Before decaying, a specific particle produced in a nuclear reactor leaves a 1 cm track. Determine the life of the particle in the lab frame, assuming it travelled at 0.995c .

Step-by-step solution

Distance travelled by the particle in the lab frame, d = 1 cm = 10⁻² m Speed of the particle, v = 0.995c = 0.995 3 10^8 m/s = 2.985 10^8 m/s The life of the particle in the lab frame is the time taken to travel this distance: t = d v t = 10⁻² 2.985 10^8 s t 3.35 10⁻¹¹ s t = 33.5 10⁻¹² s = 33.5 ps