The half-life of a muon at rest is 1.5μs. Muons that have been accelerated to a very high speed and are then held in a circular storage ring have a half-life of 7.5μs.

a. What is the speed, as a fraction of c, of the muons in the storage ring?

b. What is the total energy of a muon in the storage ring? The mass of a muon is 207times the mass of an electron.

Short Answer

Expert verified

a.)0.980c

b.)8.49×10-11J

Step by step solution

01

Part (a) Step 1: Given Information

We have given that, the half-life of a muon at rest is 1.5μs.

Muons that have been accelerated to a very high speed and are then held in a circular storage ring have a half-life of 7.5μs.

We have to find the speed, as a fraction of c, of the muons in the storage ring.

02

Part (a) Step 2: Simplfy

We know that.

t'=γt

So,

γ=t't=7.51.5=5

Put the form ofγ

γ=11-(v/c)25=11-(v/c)2v=±0.980c

The speed will be positive number.

So, the speed of proton is0.980c.

03

Part (b) Step 1: Given Information

We have given that, the half-life of a muon at rest is 1..5μs. Muons that have been accelerated to a very high speed and are then held in a circular storage ring have a half-life of 7.5μs.

We have to find the total energy of a muon in the storage ring.

04

Part (b) Step 2: Simplify

The total energy of an electron is

E=γmc2=5×9.11×10-31×207×(3×108)2=8.49×10-11J

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