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w3390
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Homework Statement
A particle of mass M decays into two identical particles each of mass m, where m = 0.3M. Prior to the decay, the particle of mass M has a total energy of 5Mc^2 in the laboratory reference frame. The velocities of the decay product are along the direction of motion M. Find the velocities of the decay products in the laboratory reference frame.
Homework Equations
E=[tex]\frac{mc^2}{\sqrt{1-\frac{u^2}{c^2}}}[/tex]
The Attempt at a Solution
I think I have the concept down in my head. I know I will get two different velocities for the two identical particles. I think it will similar to a doppler effect where the particle formed in the direction of motion gets a speed boost, whereas the particle formed in the direction opposite of motion has a slower speed. So far I have used the equation above to find that the initial particle is traveling at .98c. However, this is where I am confused because how do I figure out how fast the particles resulting from the decay of the original particle move?