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In a photon-particle collision, ______.

Asked in GSEB Board July 2023 · Conceptual points of the photoelectric effect

Answer: (2) total energy and total momentum are conserved

Step-by-step solution

Idea: in the photon picture, light interacts with matter as particles carrying energy E = h u and momentum p = h/λ.

A photon and a particle (such as an electron) colliding form an isolated system, so total energy and total momentum are both conserved.

The number of photons, however, need not be conserved: a photon may be absorbed or a new photon created.

So in a photon-particle collision, total energy and total momentum are conserved.

Why the other options are wrong

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