A photon of frequency collides with a free electron that is initially at rest
PHYSICS · Multi-part · AP · Physics 2: Algebra-based · Modern Physics · Modern Physics
Problem
A photon of frequency 1.20×1020Hz collides with a free electron that is initially at rest. After the collision the photon is detected with frequency 1.05×1020Hz.
Useful constants are provided on the AP Physics 2 formula sheet.
(a) Determine the energy lost by the photon in joules.
(b) Express the result from part (a) in kilo-electron-volts (keV).
(c) Assuming the entire energy loss of the photon appears as kinetic energy of the electron, calculate the speed of the electron using the non-relativistic approximation.
(d) State one physical limitation of using the non-relativistic approximation in this calculation and describe how the limitation could be addressed in a more precise analysis.