Energetic particles, such as protons, can be detected with a silicon detector. when a particle strikes a thin piece of silicon, it creates a large number of free electrons by ionizing silicon atoms. the electrons flow to an electrode on the surface of the detector, and this current is then amplified and detected. in one experiment, each incident proton creates, on average, 37,000 electrons; the electron current is amplified by a factor of 100; and the experimenters record an amplified current of 3.5 μa.

scattering of light by tiny particles in air to produce the colors we see on sky, is dependent on the following factors:

(i) wavelength of light

(ii) size of the scattering particle  

(iii) distance traveled by light through the atmosphere.

according to rayleigh's law of scattering, the amount of scattering is inversely proportional to the fourth power of its wavelength. shorter the wavelength, greater is its scattering. hence violet/blue light is scattered more than red.

sun's light is a composite light ( visible light) with wavelengths in the range 400 nm (violet) to 700 nm (red). as sunlight passes through our atmosphere, the molecules of air scatter light according to their wavelengths. during sunrise and sunset, the sun's position is below the horizon. hence light from the sun travels a greater distance in the atmosphere when compared to its position a noon.

as sunlight enters the earth's atmosphere, blue light is scattered away and at the end of its journey in the sky, only red and orange wavelengths remain in the beam.

hence at sunrise and sunset, the sky appears reddish orange.

jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, having a mass and radius that are respectively, 318 and 11.2 times that of earth. suppose that an object falls from rest near the surface of each planet and that the acceleration due to gravity remains constant during the fall. each object falls the same distance before striking the ground. determine the ratio of the time of fall on jupiter to that on earth.