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A physicist is watching a 15-kg orangutan at a zoo swing lazily in a tire at the end of a rope. he (the physicist) notices that each oscillation takes 3.00 s and hypothesizes that the energy is quantized.

how big is one quantum of energy for this system?

User Pentzzsolt
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Final answer:

The difference in energy between allowed oscillator states is calculated using the equation for the period of a simple pendulum. The value of n for a state with an energy of 5.00 J is calculated using the formula for quantum energy. The quantization of energy in this system can be observed.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the difference in energy between allowed oscillator states, we can use the equation for the period of a simple pendulum:

T = 2 * pi * sqrt(l/g)

Where T is the period, l is the length of the pendulum, and g is the acceleration due to gravity.

Given that each oscillation of the orangutan takes 3.00 seconds, we can calculate the period as:

T = 3.00 s / 1 oscillation

T = 6.00 s

Now we can use the equation to solve for the length of the pendulum:

6.00 s = 2 * pi * sqrt(l/9.8 m/s^2)

Simplifying the equation:

3.00 s = pi * sqrt(l/9.8 m/s^2)

Squaring both sides:

9.00 s^2 = pi^2 * (l/9.8 m/s^2)

Solving for l:

l = (9.00 s^2 * 9.8 m/s^2) / pi^2

Calculating the value of l:

l ≈ 91.16 m

Now, we can calculate the energy of a single quantum using the formula:

E = (n + 1/2) * hf

Where E is the energy, n is the quantum number, h is Planck's constant (6.626 × 10^-34 J*s), and f is the frequency of oscillations.

Given that the frequency is 1/3 Hz (since each oscillation takes 3.00 seconds), we can solve for the energy:

E = (n + 1/2) * (6.626 × 10^-34 J*s) * (1/3 Hz)

Now, we can plug in the energy value of 5.00 J and solve for the quantum number:

5.00 J = (n + 1/2) * (6.626 × 10^-34 J*s) * (1/3 Hz)

Simplifying the equation:

15.00 J*Hz = (n + 1/2) * 6.626 × 10^-34 J*s

Solving for n:

n + 1/2 = (15.00 J*Hz / 6.626 × 10^-34 J*s)

n + 1/2 ≈ 2.27 × 10^34

n ≈ 2.27 × 10^34 - 1/2

n ≈ 2.27 × 10^34

The quantization of energy in this system can be observed, as the energy is not continuous, but rather quantized into distinct states.

User Jeeten Parmar
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