- #1
Elfrae
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Homework Statement
I have a relativistic electron with energy 10^10 eV and I want to work out its speed. I'm not told if that's total energy or just kinetic energy - which is the sensible assumption to make?
Homework Equations
(E_tot)^2 = p^2*c^2 + m0^2*c^4
p = gamma*mv
gamma = sqrt(1/1-beta^2)
beta = v/c
The Attempt at a Solution
I tried rearranging the above equations to get an expression for v, but I keep getting stupid answers (v = c, v > c).
I have converted the energy into J and assumed that it is the total energy. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?
Thanks!