Stanford has a linear particle accelerator (SLAC) which is 3 km long that produces electrons with a total energy of 50 GeV. These electrons lead exciting (albeit brief) lives, zooming along the accelerator before slamming into a target to produce other high-energy particles. a. Consider the viewpoint of one of the electrons. From the electron’s point of view, how long is the accelerator? Note that it is possible to answer this question without calculating the electron’s velocity. b. Let’s figure out how fast the electrons are traveling. Start by solving for β = u/c in terms of 1/γ following the trick we used in class. Use the binomial expansion if that is helpful. At what speed does a 50 GeV electron travel? c. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN presently accelerates protons to a total energy of 6.5 TeV. Imagine a pulse of light, a 50 GeV electron, and a 6.5 TeV proton race each other along a 3 km distance. The light pulse will surely win (why?) with winning time of 10 μs. Which particle comes in 2nd? 3rd?
Please answer all three parts! Thank you.
Stanford has a linear particle accelerator (SLAC) which is 3 km long that produces electrons with a total energy of 50 GeV. These electrons lead exciting (albeit brief) lives, zooming along the accelerator before slamming into a target to produce other high-energy particles.
a. Consider the viewpoint of one of the electrons. From the electron’s point of view, how long is the accelerator? Note that it is possible to answer this question without calculating the electron’s velocity.
b. Let’s figure out how fast the electrons are traveling. Start by solving for β = u/c in terms of 1/γ following the trick we used in class. Use the binomial expansion if that is helpful. At what speed does a 50 GeV electron travel?
c. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN presently accelerates protons to a total energy of 6.5 TeV. Imagine a pulse of light, a 50 GeV electron, and a 6.5 TeV proton race each other along a 3 km distance. The light pulse will surely win (why?) with winning time of 10 μs. Which particle comes in 2nd? 3rd?
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