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chenying
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Homework Statement
Calculate the speed parameter v/c of a particle with a momentum of 12.5 MeV/c if the paricle is
proton
Homework Equations
E[tex]_{}2[/tex] = m[tex]_{}2[/tex]c[tex]_{}4[/tex] + p[tex]_{}2[/tex]c[tex]_{}2[/tex]
3. The Attempt at a Solution
Btw, the numbers above are powers.
Ok, so i followed what my teacher did:
E[tex]_{}2[/tex] = m[tex]_{}2[/tex]c[tex]_{}4[/tex] + p[tex]_{}2[/tex]c[tex]_{}2[/tex]
m is so small for a proton that it is 0, so that is neglected
E[tex]_{}2[/tex] = p[tex]_{}2[/tex]c[tex]_{}2[/tex]
E = p*c = mv[tex]\gamma[/tex] * c
Multiply the right side by c/c to get:
E = p*c = mv/c[tex]\gamma[/tex] * c^2
then my teacher moved mc^2 to the other side to get
E/mc^2 = v/c*[tex]\gamma[/tex]
Finding the value of E/mc^2, and solving for v/c, I got the value of 1, which makes sense.
That is, however, not the right answer.
Can anyone tell me what I did wrong?