- #1
abalmos
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Homework Statement
Particle Physicists use particle track detectors to determine the lifetime of short-lived particles. A muon has a mean lifetime of 2.2 microseconds and makes a track of 9.5 cm long before decaying into a electron and two neutrinos. What was the speed of the muon?
Homework Equations
I believe:
[tex] L = L_0\sqrt{1 - \frac{v^{2}}{c^{2}} [/tex]
[tex] T = \frac{T_0}{\sqrt{1 - \frac{v^{2}}{c^{2}}}} [/tex]
and the standard transformations as well
The Attempt at a Solution
I suppose I understand the process but this might fundamentally be my issue. My understanding of what needs to be done is I need to determine what the length of time and space which the muon sees from its inertial frame (i.e. the muon is at rest). From there it is trivial to determine the speed the muon is traveling.
My biggest issue is I don't understand how I can put any of these equations together to get any type of solution. No matter how I manipulate them I am left with more variables then independent equations.
Any advise and guidance you could provide would be greatly appreciated. I seemed to be doing very well with this topic until this question albeit this is the last and hardest.
Thank you,
- Andrew Balmos