(a) The sizes of the atoms taken in Thomson’s model and Rutherford’s model have the same order of magnitude.
(b) In the ground state of Thomson’s model, the electrons are in stable equilibrium. However, in Rutherford’s model, the electrons always experience a net force.
(c) A classical atom based on Rutherford’s model is doomed to collapse.
(d) An atom has a nearly continuous mass distribution in Thomson’s model, but has a highly non-uniform mass distribution in Rutherford’s model.
(e) The positively charged part of the atom possesses most of the mass in both the models.
What is the force between two small charged spheres having charges of 2 x 10-7 C and 3 x 10-7 C placed 30 cm apart in air?
An infinite line charge produces a field of 9 × 104 N/C at a distance of 2 cm. Calculate the linear charge density.
A polythene piece rubbed with wool is found to have a negative charge of 3 × 10−7 C.
(a) Estimate the number of electrons transferred (from which to which?)
(b) Is there a transfer of mass from wool to polythene?
A 600 pF capacitor is charged by a 200 V supply. It is then disconnected from the supply and is connected to another uncharged 600 pF capacitor. How much electrostatic energy is lost in the process?
A parallel plate capacitor with air between the plates has a capacitance of 8 pF (1pF = 10-12 F). What will be the capacitance if the distance between the plates is reduced by half, and the space between them is filled with a substance of dielectric constant 6?
A regular hexagon of side 10 cm has a charge 5 µC at each of its vertices. Calculate the potential at the centre of the hexagon.
A point charge +10 μC is a distance 5 cm directly above the centre of a square of side 10 cm, as shown in Fig. 1.34. What is the magnitude of the electric flux through the square? (Hint: Think of the square as one face of a cube with edge 10 cm.)
A conducting sphere of radius 10 cm has an unknown charge. If the electric field 20 cm from the centre of the sphere is 1.5 × 103 N/C and points radially inward, what is the net charge on the sphere?
A point charge of 2.0 μC is at the centre of a cubic Gaussian surface 9.0 cm on edge. What is the net electric flux through the surface?
A 44 mH inductor is connected to 220 V, 50 Hz ac supply. Determine the rms value of the current in the circuit.
Answer the following questions:
(a) Long distance radio broadcasts use short-wave bands. Why?
(b) It is necessary to use satellites for long distance TV transmission. Why?
(c) Optical and radio telescopes are built on the ground but X-ray astronomy is possible only from satellites orbiting the earth. Why?
(d) The small ozone layer on top of the stratosphere is crucial for human survival. Why?
(e) If the earth did not have an atmosphere, would its average surface temperature be higher or lower than what it is now?
(f) Some scientists have predicted that a global nuclear war on the earth would be followed by a severe ‘nuclear winter’ with a devastating effect on life on earth. What might be the basis of this prediction?
(a) In a metre bridge [Fig. 3.27], the balance point is found to be at 39.5 cm from the end A, when the resistor Y is of 12.5 Ω. Determine the resistance of X. Why are the connections between resistors in a Wheatstone or meter bridge made of thick copper strips?
(b) Determine the balance point of the bridge above if X and Y are interchanged.
(c) What happens if the galvanometer and cell are interchanged at the balance point of the bridge? Would the galvanometer show any current?
If one of the two electrons of a H2 molecule is removed, we get a hydrogen molecular ion H2+. In the ground state of an H2+, the two protons are separated by roughly 1.5 Å, and the electron is roughly 1 Å, from each proton. Determine the potential energy of the system. Specify your choice of the zero of potential energy.
(a) An electrostatic field line is a continuous curve. That is, a field line cannot have sudden breaks. Why not?
(b) Explain why two field lines never cross each other at any point?
The number density of free electrons in a copper conductor estimated in Example 3.1 is 8.5 x 1028 m-3. How long does an electron take to drift from one end of a wire 3.0 m long to its other end? The area of cross-section of the wire is 2.0 x 10-6 m2 and it is carrying a current of 3.0 A.
Monochromatic light of wavelength 632.8 nm is produced by a helium-neon laser. The power emitted is 9.42 mW.
(a) Find the energy and momentum of each photon in the light beam,
(b) How many photons per second, on the average, arrive at a target irradiated by this beam? (Assume the beam to have uniform cross-section which is less than the target area), and
(c) How fast does a hydrogen atom have to travel in order to have the same momentum as that of the photon?
A cube of side b has a charge q at each of its vertices. Determine the potential and electric field due to this charge array at the centre of the cube.