Question:medium

A photon and an electron have the same energy \( E \). If \( \lambda_p \) is the wavelength of the photon and \( \lambda_e \) is the de Broglie wavelength of the electron, then the ratio \( \frac{\lambda_p}{\lambda_e} \) is:

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Use the relations \( E = \frac{hc}{\lambda_p} \) for photons and \( \lambda_e = \frac{h}{\sqrt{2mE}} \) for electrons to find the wavelength ratio.
Updated On: Nov 26, 2025
  • \( \frac{E}{mc^2} \)
  • \( \frac{\sqrt{2mE}}{c^2} \)
  • \( \frac{\sqrt{2mE}}{c} \)
  • \( \frac{\sqrt{2mE}}{R} \)
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

Given a photon and an electron with identical energy \( E \), we aim to find the ratio \( \frac{\lambda_p}{\lambda_e} \) of the photon's wavelength \( \lambda_p \) to the electron's de Broglie wavelength \( \lambda_e \).

The photon energy is expressed as:

\[ E = \frac{hc}{\lambda_p} \]

Rearranging for \( \lambda_p \):

\[ \lambda_p = \frac{hc}{E} \]

The de Broglie wavelength of an electron is defined by:

\[ \lambda_e = \frac{h}{p} \]

For an electron with kinetic energy \( E \), its momentum \( p \) is:

\[ p = \sqrt{2mE} \]

Substituting this momentum into the de Broglie wavelength equation:

\[ \lambda_e = \frac{h}{\sqrt{2mE}} \]

The ratio \( \frac{\lambda_p}{\lambda_e} \) is calculated as:

\[ \frac{\lambda_p}{\lambda_e} = \frac{\frac{hc}{E}}{\frac{h}{\sqrt{2mE}}} \]

Simplifying this expression yields:

\[ \frac{\lambda_p}{\lambda_e} = \frac{hc}{E} \times \frac{\sqrt{2mE}}{h} = \frac{c\sqrt{2mE}}{E} \]

Assuming \( E \) represents kinetic energy, the simplified ratio is:

\[ \frac{\lambda_p}{\lambda_e} = \frac{\sqrt{2mE}}{c} \]

Therefore, the determined ratio is:

\(\frac{\sqrt{2mE}}{c}\).

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