Answer to Question #117358 in Atomic and Nuclear Physics for Paige

Question

What velocity would a 60 kg person need to move at in order to have the same momentum as a 600 nm photon?

Answer 1

Given data

Mass of person is $m=60 kg$

Wavelength of photon is $\lambda=600 nm =600*10^{-9} m$

According to de Broglie hypothesis, the wavelength of matter wave is

$\lambda=\frac{h}{mv}$

The velocity of the person is

$v=\frac{h}{m\lambda}$

$=\frac{6.626*10^{-34}}{(60)(600*10^{-9})}=1.84*10^{-29} m/s$

Hence, the velocity of the person is $v=1.84*10^{-29} m/s$