Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ia Paper 4 10A b iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For equal in the two cases, their closest distances are conjugate roots expressed with the same . ConsequentlyAt either central-force radial turning point, the velocity is tangential and conservation of angular momentum gives . ThusThese attractive and repulsive inverse-square closest approaches pair a shorter, faster attractive passage with a longer, slower repulsive one. The speed-product conclusion assumes ; at , the attractive orbit hits the singular centre with unbounded speed, so the formal product with the repulsive zero speed is not defined.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2012 Paper 1 Section C C11 Solution 2026-10-20
For the scattering calculation, take the heavy target as fixed and define . The incoming kinetic energy and angular momentum are and . In the original sketch, the horizontal dashed incoming asymptote has perpendicular distance from the nucleus, while is the radius from the nucleus to the point where .
At closest approach, the velocity is tangential and . conservation of energy givesChoose the positive root and put :Head-on incidence gives , and repulsion always gives . With an attractive Coulomb force, change the sign of the potential term:For , the attractive and repulsive inverse-square closest approaches obey . For attraction causes a collision with the point centre, so is a singular endpoint, not a regular scattering turning point. Finite nuclear size is excluded by the stated point-force model.
For the repulsive inverse-cube central force , the torque vanishes, , and angular momentum is still conserved. Its potential energy is , since . ThusThe new coefficient is denoted because its units are , unlike the units of the inverse-square coefficient. Conserving angular momentum depends on centrality, not on a particular radial power law.
