What is the wavelength of a proton traveling at a speed of 6.87 km/s
To find the wavelength of a proton traveling at a certain speed, we can make use of the de Broglie wavelength formula. The de Broglie wavelength (λ) of a particle is given by:
λ = h / p
Where:
λ is the wavelength
h is the Planck's constant (approximately 6.626 x 10^-34 J·s)
p is the momentum of the particle
The momentum (p) of a particle can be calculated using the formula:
p = m * v
Where:
p is the momentum
m is the mass of the particle
v is the velocity of the particle
Given that m is the mass of a proton (approximately 1.67 x 10^-27 kg) and v is the speed of the proton (6.87 km/s), we can calculate the momentum (p) first. Let's convert the speed to m/s:
6.87 km/s = 6.87 x 10^3 m/s
Now we can calculate the momentum (p) using the mass and velocity:
p = (1.67 x 10^-27 kg) * (6.87 x 10^3 m/s)
Once we have the momentum (p), we can substitute it into the de Broglie wavelength formula to find the wavelength (λ).