So, 129 1019 J = 3.41 eV
54 Xe (Xenon-129) is produced.

3. Gamma rays are used to kill microbes in food. 2. Calculate the dierence in potential energy be-
Why doesn't the food become radioactive? tween levels n=2 and n=3.

Gamma radiation only interacts with the electrons of the This time, lets derive a general formula:
atom, not with the nucleus. Radioactivity is due to nuclear f = E
h
properties, not chemical properties.
c = E
h
4. Plutonium-244 decays by emitting an particle. It
3108 6.631034
does this twice, emits a - particle, and then emits a E = =
ch
656.3109 = 3.03 1019 J =
further two particles. The nucleus becomes a dif- 1.89 eV
ferent element each time. What element is produced 3. What is the potential energy of an electron at level
at the end? n=3?

94 P u a ? + 4 2 + 1
244 b 4 0
3.41 + 1.89 = 1.52 eV
b = 244 - 16 = 228 4. If an electron were to jump from n=7 to n=5, what
a = 94 - 8 + 1 = 87 would the wavelength of the photon given o be?
( )
87 F r (Francium-228) E = 5,2 7,2 = ch 5,2 7,2 = 3 108
ch ch 1 1
So, at the end of this decay chain, 228
is produced. ( )
6.63 1034 434.110 1
9 397109
1
= 4.28
5. Carbon-11 changes into Boron-11 by a radioactive 20
10 J
emission. What was emitted?
3108 6.631034
= ch
E = 4.281020 = 4.65 m
11
6 C 11
5 B + b
a ?
5. Prove that the wavelength of light emitted from
b = 11 - 11 = 0
the transition n=4 to n=2 is 486.1nm (HINT: e = hf
a=6-5=1 and c = f )
So, a positron ( 01 + ) was emitted. However, in order for 13.6( 212 412 ) = 2.55eV
the lepton numbers to balance, a neutrino ( 00 ) must also
2.55eV = hc therefore =
hc
2.551.610 19 = 4.875
be emitted.
10 7 = 488nm
6. Uranium-236 decays, following the equation:
236
92 U 232
90 T h + X
Identify the particle X in this equation. 20.77 Fission
Solve these type of problems by applying the conserva-
tion laws: e.g. the decay must balance electric charge, 1. A neutron is red at some Uranium-235. Barium-
nucleon number, proton number, lepton number etc. Nu- 141 and Krypton-92 are produced:
92 U 56 Ba +36 Kr + N0 n
cleon number doesn't balance (236 = 232 + ?), so X must 10 n +235 141 92 1

have a nucleon number of 4. How many neutrons are produced (i.e. what is the value
The Proton number does not balance either (92 = 90 + ?) of N)?
20.79. BINDING ENERGY 131

Consider the mass numbers: 5. In order to contain a fusion reaction, electromag-

1 + 235 = 141 + 92 + N netism may be used. What other force could be used?
Why is this not being used for fusion reactors on
N + 233 = 236 Earth?
N =3 Gravity, as in stars. However, the amount of mass re-
2. What proportion of the neutrons produced must quired to do this is far larger than the Earth, so we cannot
be absorbed in order to make the reaction stable? do this.

Two thirds, assuming that Uranium-235 always produces

three neutrons when split, which it doesn't.
20.79 Binding Energy
3. What would happen if too many neutrons were
absorbed?
1. Deuterium (an isotope of Hydrogen with an ex-
The reaction would stop. tra neutron) has a nuclear mass of 2.01355321270 u.
4. Alternatively, Uranium-235 can split into Xenon- What is its binding energy?
140, two neutrons and another element. What is this Total mass of neutron and proton is 1.00727647 +
element? (You will need to use a periodic table.) 1.00866492 = 2.01594139 u
Consider the mass numbers: Mass defect = 2.01594139 - 2.01355321270 =
1 + 235 = 140 + N + 2 0.002388178 u = 3.965662187 x 1030 kg
N + 142 = 236 E = mc2 = 3.57 1013 J = 2.23 MeV
N = 94 2. Uranium-235 has a nuclear mass of 235.0439299
u. It contains 92 protons. What is its binding energy?
Then consider the atomic numbers:
235 - 92 = 143 neutrons
0 + 92 = 54 + n + 2(0)
Total mass of baryons is (92 x 1.00727647) + (143 x
n = 38 1.00866492) = 236.9085188 u
So, the element is strontium-94: Mass defect = 236.9085188 - 235.0439299 = 1.8645889
1
0n 92 U 54 Xe +38 Sr + 20 n
+235 140 94 1 u = 3.096222181 x 1027 kg
E = mc2 = 2.79 1010 J = 1.74 GeV
3. How would you expect H-2 and U-235 to be used
20.78 Fusion in nuclear reactors? Why?
H-2 is used in experimental fusion reactors, since it has a
c = 3 x 108 ms1 smaller nucleus than Iron-56.
1. In the Sun, two tritium nuclei ( 31 H ) are fused U-235 is used in ssion reactors, since it has a much larger
to produce helium-4 ( 42 He ). What else is produced, nucleus than Iron-56.
apart from energy?
231 H 4
2 He + 220 n
2. In larger stars, carbon-12 ( 12
20.80 Risks, Doses and Dose
6 C ) is fused with pro-
tium ( 11 H ). What single nucleus does this produce? Equivalents
12
6 C + 11 H 13
7 N
1. A mobile phone emits electromagnetic radiation.
3. In this reaction, 1.95MeV of energy is released.
1.2 watts of power are absorbed per. kilogram.
What dierence in binding energy, in J, does this cor-
Assuming that the radiation is absorbed uniformly
respond to?
across a 5kg head, what dose of radiation would be
1.95MeV = 1.95 x 106 x 1.6 x 1019 J = 3.12 x 1013 J delivered to the head when making a 10-minute tele-
4. If all this energy was emitted as a photon, what phone call?
would its frequency be? 1.2 x 5 = 6 grays are absorbed per. second. 10 minutes
E = hf = 600 seconds.

f= E
= 3.12106
= 4.71 1020 Hz 6 = dose
600
h 6.631034
This is a within the wavelength spectrum of a gamma-ray, So, the total dose is 3600 Gy.
so we can assume all energy is released as a gamma-ray Note to reader: There is currently something wrong with
photon. this question, since 3600 Gy is enough to kill 600 people.
132 CHAPTER 20. WORKED SOLUTIONS

Mobile phones don't do that. I'm working on it. --Sjlegg

(talk) 14:30, 6 April 2009 (UTC) Suggestion : A mobile
phone does not emit ionizing radiation as the kinetic en-
ergy is to low. Therefore the gray unit cannot be used for
this exercise. The unit of measurement for absorption of
electromagnetic energy by a body is the SAR.It measures
the time rate of absorption of electromagnetic energy by
a body. It is measured in W / kg.
The SAR can be determined from the electric eld
strength E in the body or from the rate of temperature
rise (t).
2. What dose equivalent does this correspond to?
Quality factor for photons is 1, so dose equivalent is 720
Sv.
3. How many nuclei are there in 1mg of Americium-
241?
The mass of 1 Americium-241 nucleus is 241u, which
corresponds to 241 x 1.66 x 1027 = 400 x 1027 kg.
103
4001027 = 2.5 1021
4. An ham sandwich becomes contaminated with 1
g of Americium-241, and is eaten by an 80kg person.
The half-life of Americium-241 is 432 years. Given
that Americium-241 gives o 5.638 MeV alpha par-
ticles, how long would it be before a dose equivalent
of 6 Sv is absorbed, making death certain?
First calculate the activity:
A = N
ln 2
t 21 =
ln 2
= t1
2

N ln 2 2.51021 ln 2
A= t1 = 432365.24246060 = 1.27 1011 Bq
2

Then calculate the power (energy per. second):

P = 1.271011 5.638106 1.61019 = 0.115 W
Then calculate the dose per. second:
0.115
80 = 1.43 mGys1
Multiply this by the quality factor for alpha particles (20)
to get a dose equivalent per. second of 0.0287 Svs1 .
6
0.0287 = 209 s = 3 min 29 s
5. What assumptions have you made?
We assumed that the Americium was absorbed uniformly
throughout the body, and that the activity remained con-
stant. The latter is acceptable since this period of time is
relatively short. The former is not acceptable.
Chapter 21

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133
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Units?oldid=3210034 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola, Avicennasis and Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Orbits Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Orbits?
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A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Doppler Eect Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)
/Doppler_Effect?oldid=3209517 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola, Avicennasis, Robin van der Vliet and Anonymous: 2
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Big Bang Theory Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)
/Big_Bang_Theory?oldid=3209105 Contributors: Thenub314, Sjlegg, Dwlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola, Avicennasis and Anonymous: 3
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Heat and Energy Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)
/Heat_and_Energy?oldid=3209838 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola, Avicennasis and Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Specic Heat Capacity Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_
Physics)/Specific_Heat_Capacity?oldid=3210170 Contributors: Albmont, Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola, Leitoxx and Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Ideal Gases Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Ideal_
Gases?oldid=3210004 Contributors: Sjlegg, Recent Runes, Pi zero, Adrignola and Anonymous: 4
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/Kinetic_Theory?oldid=3210011 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola and Anonymous: 1
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/Boltzmann_Factor?oldid=3209188 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, QuiteUnusual, NipplesMeCool, Avicennasis, Nerak99 and Anonymous:
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/Induction?oldid=3210006 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola, TBDH144 and Anonymous: 3
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/Transformers?oldid=3210187 Contributors: Jomegat, Sjlegg, CommonsDelinker, Pi zero, Adrignola, Knowledgebank007, Avicennasis
and Anonymous: 6
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/Generators?oldid=3209807 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, QuiteUnusual, Adrignola and Anonymous: 2
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/Electric_Force?oldid=3209521 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola and Avicennasis
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/Electric_Field?oldid=3209519 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola, Knowledgebank007 and Anonymous: 1
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/Electric_Potential?oldid=3209523 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, NipplesMeCool, Avicennasis and Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Electric Potential Energy Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_
Physics)/Electric_Potential_Energy?oldid=3209524 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola, Knowledgebank007, Avicennasis and Anony-
mous: 1
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Physics)/The_Standard_Model?oldid=3210185 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, QuiteUnusual, Adrignola, Drumncars1996 and Anonymous:
1
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Physics)/Millikan{}s_Experiment?oldid=3210064 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola and Avicennasis
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(Advancing_Physics)/Pair_Production_and_Annihilation?oldid=3210070 Contributors: Panic2k4, Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola and Anony-
mous: 7
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Physics)/Particle_Accelerators?oldid=3210083 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero and Adrignola
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Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Cloud_Chambers_and_Mass_Spectrometers?oldid=3209386 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, QuiteUnusual,
Adrignola, Avicennasis and Anonymous: 2
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Physics)/Quantum_Principles?oldid=3210144 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola and Anonymous: 1
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Physics)/Radioactive_Emissions?oldid=3210151 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola, SMS and Anonymous: 2
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/Energy_Levels?oldid=3209567 Contributors: Sjlegg, Recent Runes, Pi zero, Adrignola, Younsh and Anonymous: 1
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/Binding_Energy?oldid=3209103 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, QuiteUnusual, Adrignola and Anonymous: 1
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(Advancing_Physics)/Risks%2C_Doses_and_Dose_Equivalents?oldid=3210166 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola, Martinvl and
Anonymous: 2
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Physics)/Vectors/Trigonometry?oldid=1245765 Contributors: Sjlegg and Red4tribe
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Physics)/Digital_Storage/Logarithms?oldid=3210040 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero and Anonymous Dissident
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/Current/delta?oldid=3209394 Contributors: Retropunk, Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident, Adrignola and Avicennasis
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/Current/sigma?oldid=3209392 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident and Adrignola
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Simple Harmonic Motion/Mathematical Derivation Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/
A-level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Simple_Harmonic_Motion/Mathematical_Derivation?oldid=3210041 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi
zero and Adrignola
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Lenses/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_
Physics)/Lenses/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210037 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident, Jolly Janner, Adrignola and
Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Refraction/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Refraction/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210161 Contributors: Albmont, Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident,
Adrignola and Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Digital Storage/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Digital_Storage/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209450 Contributors: Xania, Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident,
QuiteUnusual, Adrignola and Anonymous: 5
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Digital Processing/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Digital_Processing/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209452 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident and
Adrignola
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Digitisation/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Digitisation/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209448 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident and Adrignola
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Signal Frequencies/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Signal_Frequencies/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210173 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident and
Adrignola
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Bandwidth/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Bandwidth/Worked_Solutions?oldid=2755209 Contributors: Sjlegg, Laleena, NipplesMeCool and Qaisjp
21.1. TEXT 137

A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Charge/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_

Physics)/Charge/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209196 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident, Adrignola, Saksun Young and
Anonymous: 2
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Current/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_
Physics)/Current/Worked_Solutions?oldid=1665979 Contributors: Sjlegg, QuiteUnusual, NipplesMeCool and Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Voltage/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_
Physics)/Voltage/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210191 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident, Adrignola and Avicennasis
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Power/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_
Physics)/Power/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210077 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident, Adrignola and Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Resistance and Conductance/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_
Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Resistance_and_Conductance/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210163 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anony-
mous Dissident, Adrignola and Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Internal Resistance/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Internal_Resistance/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210009 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident, Com-
puterjoe, Adrignola, Theoogadooga and Anonymous: 2
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Potential Dividers/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Potential_Dividers/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210079 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident, Adrig-
nola, Avicennasis, Rynbrgss and Anonymous: 2
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Sensors/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_
Physics)/Sensors/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210175 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident and Adrignola
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Resistivity and Conductivity/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_
Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Resistivity_and_Conductivity/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210165 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anony-
mous Dissident, Adrignola and Anonymous: 4
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Semiconductors/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Semiconductors/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210177 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident and Adrig-
nola
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Stress, Strain & the Young Modulus/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/
wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Stress%2C_Strain_%26_the_Young_Modulus/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210184 Contrib-
utors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident, Adrignola, Dared111~enwikibooks and Anonymous: 4
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Metals/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_
Physics)/Metals/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210063 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident, CRB1 and Adrignola
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Polymers/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Polymers/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210081 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Anonymous Dissident and Adrignola
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/What is a wave?/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/What_is_a_wave%3F/Worked_Solutions?oldid=1223676 Contributors: Sjlegg and Red4tribe
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Phasors/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_
Physics)/Phasors/Worked_Solutions?oldid=1445909 Contributors: Sjlegg, QuiteUnusual and NipplesMeCool
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Standing Waves/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Standing_Waves/Worked_Solutions?oldid=1445911 Contributors: Sjlegg, QuiteUnusual and NipplesMeCool
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Youngs Slits/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Young{}s_Slits/Worked_Solutions?oldid=2720811 Contributors: Sjlegg, Red4tribe, Syum90 and Anonymous: 2
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Diraction/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Diffraction/Worked_Solutions?oldid=1225132 Contributors: Sjlegg and Red4tribe
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Light as a Quantum Phenomenon/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/
A-level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Light_as_a_Quantum_Phenomenon/Worked_Solutions?oldid=2965092 Contributors: Xania, Sj-
legg, Red4tribe and Anonymous: 2
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Electron Behaviour as a Quantum Phenomenon/Worked Solutions Source:
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Electron_Behaviour_as_a_Quantum_Phenomenon/Worked_
Solutions?oldid=3209570 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, QuiteUnusual, NipplesMeCool, Sebastian Goll and Anonymous: 2
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Vectors/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_
Physics)/Vectors/Worked_Solutions?oldid=1631296 Contributors: Sjlegg, QuiteUnusual, NipplesMeCool and Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Graphs/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_(Advancing_
Physics)/Graphs/Worked_Solutions?oldid=1634695 Contributors: Sjlegg, QuiteUnusual and NipplesMeCool
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Kinematics/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Kinematics/Worked_Solutions?oldid=2618578 Contributors: Sjlegg, Red4tribe, Glaisher and Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Forces and Power/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Forces_and_Power/Worked_Solutions?oldid=2059705 Contributors: Sjlegg, QuiteUnusual, NipplesMeCool and
Avicennasis
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Exponential Relationships/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_
Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Exponential_Relationships/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209564 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero and Adrignola
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Capacitors/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Capacitors/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209193 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola, Jordanosborn, Dan
Milverton, Allizzimmo and Anonymous: 2
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(Advancing_Physics)/Radioactive_Decay/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210150 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola and Jordanosborn
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Half-lives/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Half-lives/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209837 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero and Adrignola
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(Advancing_Physics)/Gravitational_Forces/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209832 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero and Adrignola
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Gravitational Fields/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Gravitational_Fields/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209809 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola and Anonymous:
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A-level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Gravitational_Potential_Energy/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209835 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero,
Adrignola and Saksun Young
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Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Gravitational_Potential/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209836 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola and
Anonymous: 1
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Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Simple_Harmonic_Motion/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210171 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola and
Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Energy in Simple Harmonic Motion/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/
A-level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Energy_in_Simple_Harmonic_Motion/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209568 Contributors: Sjlegg,
Pi zero, Adrignola and Saksun Young
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Damping/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Damping/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209454 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola and Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Conservation of Momentum/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_
Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Conservation_of_Momentum/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209389 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola
and Avicennasis
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Forces and Impulse in Collisions/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/
A-level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Forces_and_Impulse_in_Collisions/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209678 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi
zero, Adrignola and Avicennasis
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Rockets, Hoses and Machine Guns/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/
A-level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Rockets%2C_Hoses_and_Machine_Guns/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210179 Contributors: Sj-
legg, Pi zero, Adrignola, Avicennasis and Anonymous: 1
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(Advancing_Physics)/Circular_Motion/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209385 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola and Saksun Young
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Radar and Triangulation/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_
Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Radar_and_Triangulation/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210147 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola,
Lemon123 and Anonymous: 3
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(Advancing_Physics)/Large_Units/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210035 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola, Spittal and Anonymous: 1
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Physics)/Orbits/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210069 Contributors: Sjlegg, CommonsDelinker, Pi zero, Adrignola and SMS
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Doppler Eect/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Doppler_Effect/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209518 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola, Avicennasis and
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(Advancing_Physics)/Big_Bang_Theory/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209104 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola and Reyk
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Heat and Energy/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Heat_and_Energy/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3209839 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero, Adrignola and Anonymous: 1
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Specic Heat Capacity/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_
Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Specific_Heat_Capacity/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210183 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero and Adrignola
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Ideal Gases/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
(Advancing_Physics)/Ideal_Gases/Worked_Solutions?oldid=3210005 Contributors: Sjlegg, Pi zero and Adrignola
A-level Physics (Advancing Physics)/Kinetic Theory/Worked Solutions Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_
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