How many photons per second does a laser emit if it emits a light beam with a power of 4.1 mW and a wavelength of 633 nm?

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Isabelle · Answer

Calculating the Number of Photons Emitted per Second  To calculate the number of photons emitted per second by the laser, we need to determine the energy of a single photon and then divide the total power emitted by the energy of each photon.  The energy (E) of a photon can be calculated using the equation: E = hc / λ  Where: E is the energy of the photon, h is Planck's constant (approximately 6.626 x 10^-34 J·s), c is the speed of light in vacuum (approximately 3.0 x 10^8 m/s), and λ is the wavelength of the light.  Let's calculate the energy of a single photon: E = (6.626 x 10^-34 J·s * 3.0 x 10^8 m/s) / (633 x 10^-9 m) E ≈ 3.135 x 10^-19 J  Now, we can calculate the number of photons per second by dividing the total power emitted by the energy of each photon: Number of photons per second = Total power emitted / Energy per photon  Total power emitted = 4.1 mW = 4.1 x 10^-3 W Number of photons per second = (4.1 x 10^-3 W) / (3.135 x 10^-19 J) Number of photons per second ≈ 1.31 x 10^16 photons/s  Therefore, this laser emits approximately 1.31 x 10^16 photons per second.

How Many Photons per Second Does a Laser Emit?

Calculating the Number of Photons Emitted per Second

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