A muon formed high in Earth’s atmosphere travels toward Earth at a speed v = 0.990c for a distance of 4.60 km as measured by an observer at rest with respect to Earth. It then decays into an electron, a neutrino, and an antineutrino. (a) How long does the muon survive according to an observer at rest on Earth? (b) Compute the gamma factor associated with the muon. (c) How much time passes according to an observer traveling with the muon? (d) What distance does the muon travel according to an observer traveling with the muon? (e) A third observer traveling toward the muon at c/2 measures the lifetime of the particle. According to this observer, is the muon’s lifetime shorter or longer than the lifetime measured by the observer at rest with respect to Earth? Explain.
A muon formed high in Earth’s atmosphere travels toward Earth at a speed v = 0.990c for a distance of 4.60 km as measured by an observer at rest with respect to Earth. It then decays into an electron, a neutrino, and an antineutrino. (a) How long does the muon survive according to an observer at rest on Earth? (b) Compute the gamma factor associated with the muon. (c) How much time passes according to an observer traveling with the muon? (d) What distance does the muon travel according to an observer traveling with the muon? (e) A third observer traveling toward the muon at c/2 measures the lifetime of the particle. According to this observer, is the muon’s lifetime shorter or longer than the lifetime measured by the observer at rest with respect to Earth? Explain.
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