Skip to main content
Ch 36: Special Relativity
Knight Calc - Physics for Scientists and Engineers 5th Edition
Knight Calc5th EditionPhysics for Scientists and EngineersISBN: 9780137344796Not the one you use?Change textbook
Chapter 36, Problem 73

An electron moving to the right at 0.90c collides with a positron moving to the left at 0.90c. The two particles annihilate and produce two gamma-ray photons. What is the wavelength of the photons?

Verified step by step guidance
1
Step 1: Recognize that the problem involves the annihilation of an electron and a positron, which results in the production of two gamma-ray photons. The total energy of the system before and after the annihilation must be conserved.
Step 2: Calculate the total energy of the electron and positron before the collision. Use the relativistic energy formula: E = rac{mc^2}{\(\text{√}\)(1 - v^2/c^2)}, where m is the rest mass of the particle, v is its velocity, and c is the speed of light. Both the electron and positron have the same rest mass (m_e) and velocity magnitude (0.90c).
Step 3: Add the relativistic energies of the electron and positron to find the total energy of the system before annihilation. Since the particles are moving in opposite directions, their momenta cancel out, leaving only the total energy to consider.
Step 4: After annihilation, the total energy is carried away by the two gamma-ray photons. Each photon will have energy equal to half of the total energy calculated in Step 3. Use the relationship between photon energy and wavelength: E = rac{hc}{\(\text{λ}\)}, where h is Planck's constant, c is the speed of light, and λ is the wavelength of the photon.
Step 5: Rearrange the photon energy formula to solve for the wavelength: λ = rac{hc}{E}. Substitute the energy of one photon (from Step 4) into this equation to find the wavelength of the gamma-ray photons.

Verified video answer for a similar problem:

This video solution was recommended by our tutors as helpful for the problem above.
Was this helpful?

Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Relativistic Momentum

In relativistic physics, momentum is not simply the product of mass and velocity as in classical mechanics. Instead, it is defined as p = γmv, where γ (gamma) is the Lorentz factor, which accounts for the effects of traveling at speeds close to the speed of light. This concept is crucial for analyzing collisions involving particles moving at relativistic speeds.
Recommended video:
Guided course
05:17
Intro to Momentum

Energy-Mass Equivalence

Energy-mass equivalence, expressed by Einstein's famous equation E=mc², indicates that mass can be converted into energy and vice versa. In the context of particle collisions, the total energy before the collision (kinetic energy plus rest mass energy) is converted into energy in the form of photons during annihilation, which is essential for calculating the resulting photon wavelengths.
Recommended video:
Guided course
4:52
Gravitational Potential Energy for Systems of Masses

Photon Wavelength and Energy Relationship

The energy of a photon is related to its wavelength by the equation E = hc/λ, where h is Planck's constant and c is the speed of light. This relationship allows us to determine the wavelength of the photons produced in the annihilation of the electron and positron by first calculating the total energy released in the collision and then using this energy to find the corresponding wavelength.
Recommended video:
Guided course
03:43
Relationships Between Force, Field, Energy, Potential
Related Practice
Textbook Question

The sun radiates energy at the rate 3.8 x 1026 W. The source of this energy is fusion, a nuclear reaction in which mass is transformed into energy. The mass of the sun is 2.0 x 1030 kg. Fusion takes place in the core of a star, where the temperature and pressure are highest. A star like the sun can sustain fusion until it has transformed about 0.10% of its total mass into energy, then fusion ceases and the star slowly dies. Estimate the sun's lifetime, giving your answer in billions of years.

1
views
Textbook Question

The sun radiates energy at the rate 3.8 x 1026 W. The source of this energy is fusion, a nuclear reaction in which mass is transformed into energy. The mass of the sun is 2.0 x 1030 kg. What percent is this of the sun's total mass?

2
views
Textbook Question

Some particle accelerators allow protons (p⁺) and antiprotons (p⁻) to circulate at equal speeds in opposite directions in a device called a storage ring. The particle beams cross each other at various points to cause p⁺ + p⁻ collisions. In one collision, the outcome is p⁺ + p⁻ → e⁺ + e⁻ + γ + γ, where γ represents a high-energy gamma-ray photon. The electron and positron are ejected from the collision at 0.9999995c and the gamma-ray photon wavelengths are found to be 1.0 x 10-6 nm. What were the proton and antiproton speeds, as a fraction of c, prior to the collision?

1
views
Textbook Question

The nuclear reaction that powers the sun is the fusion of four protons into a helium nucleus. The process involves several steps, but the net reaction is simply 4p → 4He + energy. The mass of a proton, to four significant figures, is 1.673 x 10-27 kg, and the mass of a helium nucleus is known to be 6.644 x 10-27 kg. What fraction of the initial rest mass energy is this energy?

1
views