The wavelength of a probe is roughly a measure of the size of a structure that it can probe in some detail.
The wavelength of a probe is roughly a measure of the size of a structure that it can probe in some detail. The quark structure of protons and neutrons appears at the minute length-scale of 10−15 m or less. This structure was first probed in early 1970’s using high energy electron beams produced by a linear accelerator at Stanford, USA. Guess what might have been the order of energy of these electron beams. (Rest mass energy of electron = 0.511 MeV.)
Wavelength of a proton or a neutron, λ ≈ 10−15 m
Rest mass energy of an electron:
m0c2 = 0.511 MeV
= 0.511 × 106 × 1.6 × 10−19
= 0.8176 × 10−13 J
Planck’s constant, h = 6.6 × 10−34 Js
Speed of light, c = 3 × 108 m/s
The momentum of a proton or a neutron is given as:
$p=\frac{h}{\lambda}$
$=\frac{6.6 \times 10^{-34}}{10^{-15}}=6.6 \times 10^{-19} \mathrm{~kg} \mathrm{~m} / \mathrm{s}$
The relativistic relation for energy (E) is given as:
$E^{2}=p^{2} c^{2}+m_{0}^{2} c^{4}$
$=\left(6.6 \times 10^{-19} \times 3 \times 10^{8}\right)^{2}+\left(0.8176 \times 10^{-13}\right)^{2}$
$=392.04 \times 10^{-22}+0.6685 \times 10^{-26}$
$\approx 392.04 \times 10^{-22}$
$\therefore E=1.98 \times 10^{-10} \mathrm{~J}$
$=\frac{1.98 \times 10^{-10}}{1.6 \times 10^{-19}}$
$=1.24 \times 10^{9} \mathrm{eV}=1.24 \mathrm{BeV}$
Thus, the electron energy emitted from the accelerator at Stanford, USA might be of the order of 1.24 BeV.