The human eye is a complex sensing device for visible light. The optic nerve needs a minimum of 2.0 × 10−17 J of energy to trigger a series of impulses that eventually reach the brain. How many photons of blue light (475 nm) are needed?

Question

The human eye is a complex sensing device for visible light. The optic nerve needs a minimum of 2.0 × 10−17 J of energy to trigger a series of impulses that eventually reach the brain. How many photons of blue light (475 nm) are needed?

Accepted Answer

number of photons can be calculated by dividing the needed energy by the energy per photon.The minimum energy needed is given as 2 x 10^-17 joulesEnergy per photon = hc / lambda where h is planck's constant, c is the speed of light and lambda is the wavelengthEnergy per photon = (6.626 x 10^-34 x 3 x 10^8) / (475 x 10^-9)= 4.18 x 10^-19 Jnumber of photons = (2 x 10^-17) / (4.18 x 10^-19)= 47.79 photons which is approximately 48 photons...

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The human eye is a complex sensing device for visible light. The optic nerve needs a minimum of 2.0 × 10−17 J of energy to trigger a series of impulses that eventually reach the brain. How many photons of blue light (475 nm) are needed?

The human eye is a complex sensing device for visible light. The optic nerve needs a minimum of 2.0 × 10−17 J of energy to trigger a series of impulses that eventually reach the brain. How many photons of blue light (475 nm) are needed?