Question

A muon is produced by a collision between a cosmic ray and an oxygen nucleus in the upper atmosphere at an altitude of 50 . It travels vertically downward to the surface of the Earth where it arrives with a total energy of 178 . The rest energy of a muon is 105.7 . What is the kinetic energy of a muon at the surface

Answer 1

Answer:

72.3 MeV

Explanation:

E = Total energy of muon = 178 MeV

$E_0$ = Rest energy of a muon = 105.7 MeV

Kinetic energy of the muon at the surface of the Earth is given by the difference of the total energy and the rest energy of the muon

$K=E-E_0\\\Rightarrow K=178-105.7\\\Rightarrow K=72.3\ MeV$

The kinetic energy of a muon at the surface is 72.3 MeV