Question

The first antiparticle, the positron or antielectron, was discovered in 1932. It had been predicted by Paul Dirac in 1928, though the nature of the prediction was not fully understood until the experimental discovery. Today, it is well accepted that all fundamental particles have antiparticles.
Required:
Suppose that an electron and a positron collide head-on. Both have kinetic energy of 3.58 MeV and rest energy of 0.511 MeV. They produce two photons, which by conservation of momentum must have equal energy and move in opposite directions. What is the energy Ephoton of one of these photons?

Answer 1

Answer:

Energy of Photon = 4.091 MeV

Explanation:

From the conservation of energy principle, we know that total energy of the system must remain conserved. So, the energy or particles before collision must be equal to the energy of photons after collision.

K.E OF electron + Rest Energy of electron + K.E of positron + Rest Energy of positron = 2(Energy of Photon)

where,

K.E OF electron = 3.58 MeV

Rest Energy of electron = 0.511 MeV

Rest Energy of positron = 0.511 MeV

K.E OF positron = 3.58 MeV

Energy of Photon = ?

Therefore,

3.58 MeV + 0.511 MeV + 3.58 MeV + 0.511 MeV = 2(Energy of Photon)

Energy of Photon = 8.182 MeV/2

Energy of Photon = 4.091 MeV