A photon decays into an electron-positron pair. What is the kinetic energy of the electron if its speed is
?
Answer
Section summary
Relativistic energy is conserved as long as we define it to include the possibility of mass changing to energy.
Total Energy is defined as:
, where
.
Rest energy is
, meaning that mass is a form of energy. If energy is stored in an object, its mass increases. Mass can be destroyed to release energy.
We do not ordinarily notice the increase or decrease in mass of an object because the change in mass is so small for a large increase in energy.
The relativistic work-energy theorem is
.
Relativistically,
,
where
is the relativistic kinetic energy.
Relativistic kinetic energy is
, where
. At low velocities, relativistic kinetic energy reduces to classical kinetic energy.
No object with mass can attain the speed of light because an infinite amount of work and an infinite amount of energy input is required to accelerate a mass to the speed of light.
The equation
relates the relativistic total energy
and the relativistic momentum
. At extremely high velocities, the rest energy
becomes negligible, and
.
Conceptual questions
How are the classical laws of conservation of energy and conservation of mass modified by modern relativity?
What happens to the mass of water in a pot when it cools, assuming no molecules escape or are added? Is this observable in practice? Explain.
Consider a thought experiment. You place an expanded balloon of air on weighing scales outside in the early morning. The balloon stays on the scales and you are able to measure changes in its mass. Does the mass of the balloon change as the day progresses? Discuss the difficulties in carrying out this experiment.
The mass of the fuel in a nuclear reactor decreases by an observable amount as it puts out energy. Is the same true for the coal and oxygen combined in a conventional power plant? If so, is this observable in practice for the coal and oxygen? Explain.
We know that the velocity of an object with mass has an upper limit of
. Is there an upper limit on its momentum? Its energy? Explain.
Given the fact that light travels at
, can it have mass? Explain.
If you use an Earth-based telescope to project a laser beam onto the Moon, you can move the spot across the Moon’s surface at a velocity greater than the speed of light. Does this violate modern relativity? (Note that light is being sent from the Earth to the Moon, not across the surface of the Moon.)
Problems&Exercises
What is the rest energy of an electron, given its mass is
? Give your answer in joules and MeV.
0.512 MeV
Find the rest energy in joules and MeV of a proton, given its mass is
.
If the rest energies of a proton and a neutron (the two constituents of nuclei) are 938.3 and 939.6 MeV respectively, what is the difference in their masses in kilograms?
Questions & Answers
A golfer on a fairway is 70 m away from the green, which sits below the level of the fairway by 20 m. If the golfer hits the ball at an angle of 40° with an initial speed of 20 m/s, how close to the green does she come?
A mouse of mass 200 g falls 100 m down a vertical mine shaft and lands at the bottom with a speed of 8.0 m/s. During its fall, how much work is done on the mouse by air resistance
Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with the study of matter,it composition,it structure and the changes it undergoes
Adjei
please, I'm a physics student and I need help in physics
Adjanou
chemistry could also be understood like the sexual attraction/repulsion of the male and female elements. the reaction varies depending on the energy differences of each given gender. + masculine -female.
Pedro
A ball is thrown straight up.it passes a 2.0m high window 7.50 m off the ground on it path up and takes 1.30 s to go past the window.what was the ball initial velocity
2. A sled plus passenger with total mass 50 kg is pulled 20 m across the snow (0.20) at constant velocity by a force directed 25° above the horizontal. Calculate (a) the work of the applied force, (b) the work of friction, and (c) the total work.
you have been hired as an espert witness in a court case involving an automobile accident. the accident involved car A of mass 1500kg which crashed into stationary car B of mass 1100kg. the driver of car A applied his brakes 15 m before he skidded and crashed into car B. after the collision, car A s
can someone explain to me, an ignorant high school student, why the trend of the graph doesn't follow the fact that the higher frequency a sound wave is, the more power it is, hence, making me think the phons output would follow this general trend?
Nevermind i just realied that the graph is the phons output for a person with normal hearing and not just the phons output of the sound waves power, I should read the entire thing next time
Joseph
Follow up question, does anyone know where I can find a graph that accuretly depicts the actual relative "power" output of sound over its frequency instead of just humans hearing
Joseph
"Generation of electrical energy from sound energy | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore" ***ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7150687?reload=true
A string is 3.00 m long with a mass of 5.00 g. The string is held taut with a tension of 500.00 N applied to the string. A pulse is sent down the string. How long does it take the pulse to travel the 3.00 m of the string?
