NEETPhysicsDual Nature of Matter
A beam of monochromatic light of wavelength 500 nm and power 6 W falls normally on a perfectly reflecting plane mirror. The force exerted by the light beam on the mirror is: (c = 3 10^8 m/s )
Options
- A2 10⁻⁸ N
- B1.8 10⁹ N
- C4 10⁻⁸ N
- D1 10⁻⁸ N
Correct answer
C. 4 10⁻⁸ N
Step-by-step solution
The force exerted by a light beam on a surface is equal to the rate of change of momentum of the photons. For a perfectly reflecting surface, the change in momentum for each photon is p = 2h . If n photons strike the surface per second, the total force is: F = n p = n ( 2h ) The power of the beam is P = n ( hc ) . From this, we can express the force directly in terms of power: F = 2P c Notice that the wavelength of the light is not required to find the force when the power is known. Substitute the given values: F =