Chapter 11, Problem 42PQ

In an attempt to produce exotic new particles, a proton of mass m_p = 1.67 × 10⁻²⁷ kg is accelerated to 0.99c (c = 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s is the speed of light) and crashed into a helium nucleus of mass m_He = 6.64 × 10⁻²⁷ kg initially at rest. The collision is elastic. a. What is the kinetic energy of the helium nucleus after the collision? b. What is the kinetic energy of the proton after the collision? (In Chapter 39, we’ll learn what Einstein says about making such calculations.)