Answered step by step
Verified Expert Solution
Question
1 Approved Answer
While neutrons in nuclei are stable, a free neutron is radioactive and has a half-life of about 10.2 minutes. In an experiment, a neutron at
While neutrons in nuclei are stable, a free neutron is radioactive and has a half-life of about 10.2 minutes. In an experiment, a neutron at rest decays into a proton (mass 1.67 x 10 2 kg) and an electron (mass 9.11 x 10 3 kg) going in opposite directions. The proton had a speed of 9.5x 10* m/s and the electron speed had a speed 2.78X10' m/s. No other decay products were detected. a. Considering just the information above, did momentum seem to be conserved in the decay of this neutron? (10 points) b. As Lise Meitner, Otto Hahn, Jean Danysz, and James Chadwick used one of Hans Geiger's new counters (see below) noted in the 1910s that there was a spectrum of speeds of the proton and electron. To make sense of the data, Wolfgang Pauli postulated in 1933 that there was a third decay product, invisible to the detectors. He called it a neutrino. If there was a neutrino in the decay, which way did it go? Explain and draw a diagram of all of the decay products. (7 points) c) How much momentum did this neutrino have? (8 points) Neutrinos were discovered 20 years later
Step by Step Solution
There are 3 Steps involved in it
Step: 1
Get Instant Access to Expert-Tailored Solutions
See step-by-step solutions with expert insights and AI powered tools for academic success
Step: 2
Step: 3
Ace Your Homework with AI
Get the answers you need in no time with our AI-driven, step-by-step assistance
Get Started