Light possesses momentum. This can be demonstrated with a radiometer, shown in the sketch. Metal vanes painted black on one side and white on the other are free to rotate around the point of a needle mounted in a vacuum. When light is incident on the black surface, it is absorbed; when light is incident upon the white surface, it is reflected. Upon which surface is the impulse of incident light greater, and which way will the vanes rotate? (They rotate in the opposite direction in the more common radiometers in which air is present in the glass chamber; your instructor may tell you why.)
Light possesses momentum. This can be demonstrated with a radiometer, shown in the sketch. Metal vanes painted black on one side and white on the other are free to rotate around the point of a needle mounted in a vacuum. When light is incident on the black surface, it is absorbed; when light is incident upon the white surface, it is reflected. Upon which surface is the impulse of incident light greater, and which way will the vanes rotate? (They rotate in the opposite direction in the more common radiometers in which air is present in the glass chamber; your instructor may tell you why.)
College Physics
11th Edition
ISBN:9781305952300
Author:Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille
Publisher:Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille
Chapter1: Units, Trigonometry. And Vectors
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1CQ: Estimate the order of magnitude of the length, in meters, of each of the following; (a) a mouse, (b)...
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Light possesses momentum. This can be demonstrated with a radiometer, shown in the sketch. Metal vanes painted black on one side and white on the other are free to rotate around the point of a needle mounted in a vacuum. When light is incident on the black surface, it is absorbed; when light is incident upon the white surface, it is reflected. Upon which surface is the impulse of incident light greater, and which way will the vanes rotate? (They rotate in the opposite direction in the more common radiometers in which air is present in the glass chamber; your instructor may tell you why.)
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