Xenon's atoms interact by the Lennard-Jones potential with and .

PHYSICS · Multi-part · Fermi University Physics · Condensed Matter, Materials & Soft Matter · Crystal structure, bonding and diffraction · Crystal structure, bonding and diffraction

Condensed Matter Physics, Ch What holds a solid together, and where its atoms sit

Problem

Xenon's atoms interact by the Lennard-Jones potential with

\epsilon_{\rm LJ}=0.0197\,\mathrm{eV}

and

\sigma_{\rm LJ}=4.10\,\mathrm{\mathring{A}}

. ((a)) Find the separation at which the attractive force between two xenon atoms is strongest. ((b)) Find the size of that largest pull, in newtons, and show that it equals a pure number times

\epsilon_{\rm LJ}/\sigma_{\rm LJ}

. ((c)) Use that result, without recomputing the force, to find how many times stronger the largest pull is for xenon than for argon (

\epsilon_{\rm LJ}=0.0104\,\mathrm{eV}

\sigma_{\rm LJ}=3.40\,\mathrm{\mathring{A}}

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