A stream of identical charged particles is accelerated from rest through a potential…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Particles and radiation · Particles and radiation
Problem
A stream of identical charged particles is accelerated from rest through a potential difference V before entering a diffraction experiment.
(i) Explain qualitatively how the de Broglie wavelength of the particles varies with the applied potential difference.
(ii) Keeping the same accelerating potential, explain how the wavelength changes if the particles are replaced by others having a larger mass.
(iii) Using these ideas, justify why electrons are preferred over protons for observing pronounced diffraction effects at laboratory-scale accelerating voltages.