Refer to the figure of frame 12. Suppose an electron with an...

Name: Problem 11, Chapter 19: Basic Physics: A Self-Teaching Guide
Uploaded: 2021-11-14T15:39:15-08:00
Duration: 4 min 3 s
Channel: Vishal Gupta
Description: Refer to the figure of frame 12. Suppose an electron with an energy of 2.8eV strikes the orbiting electron. How much energy might this electron lose in the collision?

Refer to the figure of frame 12. Suppose an electron with an energy of 2.8eV strikes the orbiting electron. How much energy might this electron lose in the collision? __________________________________________________________

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Key Concepts

Electron Collisions and Energy Transfer

When an energetic electron collides with another electron bound in an atom, the collision can be inelastic, whereby some of the kinetic energy of the incident electron is transferred to the bound electron. This energy transfer is not arbitrary—it must match the quantized energy gap corresponding to a valid electronic transition within the atom.

Conservation of Energy

The conservation of energy principle ensures that the energy lost by the incident electron is exactly accounted for by the energy gained by the atomic electron as it moves to a higher energy level. This principle governs the allowed values of energy loss in such collisions, linking the possible changes in the kinetic energy of the incident electron to the energy differences between the quantized states of the atom.

Quantized Energy Levels

In atomic physics, electrons exist in discrete, specific energy states, rather than in a continuous range. This means that when an electron is excited due to an interaction or collision, it absorbs exactly the energy difference between two quantized levels, making the energy transfer discrete instead of arbitrary.

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