IPhO 1997 · Theory problem 1

Scaling

(a) A small mass hangs on the end of a massless ideal spring and oscillates up and down at its natural frequency \(f\). If the spring is cut in half and the mass reattached at the end, what is the new frequency \(f'\)? (1.5 marks)

(b) The radius of a hydrogen atom in its ground state is \(a_0 = 0.0529\ \mathrm{nm}\) (the “Bohr radius”). What is the radius \(a'\) of a “muonic-hydrogen” atom in which the electron is replaced by an identically charged muon, with mass 207 times that of the electron? Assume the proton mass is much larger than that of the muon and electron. (2 marks)

(c) The mean temperature of the earth is \(T = 287\ \mathrm{K}\). What would the new mean temperature \(T'\) be if the mean distance between the earth and the sun was reduced by 1%?
(2 marks)

(d) On a given day, the air is dry and has a density \(\rho = 1.2500\ \mathrm{kg/m^3}\). The next day the humidity has increased and the air is 2% by mass water vapour. The pressure and temperature are the same as the day before. What is the air density \(\rho'\) now? (2 marks)

Mean molecular weight of dry air: 28.8 (g/mol)
Molecular weight of water: 18 (g/mol)

Assume ideal-gas behaviour.

(e) A type of helicopter can hover if the mechanical power output of its engine is \(P\). If another helicopter is made which is an exact ½-scale replica (in all linear dimensions) of the first, what mechanical power \(P'\) is required for it to hover? (2.5 marks)

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

  • (a) \(\displaystyle f'=\sqrt{2}\,f.\)
  • (b) \(\displaystyle a'=\frac{a_0}{207}=2.56\times10^{-4}\ \mathrm{nm}=2.56\times10^{-13}\ \mathrm{m}.\)
  • (c) \(\displaystyle T'=\frac{287}{\sqrt{0.99}}\ \mathrm{K}\approx288.4\ \mathrm{K}\), an increase of approximately \(1.4\ \mathrm{K}\).
  • (d) \(\displaystyle \rho'=\frac{1.2500}{1.012}\ \mathrm{kg/m^3}\approx1.2352\ \mathrm{kg/m^3}.\)
  • (e) \(\displaystyle P'=2^{-7/2}P=\frac{P}{8\sqrt{2}}\approx0.0884P.\)

Solution

(a)

Let the original spring constant be \(k\), and the attached mass be \(m\). Its natural frequency is \[ f=\frac{1}{2\pi}\sqrt{\frac{k}{m}}. \]

For a uniform spring, the two halves are identical springs connected in series. If each half has spring constant \(k_h\), then \[ \frac{1}{k}=\frac{1}{k_h}+\frac{1}{k_h}, \] so \(k_h=2k\). Equivalently, under the same tension each half extends half as much as the whole spring.

The mass remains unchanged, giving \[ \boxed{f'=\frac{1}{2\pi}\sqrt{\frac{2k}{m}}=\sqrt{2}\,f.} \] Gravity changes the equilibrium extension but does not affect the frequency of an ideal spring.

(b)

Under the stated approximation, the proton is effectively fixed, so the orbiting particle’s mass \(m\) determines the atomic length scale.

In the Bohr model, Coulomb attraction supplies the centripetal force, and the ground-state angular momentum is \(\hbar\): \[ \frac{mv^2}{a}=\frac{e^2}{4\pi\varepsilon_0a^2}, \qquad mva=\hbar. \] Eliminating \(v\) gives \[ a=\frac{4\pi\varepsilon_0\hbar^2}{me^2}. \] Thus, for unchanged charge, the radius is inversely proportional to the particle’s mass. Since \(m_\mu=207m_e\), \[ \frac{a'}{a_0}=\frac{m_e}{m_\mu}=\frac{1}{207}. \] Therefore, \[ \boxed{a'=\frac{0.0529}{207}\ \mathrm{nm} =2.56\times10^{-4}\ \mathrm{nm} =2.56\times10^{-13}\ \mathrm{m}.} \]

(c)

Assume radiative equilibrium, constant solar luminosity, and unchanged terrestrial albedo and effective thermal-radiation properties.

At Earth–Sun distance \(r\), the incident solar flux is proportional to \(r^{-2}\). The absorbed power is therefore \[ P_{\rm abs}=(1-\alpha)\frac{L_\odot}{4\pi r^2}\,\pi R_\oplus^2, \] where \(\alpha\) is the albedo. By the Stefan–Boltzmann law, the emitted power can be represented as \[ P_{\rm emit}=4\pi R_\oplus^2\varepsilon_{\rm eff}\sigma T^4, \] with a fixed effective factor \(\varepsilon_{\rm eff}\).

Equating absorbed and emitted power gives \[ T^4\propto r^{-2}, \qquad T\propto r^{-1/2}. \] The new distance is \(r'=0.99r\), so \[ \boxed{T'=T\left(\frac{r}{r'}\right)^{1/2} =\frac{287}{\sqrt{0.99}}\ \mathrm{K} \approx288.4\ \mathrm{K}.} \]

As a first-order check, \[ \frac{\Delta T}{T}\approx-\frac12\frac{\Delta r}{r} =0.005, \] giving \(\Delta T\approx1.435\ \mathrm{K}\), close to the unrounded result \(1.446\ \mathrm{K}\).

(d)

Let \(M_d=28.8\ \mathrm{g/mol}\) and \(M_w=18\ \mathrm{g/mol}\) be the molar masses of dry air and water. The water mass fraction is \(w=0.02\).

A mass \(m\) of moist air contains masses \((1-w)m\) of dry air and \(wm\) of water vapour. Using consistent mass units, its total number of moles is \[ n=\frac{(1-w)m}{M_d}+\frac{wm}{M_w}. \] Since \(m/V=\rho'\), the ideal-gas law gives \[ \frac{p}{RT}=\frac{n}{V} =\rho'\left(\frac{1-w}{M_d}+\frac{w}{M_w}\right). \]

For the original dry air at the same pressure and temperature, \[ \frac{p}{RT}=\frac{\rho}{M_d}. \] Equating these expressions and rearranging, \[ \rho'=\frac{\rho}{(1-w)+wM_d/M_w}. \] Hence \[ \boxed{ \rho'= \frac{1.2500}{0.98+0.02(28.8/18)} =\frac{1.2500}{1.012} \approx1.2352\ \mathrm{kg/m^3}. } \]

The density decreases because water molecules are lighter than the average dry-air molecule, while the total molecular number density remains fixed at fixed pressure and temperature.

(e)

Assume the replica uses the same material densities and hovers in air of the same density. Use ideal momentum-flow scaling, with unchanged aerodynamic efficiency; neglect changes in viscous effects and mechanical losses.

Let the linear scale factor be \(\lambda\). The helicopter’s mass \(m\) scales with volume, while the rotor’s swept area \(A\) scales with area: \[ m'=\lambda^3m, \qquad A'=\lambda^2A. \]

Let \(v\) characterize the downward air velocity produced by the rotor. For geometrically similar flow, the mass of air accelerated per unit time scales as \[ \dot m_{\rm air}\propto\rho_{\rm air}Av. \] By conservation of momentum, the upward thrust scales as \[ F\propto\dot m_{\rm air}v \propto\rho_{\rm air}Av^2. \] Hovering requires \(F=mg\), so \[ v\propto\sqrt{\frac{mg}{\rho_{\rm air}A}}. \] Consequently, \[ \frac{v'}{v} =\sqrt{\frac{\lambda^3}{\lambda^2}} =\lambda^{1/2}. \]

The required power is proportional to the rate at which kinetic energy is imparted to the air: \[ P\propto\dot m_{\rm air}v^2 \propto\rho_{\rm air}Av^3. \] Thus \[ \frac{P'}{P} =\lambda^2\left(\lambda^{1/2}\right)^3 =\lambda^{7/2}. \] For \(\lambda=\tfrac12\), \[ \boxed{P'=\left(\frac12\right)^{7/2}P =\frac{P}{8\sqrt2} \approx0.0884P.} \]

The solution was checked against the official solution.