Proton through a Particle Accelerator

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the mass of a proton, specifically its rest mass and the concept of relativistic mass when accelerated to speeds near the speed of light in a particle accelerator. The scope includes theoretical aspects of mass in physics and its implications in high-energy particle physics.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested, Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant asks for the weight of a proton and its mass when accelerated to near light speed, expressing a belief that mass increases with speed.
  • Another participant suggests that the original poster should conduct preliminary research before asking questions, indicating that the answers are readily available online.
  • A third participant mentions that protons in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) reach energies of up to 7 TeV when accelerated close to the speed of light.
  • Another participant challenges the notion that mass increases with speed, clarifying that the term "mass" typically refers to rest mass or invariant mass, which is consistent across observers, and notes that the concept of relativistic mass is less commonly used today.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the concept of mass in relation to speed, with some supporting the idea of increasing mass and others advocating for the distinction between rest mass and relativistic mass. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the terminology and implications of mass in high-speed contexts.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the definitions of mass and the assumptions underlying the concept of relativistic mass versus rest mass. The mathematical steps to derive energy and mass relationships are not fully explored.

Brannen
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This is 2 questions in 1 go. So my first question is how much does a Proton weigh? My second question is, what is the mass of the Proton in a particle accelerator going nearly the speed of light. I know that as you speed something up its mass increases. Also could you show me how you came to this conclusion?
 
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You can easily find answers to these questions on Wikipedia

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton

In general, you should always try to research your question before asking it here. We try to help students with homework problems provided they post in the correct homework forum and use the homework template and we discourage questions that you can easily find on the web.
 
Brannen said:
I know that as you speed something up its mass increases.

This is not really true. We usually use mass to refer to something called rest mass, or invariant mass. This is the type of mass that all observers will agree on and the one that Einstein's equation E=MC2 uses. Relativistic mass (which is what you're referring to) has fallen out of use.
 

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