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Question

The separation between the energy levels of a two-level atom is 2 eV. Suppose that $4 \times 10^{20}$ atoms are in the ground state and $7 \times 10^{20}$ atoms are pumped into the excited state just before lasing starts. How much energy will be released in a single laser pulse?

The correct answer is
48 J

Laser Energy Release Calculation

This solution details the calculation for the energy released during a single laser pulse in a two-level atomic system.

Given Parameters

  • Energy separation between levels: $\Delta E = 2$ eV
  • Number of atoms in ground state: $N_g = 4 \times 10^{20}$
  • Number of atoms in excited state: $N_e = 7 \times 10^{20}$

Energy Release Calculation

The total energy released ($E$) is determined by the number of atoms transitioning and the energy difference ($\Delta E$) per atom. The calculation uses the following formula:

$ E = \frac{N_e - N_g}{2} \times \Delta E $

This formula considers half the population inversion multiplied by the energy separation.

Step-by-Step Calculation

  1. Determine the population inversion: $N_{inv} = N_e - N_g = 7 \times 10^{20} - 4 \times 10^{20} = 3 \times 10^{20}$ atoms.
  2. Calculate the effective number of atoms contributing to energy release: $N_{eff} = \frac{N_{inv}}{2} = \frac{3 \times 10^{20}}{2} = 1.5 \times 10^{20}$ atoms.
  3. Calculate the total energy released in electron volts (eV): $E_{eV} = N_{eff} \times \Delta E = (1.5 \times 10^{20} \text{ atoms}) \times (2 \text{ eV/atom}) = 3 \times 10^{20}$ eV.
  4. Convert the total energy from eV to Joules (J). Use the conversion factor $1 \text{ eV} = 1.602 \times 10^{-19}$ J: $E_J = (3 \times 10^{20}) \times (1.602 \times 10^{-19})$ J $E_J = 4.806 \times 10^1$ J $E_J = 48.06$ J.

Final Result

The calculated energy release is approximately 48.06 J. This value rounds to 48 J.

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