Relativity, and the half life of Muons

[babacanoosh]

Hello all,
Below I have a few questions regarding calculating the half life of muons. We measured how many muons were recorded at the top of a mountain, then measured how many muons were recorded at the bottom. Using this data, we calculated the half life of moving muons.

Thanks for the help!


1. A)Why is the flux of muons different at high and low altitudes?
B)When calculating the time needed for a muons to travel from the top of a mountain to the bottom, do we need to account for the time that muons spend traveling from high in the atmosphere to the top of the mountain?

Homework Equations

None

The Attempt at a Solution

A) Less Muons make it lower to the ground because some may decay before they reach the muon detector. Also various things such as a mountain may keep muons from reaching the ground.
B)No because this time has the same ration as all of the other muons, and when calculating the half life, we are only using the time it takes for muons to reach from the top, to the bottom of a mountain.


Thank you all for the help!

 

[Chi Meson]

Your answers are correct. The second sentence in your answer to "a" is unnecessary, and a tad confusing (if a mountain got in the way of the ground, then it wouldn't be the ground would it? And other things in the air, smoke, dust, nitrogen, etc, wouldn't significantly stop the muons anyway).

And in the answer to the second part, you have the magic word "ratio," but you could clarify what you mean by "this time."

A total nitpicky jerk of a teacher (like me) would mark these answers as correct, but not with full points.

 

[nlightner]

Hello,

I would like to provide some additional information and clarification regarding the questions asked. Firstly, the flux of muons is different at high and low altitudes due to the fact that muons are constantly produced in the upper atmosphere by cosmic ray interactions. These muons then travel downward towards the Earth's surface, and as they do so, they interact with other particles and may decay. This results in a decrease in the number of muons that reach the Earth's surface at lower altitudes compared to higher altitudes. Additionally, as you mentioned, obstacles such as mountains may also affect the number of muons that reach the surface.

In terms of calculating the time needed for muons to travel from the top of a mountain to the bottom, it is important to consider the distance traveled as well as the speed of the muons. The time it takes for a muon to travel from the top to the bottom of a mountain may be affected by factors such as air resistance and the muon's energy. Therefore, it is important to take these factors into account when calculating the half life of moving muons.

I hope this helps clarify any confusion and provides a better understanding of the concept. Keep up the good work!