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Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2012 Paper 1 Section A A1 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Use absolute thermodynamic temperatures and assume a constant-parameter Arrhenius equation, with composition held fixed so that reaction rate is proportional to the rate constant. Write , where . two-temperature Arrhenius extrapolation eliminates the unknown Arrhenius prefactor and givesConsequentlyA tenfold increase for one interval does not imply another tenfold increase for the next interval: the Arrhenius plot is linear in inverse temperature. Two measured rates alone do not specify a unique extrapolation without a rate law for its temperature dependence; the result above states that modelling assumption explicitly.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section C C13 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
A normal mode is a small-oscillation motion with every coordinate proportional to one common sinusoid, at a fixed amplitude ratio and relative phase. Expanding an arbitrary small motion in normal mode coordinates decouples its linear equations into independent oscillators. With mechanical mass matrix and mechanical stiffness matrix , the generalized eigenvalue equation is .
Horizontal gravitational restoring force on each bob is . The two springs add on the first bob, on the middle bob, and on the last. Dividing by the bob masses gives the stated equations withReflection symmetry separates an antisymmetric end motion from two symmetric motions. The three coupled pendulums with equal end masses have independent modesCall their positive frequencies respectively. The middle amplitude in the last mode ensures . The modes are orthogonal in the mass-weighted inner product, rather than generally in the unweighted coordinate dot product.
The initially stationary displacement decomposes asThere are no sine terms because every initial velocity is zero. ThereforeThese give at and solve all three coupled equations. The spring constant is assumed positive; for the frequencies become degenerate and the same superposition reduces to uncoupled pendulum motion.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section C C12 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Write and . For a circular orbit of radius , centripetal balance gives . Thus and . Since , , these agree with the general expressions.
For an outward coplanar Hohmann transfer, burn prograde at the inner circle to put its radius at the ellipse's pericentre, then burn prograde at apocentre to circularize at the station's radius. The station must be phased to meet the spacecraft there. With , ,Energy at the first burn, with , givesAngular momentum is conserved along the transfer ellipse, so , while the outer circular speed is . For ,The correct second impulse adds . The reversed circularization burn in a Hohmann transfer, using the same impulse magnitude, instead leavesIts magnitude is below the circular speed at , so that point is the new apocentre. Define . For an ellipse at apocentre, , givingThe lunar radius is . Since , the osculating orbit intersects the Moon: the spacecraft crashes before reaching its formal pericentre. The calculation uses impulsive tangential burns and a spherical central gravitational field; it does not assume that a trajectory continues through the solid body.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section C C11 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Let denote distance from the neutral axis within a cross section. Bending to radius gives longitudinal strain , so Hooke's law gives stress . Its moment isHere is Young's modulus and is the second moment of area, not a mass moment of inertia. For the stated square orientation, .
For self-weight deflection of a square cantilever, the downward load per unit length is . A free-end segment from to has shear-force magnitude and bending-moment magnitude . Thus, with the given sign conventions,Using the small-slope curvature for downward deflection,The clamp fixes position and slope, and the unloaded free end has zero moment and shear:Four integrations yieldThe linear beam model requires small slopes and strains; the strong dependence eventually invalidates that approximation if other dimensions and material properties are fixed.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section C C10 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Relative to an origin, the inertia tensor is , with . Its orthogonal eigenvectors are principal axes, with eigenvalues the principal moments of inertia. Different components of are multiplied by different eigenvalues, so angular momentum need not point along angular velocity.
For a uniform thin disc, radial integration gives . The perpendicular axis theorem and symmetry then give , henceFor the elastic eccentric impact of a thin disc, neglect gravity's impulse and take the pole's impulse as vertical. Let point up and let the contact position relative to the centre be . An upward impulse givesFor an elastic impact with a fixed pole, the contact point reverses its normal velocity, so . ThereforeHere denotes upward motion; the centre can still move down if . Substitution givesThis also follows by combining conserved angular momentum about the fixed contact with conserved kinetic energy and selecting the separating, nonzero-impulse solution. At the disc simply rebounds without rotation; at its centre is instantaneously stationary. The rebound result concerns the contacting material point immediately after this ideal impact, not its subsequent contact history.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section B B9 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
In a homogeneous, source-free, nonmagnetic dielectric the electric wave equation isSet and . Substitution gives . For the labelled field form (a), , so . For form (b), with , so . These give the two stated inequalities, with equality a zero-transverse-wavenumber limiting case.
Faraday's law gives the associated wave magnetic field, without an added static field,Thus in case (a), and . In case (b), and . In both cases .
For the planar dielectric waveguide the core is dielectric but the exterior is vacuum. Consequently the exterior decay constant has , while the interior oscillation has . Adding gives the relation labelled (c):For an even bound mode the complete profile can be writtenContinuity of tangential fixes the exterior amplitude; continuity of tangential makes continuous because both media have magnetic permeability . At ,which is the relation labelled (d). The same even profile also matches at ; continuity of follows from that of .
In the requested plot, (c) is a first-quadrant circle and (d) rises from the origin to its first pole at . Equivalently put , , and . At the circle has whereas . At the other end of , the rising tangent curve exceeds the falling circle. Monotonicity therefore gives one intersection on this first branch for every .
The fundamental even mode of a symmetric dielectric slab has no positive cutoff in index contrast or thickness. Its electric profile is a nodeless cosine maximum at the mid-plane, smoothly joined to decaying exterior tails. The qualifier is essential: for the printed limiting value , the circle collapses to and there is no transversely confined bound mode. A uniform unconstrained wave is not a guided mode. This even-mode argument does not assert that the specified cosine describes every possible odd guide mode.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section B B8 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Insert and into the given identity. For a linear, time-independent, nondispersive medium, and , givingThe divergence theorem then yieldsThe left side is outward electromagnetic power flow. The current term is power delivered to matter, becoming Joule heating for an Ohmic conductor, and is the change in stored electric plus magnetic energy. The minus sign says outward flux reduces stored energy unless supplied locally.
Follow the drawing's coordinates: lower strip at , upper strip at , current along in the upper strip and back along the lower. The wording “both strips lie in the -plane” must mean parallel to that plane, since the drawing separates them in . Neglect the side and end fringes using . Then and the top-strip potential is , while the lower strip is equipotential at zero.
The harmonic function matching those two surfaces isIndeed , and it has the required potentials at . ThusThe two current sheets reinforce their magnetic field between the strips; its direction follows the right-hand rule. The Poynting flow in resistive parallel strips follows from their cross product:Power flows along the gap towards the load and upwards into the resistive strip. Across a transverse area , falls from to . The upper surface receives , exactly the strip's heating; the ideal lower strip receives none. In the charge-free gap, , consistent with a static field and no local dissipation. The small longitudinal electric field cannot be discarded if this upward energy transfer is to be represented.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section B B7 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Self-inductance relates current to its own magnetic flux linkage: , so the induced electromotive force is for fixed geometry. A long solenoid has and area . Its turns giveThe homopolar generator uses a disc rotating through this axial field; integrate the motional Lorentz force from shaft to rim:For a homopolar disc dynamo, choose the wiring and rotation sense giving positive magnetic feedback. Kirchhoff's voltage law isfor prescribed constant . ThusA nonzero seed grows when , decays when , and is marginal at equality. This explains the printed as the threshold including its boundary; equality does not itself give exponential growth. An exactly zero initial current remains zero in the ideal homogeneous equation, and reversing the feedback sense prevents the instability.
In the torque-controlled homopolar dynamo equilibrium, a radial current element exerts a braking torque , so . For steady rotation and nonzero steady current, and . Hence the field intensity magnitude isThe two current signs give opposite magnetic polarities. Finally,The steady magnetic and rotational energies do not change. This is a steady-state balance, not an assertion that every dynamical trajectory must approach that state.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section B B6 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Apply Faraday's law to a shrinking rectangular loop crossing the interface. For bounded fields the magnetic-flux term vanishes with its area, giving . A shrinking Gaussian pillbox similarly gives . Thus normal is continuous when no free surface charge is present, even though a bound polarization charge may remain. These are the assumptions needed for the stated dielectric-interface boundary conditions.
Write , and . Use each region's own permittivity in its Coulomb potential:At , continuity of potential and normal displacement givesSolving,This permittivity convention for transmitted image charges matters: if the vacuum Coulomb prefactor is used even for , its combined effective source is instead. The physical potential is the same. The two numbered leaves identify how these sources satisfy the equations in their respective regions.
The real charge feels only the image contribution after removing its own singular self-field. The image at is separated from it by , soFor the bound charge, the outward normal of the dielectric is and . Differentiating at gives . ThereforeIts integral over the plane is , consistent with the external image representation. For both the image force and induced surface charge vanish.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section A A5 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Choose normal to the sheet and along the in-plane projection of the rotation axis. A uniform square has and . Since , the two nonzero angular-momentum components are and . ThereforeAngular momentum is not parallel to the prescribed rotation axis. Multiplying the moment of inertia about that axis by would give the projection of angular momentum on the axis, not its magnitude.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section A A4 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
For a monatomic ideal gas, . If the expansion is reversible adiabatic, is constant, soAdiabatic isolation alone does not imply this temperature law. For example, free expansion into vacuum has , so an ideal gas remains at . Thus is the usual intended answer with the additional isentropic assumption; the literal adjective “adiabatic” does not uniquely select it.[ref]
Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics by Richard Fitzpatrick. “Isothermal and Adiabatic Expansion”, Eqs. (6.53) and (6.61); “Free Expansion of Gas”, Eqs. (6.144)–(6.148)
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section A A3 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Put the positive plate at and the negative plate at . Reflection through , combined with reversal of the two plate charges, makes the tangential fields cancel at every point of the mid-plane. Thus at the corner as well as inside the capacitor.
For the uniform-charge estimate at a capacitor corner, assemble four identical square pairs around their common corner. Their normal fields there are equal by rotation symmetry and add to the central field of the larger plate pair. With the bulk parallel-plate relation , the conventional corner estimate isThis quarter-field result uses prescribed uniform surface charge, not symmetry alone for finite equipotential conductors. Real conducting plates redistribute charge near their edges; justifies the bulk relation away from the edges but does not remove the local corner fringe. For that exact conductor problem only the zero tangential components follow from the stated reflection symmetry; its normal coefficient requires a fringing-field boundary-value solution. The standard parallel-plate formula explicitly neglects edge effects.[ref]
University Physics Volume 2 by Samuel J. Ling and others. Section 8.1, parallel-plate field and the approximation of negligible edge effects
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section A A2 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
For a uniformly magnetized ring with a narrow gap, take the local direction of magnetization as positive around the magnetic circuit. Neglect leakage and fringing in the narrow gap, and take the cross section as uniform. Continuity of magnetic flux gives . With no free current, Ampère's law gives . HenceThe rod's field is a demagnetizing field opposite its magnetization; its magnitude is . The gap field points with the magnetization and .
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section A A1 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
For the entropy balance of a thermostatted resistor, electrical work becomes heat . At fixed temperature the resistor has no net change of thermodynamic state; it exports this heat to its thermostat. Treating the electrical supply as a source of work,Entropy is produced by Joule heating even though it does not accumulate in the resistor. Additional entropy production inside a nonideal power supply is outside the specified model.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 1 Section C C13 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
A microstate specifies the microscopic state: classically the positions and momenta of all particles, or quantum mechanically an allowed many-body state. A macrostate specifies a few coarse variables such as energy, volume and particle number. Many microstates can give the same macrostate. A statistical ensemble is a probability assignment over hypothetical copies prepared with the same macroscopic constraints; it does not require a sample to be literally divided into many physical copies. An observable's ensemble mean is , with an integral replacing the sum in classical phase space.
For an isolated system at fixed , the microcanonical ensemble assigns equal probability to accessible microstates in a narrow energy shell. If their number is , the Boltzmann entropy is . Thermal contact between two initially isolated systems allows energy to be shared while their sum stays fixed. The most probable division maximizes , so equilibrium requires equal . This gives the statistical temperature definitionFor positive temperature, energy tends to flow from lower entropy slope to higher entropy slope until those slopes agree. The narrow energy-shell width represents macroscopic resolution; it must not exclude the physically accessible states.
For a small subsystem exchanging energy with a much larger bath, the bath has energy when subsystem microstate has energy . Expanding its entropy gives . Counting compatible bath states therefore yields the Boltzmann distribution and canonical ensemble:The exponential weights individual microstates. An energy level of degeneracy has total probability ; a more degenerate excited level can outweigh one ground-state level even though each of its microstates is less probable. The Gibbs entropy gives . The equilibrium energy variance is , linking measurable fluctuations to a macroscopic response.
If particle exchange is also allowed, a reservoir fixes and chemical potential . The grand canonical ensemble weights a state by , with . Mean particle number is , while volume remains a constraint in this version. Thus the ensemble follows the physical exchange conditions: fixed energy, thermal contact, or thermal and particle contact.
In ordinary large short-range systems, relative fluctuations often decrease as and the ensembles give the same bulk thermodynamics away from singular limits. Finite systems, critical fluctuations and long-range interactions require care. Interpreting a time average as an ensemble average additionally requires appropriate sampling or mixing dynamics; it is not guaranteed solely by naming an ensemble. thermal equilibrium probability assignments do not describe every driven or relaxing state.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 1 Section C C12 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
In the Carnot cycle, let be reversible isothermal expansion at , reversible adiabatic expansion, isothermal compression at , and adiabatic compression. The pressure–volume curve is clockwise. The entropy–temperature figure below uses temperature on the horizontal axis and entropy on the vertical axis, literally an – plot: isotherms are vertical and adiabats horizontal. The hot isotherm increases entropy by and absorbs ; the cold one rejects . Thus and .
For the second engine, choose the working direction with heat addition during at and rejection during at . A reversible ideal-gas adiabat obeys . DefineThe two constant-pressure heat transfers are and , where rejected heat is quoted positive. Therefore the Brayton cycle efficiency isfor . All heat-capacity amount conventions cancel in the ratio.
Since and , , the maximum is at B and the minimum at D. The Brayton-Carnot efficiency comparison isThe inequality is strict for a nondegenerate cycle with positive heat input. Although each process can be reversible, the isobaric heat transfer spans a range of temperatures; making the whole cycle reversible requires a succession of matched-temperature reservoirs, rather than just the hottest and coldest reservoirs.
For an ideal diatomic gas with active rotation and frozen vibration, andHere . This comparison holds at the same pressure ratio and assumes temperature-independent heat capacities in the stated mode regime. Frozen rotation or excited vibration would require their actual heat capacities.
Carnot and Brayton cycles
. Details. Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 1 Section C C11 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Keep the problem's one-mole convention throughout. The excluded-volume parameter represents the loss of available translational volume due to short-range repulsion; it is an effective covolume, not simply the literal molecular material volume. The attraction parameter reduces the pressure below its purely repulsive value. In a mean-field picture, interaction energy is proportional to pair density, so the attractive free-energy contribution scales as for one mole and the pressure correction as . Equivalently, molecular cohesive forces and the number striking a wall each supply a density factor. These parameters approximate microscopic correlations rather than measuring every pair potential exactly.
At fixed temperature, . Substituting and integrating gives the isothermal free-energy change of a Van der Waals gasThe arbitrary temperature-only term cancels. The internal-energy derivative is insteadExpansion raises the attractive internal energy toward zero. As a check, the entropy change is , so . Constant and a homogeneous branch with are assumed. If a subcritical equilibrium path crosses coexistence, a Maxwell construction replaces the unstable homogeneous continuation; the displayed integral is the direct equation-of-state result, not a claim that such a continuation is physically stable.
At the Van der Waals critical point, the critical isotherm has a stationary inflection:Equating the resulting expressions for gives , henceIn reduced variables , the critical curve is : it decreases through with zero first and second derivative, rather than having separate liquid/gas turning points at the critical temperature.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 1 Section C C10 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Use for the heat capacities of the entire -mole sample. For a stable simple compressible gas, a Maxwell relation giveswhere and . This heat-capacity difference and mechanical stability explains the sign without assuming the internal energy depends only on temperature. It is strictly positive for an ordinary expanding gas; the unrestricted word “always” needs the qualification that equality is possible when thermal expansion vanishes.
For an ideal gas, thermodynamic consistency givesConsequently , while . Differentiating gives : at fixed pressure extra supplied heat permits expansion work in addition to the internal-energy increase.
Differentiate the supplied entropy at fixed :Thus , consistently recovering , andThe coefficient in this entropy corresponds to five active quadratic thermal degrees of freedom per molecule. It should not be replaced by the monatomic value. Reference scales needed to make logarithms dimensionless are absorbed into the entropy constant and do not affect these derivatives.
With open windows the house equilibrates mechanically at approximately the same atmospheric pressure before and after heating. It is an open system: its mole number is not fixed. The isobaric ideal-gas internal-energy density isAt a fixed house volume, : fewer molecules occupy the house, each with greater mean energy. Heating energy can enter while enthalpy leaves with escaping air. Treating the room as a sealed fixed- gas would give the wrong energy-density comparison.
Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project
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