Log out Go to App
Go to App

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 6: Q3DQ (page 1519)

When they were first discovered during the 1930 sand 1940 s, there was confusion as to the identities of pions and muons. What are the similarities and most significant differences?

Short Answer

Expert verified

See the answer below

Step by step solution

01

Determine the similarities

  • Both pions and mesons are subatomic particles.
  • Both are mostly seen on in the cosmic rays.
  • They are unstable and decays into stable products.
  • The mass of the pions is only 30 percent heavier than the mass of the muon where

mμ=207memπ=274me

02

Determine the differences

  • Pions are particles that belongs to the boson family of the elementary particles because they have integral spin whereas muons belong to the fermion family as they have half-integral spin.
  • Pions are not elementary particles and can participate in strong interactions whereas muon can participate in weak interactions.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Start your free trial

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Would you expect effects due to the photon nature of light to be generally more important at the low-frequency end of the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves) or at the high-frequency end (x rays and gamma rays)? Why?

A photon of frequency fundergoes Compton scattering from an electron at rest and scatters through an angle ϕ . The frequency of the scattered photon is f'. How is f' related to f? Does your answer depend on ϕ? Explain.

Two events occur at the same space point in a particular inertial frame of reference and are simultaneous in that frame. Is it possible that they may not be simultaneous in a different inertial frame? Explain.

The air you are breathing contains primarily nitrogen N2and oxygen O2Many of these molecules are in excited rotational energy levels (I=1,2,3,.....), but almost all of them are in the vibrational ground level(n=0). Explain this difference between the rotational and vibrational behaviors of the molecules

Why is the alpha, beta, or gamma decay of an unstable nucleus unaffected by the chemical situation of the atom, such as the nature of the molecule or solid in which it is bound? The chemical situation of the atom can, however, have an effect on the half-life in electron capture. Why is this?
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

Solid State Physics

Read Explanation

Medical Physics

Read Explanation

Nuclear Physics

Read Explanation

Atoms and Radioactivity

Read Explanation

Fundamentals of Physics

Read Explanation

Magnetism and Electromagnetic Induction

Read Explanation
View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free