Question

Microwave ovens emit microwave energy with a wavelength of 12.1 cm. What is the energy of exactly one photon of this microwave radiation?

Answer 1

Answer:

$1.64\cdot 10^{-24}J$

Explanation:

The energy of a photon is given by:

$E=\frac{hc}{\lambda}$

where

$h=6.63\cdot 10^{-34} Js$ is the Planck constant

$c=3\cdot 10^8 m/s$ is the speed of light

$\lambda$ is the wavelenght of the photon

For the microwave photons in this problem,

$\lambda=12.1 cm=0.121 m$

so their energy is

$E=\frac{(6.63\cdot 10^{-34}Js)(3\cdot 10^8 m/s)}{0.121 m}=1.64\cdot 10^{-24}J$