Essay 2 wave of momentum

Compton saw the effects of photon momentum because he was observing x rays, which have a small wavelength and a relatively large momentum, interacting with the lightest of particles, the electron. Example 1. Electron and Photon Momentum Compared Calculate the momentum of a visible photon that has a wavelength of 500 nm.

According to the hypothesis, particles behave as waves which are called matter waves. The wavelength (De Broglie wavelength) of the matter-wave corresponding to a particle of momentum p is given by, Here, h denotes the Planck’s constant. The De Broglie wavelength is inversely proportional to the momentum (hence mass) of a particle.

A particle with a definite momentum should have a definite wavelength, according to de Broglie’s equation. Such a wave should extend to infinity, which is unphysical. Any particle should be represented by a localized wave (wave packet), which consists of multiple wavelengths.

Relate the linear momentum of a photon to its energy or wavelength, and apply linear momentum conservation to simple processes involving the emission, absorption, or reflection of photons.