Fundamentals of Physics Extended (10th Edition)

Published by Wiley
ISBN 10: 1-11823-072-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-11823-072-5

Chapter 42 - Nuclear Physics - Problems - Page 1302: 2

Answer

$r = 1.6\times 10^{-14}~m$

Work Step by Step

An alpha particle has 2 protons A copper nucleus has 29 protons We can express the kinetic energy in units of joules: $K = (5.30~MeV)(\frac{1.6\times 10^{-19}~J}{1~eV}) = 8.48\times 10^{-13}~J$ To find the distance of closest approach, we can equate the final potential energy with the initial kinetic energy: $K = U$ $K = \frac{1}{4\pi~\epsilon_0}~\frac{q_1~q_2}{r}$ $r = \frac{1}{4\pi~\epsilon_0}~\frac{q_1~q_2}{K}$ $r = \frac{1}{(4\pi)~(8.854\times 10^{-12}~F/m)}~\frac{(2)(1.6\times 10^{-19}~C)(29)(1.6\times 10^{-19}~C)}{8.48\times 10^{-13}~J}$ $r = 1.6\times 10^{-14}~m$
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