a. Find the standard deviation of the distribution for , the distance from... · OlympiadBench #1486
Physics · optics
Problem
a. Find the standard deviation Δr of the distribution for r, the distance from the center of the telescope mirror to the point of reflection of the photon.
Given constants:g=9.8N/kgk=1/4πϵ0=8.99×109N⋅m2/C2c=3.00×108m/sNA=6.02×1023(mol)−1σ=5.67×10−8J/(s⋅m2⋅K4)1eV=1.602×10−19Jme=9.109×10−31kg=0.511MeV/c2sinθ≈θ−61θ3 for ∣θ∣≪1G=6.67×10−11N⋅m2/kg2km=μ0/4π=10−7T⋅m/AkB=1.38×10−23J/KR=NAkB=8.31J/(mol⋅K)e=1.602×10−19Ch=6.63×10−34J⋅s=4.14×(1+x)n≈1+nx for ∣x∣≪1cosθ≈1−21θ2 for ∣θ∣≪1M⊙L⊙Rearth λmax====1.989×1030kg3.828×1026W1.5×1011m500nm
Extra Supplementary Reading Materials:
In this problem, use a particle-like model of photons: they propagate in straight lines and obey the law of reflection, but are subject to the quantum uncertainty principle. You may use small-angle approximations throughout the problem.
A photon with wavelength λ has traveled from a distant star to a telescope mirror, which has a circular cross-section with radius R and a focal length f≫R. The path of the photon is nearly aligned to the axis of the mirror, but has some slight uncertainty Δθ. The photon reflects off the mirror and travels to a detector, where it is absorbed by a particular pixel on a charge-coupled device (CCD).
Suppose the telescope mirror is manufactured so that photons coming in parallel to each other are focused to the same pixel on the CCD, regardless of where they hit the mirror. Then all small cross-sectional areas of the mirror are equally likely to include the point of reflection for a photon.