Referring to Figure 10.36, we see that the atomic number Z is pro-portional to f 1/2 or

Chapter 10, Problem Problems 18

(choose chapter or problem)

Referring to Figure 10.36, we see that the atomic number Z is pro-portional to f 1/2 or that Z2 is proportional to f. Because the fre-quency of the characteristic x-ray lines is itself proportional to theenergy of the associated x-ray photon, we are led to conclude thatE and hence the energies of the atomic levels also scale as Z2.Based on this analysis (and ignoring any differences from the massesof their nuclei), how much greater is the energy associated with theground state of helium (Z 2) than that of hydrogen (Z 1)?Make a similar comparison between the ground state energies forsodium (Z 11) and hydrogen.