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Chapter 27: Problem 9

What is the difference between an electron and a positron?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The main difference between an electron and a positron is their charge. An electron carries a negative charge while a positron, also known as an anti-electron, carries a positive charge.

Step by step solution

01

Define Electron

An electron is a subatomic particle that carries a negative charge. It is one of the fundamental particles in the universe. Electrons are involved in many physical phenomena such as electricity, magnetism, chemistry and thermal conductivity. They also take part in gravitational, electromagnetic and weak interactions.
02

Define Positron

A positron, also known as an anti-electron, is an antiparticle of the electron with the same mass but carrying a positive charge. It is produced in certain types of radioactive decay or in a particle accelerator.
03

Identify the Key Difference

The primary difference between an electron and a positron lies in their charge. While an electron carries a negative charge, a positron carries a positive charge. However, they share the same mass and spin, making them antiparticles of each other.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Search the World Wide Web for information about the top quark. What kind of particle is it? How does it compare with the up and down quarks found in protons and neutrons? Why did physicists work so hard to try to find it?

Describe the large-scale structure of the universe as revealed by the distribution of clusters and superclusters of galaxies.

(a) If the Hubble constant is \(73 \mathrm{~km} / \mathrm{s} / \mathrm{Mpc}\), the critical density \(\rho_{c}\) is \(1.0 \times 10^{-26} \mathrm{~kg} / \mathrm{m}^{3}\). The average density of dark matter is known to be about \(0.20\) times the critical density. Suppose that massive neutrinos constitute this dark matter, and the average density of neutrinos throughout space is 100 neutrinos per cubic centimeter. (In fact, the density of neutrinos is far less than this.) Under these assumptions, what must be the mass of the neutrino? Give your answers in kilograms and as a fraction of the mass of the electron. (b) Why do astronomers think that massive neutrinos are not the dominant type of dark matter in the universe?

The inflationary epoch lasted a mere \(10^{-32}\) second. Why, then, is it worthy of so much attention by scientists?

Search the World Wide Web for information about primordial deuterium (that is, deuterium that was formed in the very early universe). Why are astronomers interested in knowing how abundant primordial deuterium is in the universe? What techniques do they use to detect it?
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