As part of a sinister plot, I connect a piece of high-purity GaAs 1 cm long to a 9 V battery, at room temperature.
What is the resulting drift velocity of the electrons?
Your answer should be in cm/s
To find the resulting drift velocity of electrons in the given scenario, we need to consider the current flowing through the material and its resistivity.
The current flowing through the GaAs can be calculated using Ohm's Law:
I = V / R
Where:
I represents the current flowing through the material,
V represents the voltage applied to the material, and
R represents the resistance of the material.
The resistance (R) of the material can be calculated using the following formula:
R = ρ * (L / A)
Where:
ρ represents the resistivity of the material,
L represents the length of the GaAs (given as 1 cm in this case), and
A represents the cross-sectional area of the GaAs material.
Given that the resistivity of GaAs at room temperature is approximately ρ = 5 x 10^5 Ω-cm, we can calculate the resistance (R) by substituting the given values:
R = (5 x 10^5 Ω-cm) * (1 cm / A)
The cross-sectional area (A) is not provided, so we cannot calculate the resistance and, subsequently, the current (I). Therefore, we cannot determine the drift velocity of the electrons in this scenario without additional information.
If you have the cross-sectional area of the GaAs material, please provide it so we can proceed with calculating the drift velocity.