Final answer:
To calculate the ratio of energy between a 20.0 nm-wavelength photon and electron, we need the mass of the electron. Photons are generally less damaging to specimens compared to electrons in an electron microscope because photons carry less energy. The exact level of damage would depend on the experiment's conditions and energies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The energy of a photon can be calculated using the equation E = hf, where E is the energy of the photon, h is Planck's constant (6.626 x 10^-34 J·s), and f is the frequency of the photon. The frequency can be calculated using the equation f = c/λ, where c is the speed of light (3.00 x 10^8 m/s) and λ is the wavelength of the photon. To calculate the energy of a 20.0 nm-wavelength photon, we can first calculate the frequency using the second equation, and then substitute the frequency into the first equation to calculate the energy.
The kinetic energy of an electron can be calculated using the equation KE = ½mv^2, where m is the mass of the electron and v is its velocity. To compare the energy of the photon to the kinetic energy of the electron, we can calculate the ratio of their energies.
Since the question does not provide the mass of the electron, it is not possible to calculate the ratio of the energy of a 20.0 nm-wavelength photon to the kinetic energy of a 20.0 nm-wavelength electron. However, in general, electrons have much smaller masses compared to photons, so their kinetic energies would typically be much larger than the energies of photons with the same wavelength.
In terms of which would be less damaging to the specimen, photocurrent generated by photons is generally less damaging to biological specimens compared to electrons in an electron microscope. This is because photons carry less energy compared to accelerated electrons, which can cause damage to specimens due to their higher energy and smaller wavelength. However, the exact level of damage would depend on the specific conditions and energies used in the experiment.