Scientists arc using tiny, nanoscale cantilevers 4 | StudySoup

Textbook Solutions for Physics with MasteringPhysics

Chapter 13 Problem 79GP

Question

Weighing a Bacterium Scientists are using tiny, nanoscale cantilevers 4 micrometers long and 500 nanometers wide—essentially miniature diving boards—as a sensitive way to measure mass. The cantilevers oscillate up and down with a frequency that depends on the mass placed near the tip, and a laser beam is used to measure the frequency. A single E. coli bacterium was measured to have a mass of \(\text {665 femtograms}=6.65\times 10^{-16}\ \mathrm {kg}\) with this device, as the cantilever oscillated with a frequency of 14.5 MHz. Treating the cantilever as an ideal, massless spring, find its effective force constant.

Solution

Step 1 of 2

The mass of the bacterium is given by,

                                                                   

The frequency of oscillation is given by,

                                                                     

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full solution

Title Physics with MasteringPhysics 4 
Author James S. Walker
ISBN 9780321541635

Scientists arc using tiny, nanoscale cantilevers 4

Chapter 13 textbook questions

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