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SOLUTIONS TO EXERCISE 7
(a) Earth's mass is about 6 * 10^24 kg, and 30 feet is about 10 meters. So the density of this cube would be about D = M/V = (6 * 10^24 kg) / (10 m)^3 = 6 * 10^21 kg/m^3. Liquid water is 1000 kg/m^3, so this cube would be 6 * 10^18 times denser. A proton is about 10^(-15) m in diameter, and has a mass of about 10^(-27) kg. So a proton's approximate density is D = M/V = (10^(-27)) / (10^(-15))^3 = 10^18 kg/m^3 and this super-compressed cube will be about 6000 times more dense. (b) The rest mass energy of a proton is E = mc^2 = (1.673 * 10^-27 kg) * (3 * 10^8 m/s)^2 = 1.5 * 10^-10 J Since particle energies tend to be quoted using electron volts, you may need to convert the above to make comparison easier: 1.5 * 10^-10 J = (1.5 * 10^-10)/(1.6 * 10^-19 J/ev) = 9.4 * 10^8 ev That is, the rest mass energy of a proton is a little less than a billion ev. (c) The superdense matter is about 6000 times denser than a proton. Since matter and energy are interchangeable via E = mc^2, the energy density of the matter is also 6000 times greater than a proton. Thus, a proton-sized piece of this matter would contain E = 6000 * (9.4 * 10^8 ev/proton) = 5.6 * 10^12 electron volts, or = 6000 * (1.5 * 10^-10 J) = 9.0 * 10^(-7) Joule. (d) If the energy output of an atomic explosion is 10^11 J and is produced in a volume of 1 m^3, then the energy density is 10^11 J/m^3. As mentioned in Part (a) above, a proton's diameter is about 10^(-15) m. So the energy density of the superdense material is about 9.0 * 10^(-7) J ---------------- = 9.0 * 10^38 J/m^3. ( 10^(-15) m )^3 This energy density is 9,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times higher! |