A uranium nucleus (mass 238 u), initially at rest, undergoes radioactive decay. After an alpha particle (mass 4.0 u) is emitted, the remaining nucleus is thorium (mass 234 u). If the alpha particle is moving at 0.0550 times the speed of light, what is the recoil speed of the thorium nucleus? (Note: "u" is a unit of mass; it is not necessary to convert it to kg.)
2007-03-18 15:06:02 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
I get 2.82*10^5 m/s without making any relativistic corrections for the alpha particles mass (it's only about .2%)
Doug
2007-03-18 15:14:25 · answer #1 · answered by doug_donaghue 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This one is easy; it is just a conservation of momentum problem. The result is 4/234 x 0.0550 c. The speeds are too low for relativity to be an issue.
2007-03-18 22:12:01 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋