Question

A nucleus whose mass is 3.730032 x 10-25 kg undergoes spontaneous "alpha" decay. The original nucleus disappears and there appear two new particles: a He-4 nucleus of mass 6.640678x10-27 kg (an "alpha particle" consisting of two protons and two neutrons) and a new nucleus of mass 3.663533 x 10-25 kg (note that the new nucleus has less mass than the original nucleus, and it has two fewer protons and two fewer neutrons). In these calculations, it is very important to keep at least 7 figures in your intermediate calculations. (a) When the alpha particle has moved far away from the new nucleus (so the electric interactions are negligible), what is the combined kinetic energy of the alpha particle and new nucleus? Kalpha + Knucleus = (b) How many electron volts is this? Kalpha + Knucleus = eV In contrast to this nuclear reaction, chemical reactions typically involve only a few eV. -11 points v M14 6.5.043. My Notes Ask Your Teacher v In positron-emission tomography (PET) used in medical research and diagnosis, compounds containing unstable nuclei that emit positrons are introduced into the brain, destined for a site of interest in the brain. When a positron is emitted, it goes only a short distance before coming nearly to rest. It forms a bound state with an electron, called "positronium", which is rather similar to a hydrogen atom. The binding energy of positronium is very small compared to the rest energy of an electron. After a short time the positron and electron annihilate. In the annihilation, the positron and the electron disappear, and all of their rest energy goes into two photons (particles of light) which have zero mass; all their energy is kinetic energy. These high energy photons, called "gamma rays", are emitted at nearly 180° to each other. What energy of gamma ray (in Mev, million electron volts) should each of the detectors be made sensitive to? (The mass of an electron or positron is 9x10-31 kg. 1 eV = 1.6x10-19 joules.) MeV

Answer 1