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A particle’s motion is restricted to a square of side 2 cm. If its mass is 50 g, then find theminimum uncertainty in its velocity.

Question

A particle’s motion is restricted to a square of side 2 cm. If its mass is 50 g, then find the minimum uncertainty in its velocity.

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Solution

To solve this problem, we need to use Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, which states that the product of the uncertainties in the position and momentum of a particle is always greater than or equal to half of Planck's constant. The formula is:

Δx * Δp ≥ h/4π

Where: Δx is the uncertainty in position, Δp is the uncertainty in momentum, h is Planck's constant (6.62607015 × 10^-34 m^2 kg / s).

Given that the particle's motion is restricted to a square of side 2 cm (or 0.02 m), we can say that the maximum uncertainty in the particle's position is the length of the diagonal of the square, which is √2 * side. So, Δx = √2 * 0.02 m.

The uncertainty in momentum, Δp, is related to the uncertainty in velocity, Δv, by the equation Δp = m * Δv, where m is the mass of the particle. So, we can rewrite the uncertainty principle as:

Δx * m * Δv ≥ h/4π

Now we can solve for Δv:

Δv ≥ h / (4π * m * Δx)

Substituting the given values:

Δv ≥ (6.62607015 × 10^-34 m^2 kg / s) / (4π * 0.05 kg * √2 * 0.02 m)

After calculating the above expression, we get the minimum uncertainty in its velocity.

This problem has been solved

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