NEET2004PhysicsNuclear PhysicsActual
When an electron-positron pair annihilates, the energy released is about
Options
- A0.8 10⁻¹³ ~J
- B1.6 10⁻¹³ ~J
- C3.2 10⁻¹³ ~J
- D4.8 10⁻¹³ ~J .
Correct answer
B. 1.6 10⁻¹³ ~J
Step-by-step solution
Antiparticles of stable particles (such as the position and the antiproton) are them selves stable. However, when a particle and its antiparticle meet, the annihilation reaction clan occur, the particle and antiparticle both vanish and instead two or more photons can be produced. Conservation of energy and momentum require that, neglecting the kinetic energies of the particles, when two photons are emitted each must have an energy equal to the rest mass energy of the particles. Thus when electron-positron pair anni