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Physics > Section 1- Particles > Flashcards

Section 1- Particles Flashcards

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1
Q

What is specific charge?

A

The charge to mass ratio
charge/mass
C/kg

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2
Q

What is the relative mass of an electron?

A

0.0005

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3
Q

What letter is associated with a proton number?

A

Z

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4
Q

What is a nucleon?

A

A constituent of the nucleus - a proton or a neutron

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5
Q

What letter represents the nucleon number?

A

A

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6
Q

What is an isotope?

A

A version of an element with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons

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7
Q

What is a use of radioactive isotopes?

A

Carbon dating - the proportion of carbon-14 in a material can be used to estimate its age

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8
Q

What is the strong nuclear force?

A

The fundamental force that keeps the nucleus stable by counteracting the electrostatic force of repulsion between protons

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9
Q

Describe the range of the strong force

A
  • Repulsive - up to 0.5fm
  • Attractive - from 0.5-3fm
  • Negligible past 3fm
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10
Q

What makes a nucleus unstable?

A

Nuclei which have too many of either protons or neutrons or both

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11
Q

How do nuclei with too many nucleons decay?

A

Alpha decay - emission of a helium nucleus

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12
Q

How do nuclei with too many neutrons decay?

A

Beta minus decay - the neutron decays into a proton by the weak interaction and releases an electron and an anti-electron neutrino with the W- exchange particle

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13
Q

How was the existence of the neutrino hypothesised?

A

The energy of particles after beta decay was lower than before, a particle with 0 charge (to conserve charge) and negligible mass must carry away this excess energy

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14
Q

What is an alpha particle?

A

A particle that contains 2 protons and 2 neutrons, the same as a helium nuceus

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15
Q

What is an anti-particle

A

For each particle there is a corresponding anti-particle with the same rest energy and mass but all other properties are the opposite of its respective particle

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16
Q

What is the name of the anti-particle of an electron?

A

Positron

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17
Q

What is the anti-particle of a π0 (pion with 0 charge)?

A

π0 - its anti-particle is itself

18
Q

What occurs when a particle and antiparticle meet?

A

Annihilation - the mass of the particle and antiparticle is converted back to energy in the form of 2 gamma ray photons which go in opposite directions to conserve momentum

19
Q

What is pair production?

A

A gamma ray photon is converted into a particle-antiparticle pair

20
Q

What is the minimum energy of a photon required to make a particle-anti-particle pair?

A

2 x rest energy of the particle

21
Q

What are the 4 fundamental forces?

A
  1. Gravity
  2. Electromagnetic
  3. Weak nuclear
  4. Strong nuclear
22
Q

The virtual photon is the exchange particle of which force?

A

The electromagnetic force

23
Q

What type of particles are affected by the strong nuclear force?

A

Hadrons

24
Q

What is the exchange particle of the weak nuclear force?

A

The W boson - W+ or W-

25
Q

What does the electromagnetic force act on?

A

Charged objects

26
Q

When does weak nuclear interaction occur?

A

When quark character changes (a quark changes into another quark), it affects all types of particles

27
Q

What properties must be conserved in particle interactions?

A
  • Energy
  • Charge
  • Baryon number
  • Lepton number
  • Momentum
  • Strangeness (only for strong interactions)
28
Q

Why do we need ensure strangeness is conserved in the strong interaction?

A

The quantum number reflects the fact that strange particles are always created in pairs

29
Q

How can strangeness change in the weak interaction?

A

By 0, +1 or -1

30
Q

What is a hadron?

A
  • Baryons and mesons
  • Made of 2 or more quarks held together by the strong nuclear force
31
Q

What are the classes of hadrons?

A
  • Baryons (3 quarks)
  • Mesons (1 quark, 1 anti-quark)
32
Q

The pion and kaon are both examples of which class of particle?

A

Mesons

33
Q

What are the quark structures of pions and kaons?

A

π+ - ud¯
π− - du¯
K+ - us¯
K- - su¯

34
Q

The pion can be an exchange particle for which force?

A

The strong nuclear force

35
Q

What particle does a kaon decay into?

A

A kaon always decays into a pion

36
Q

Give some examples of baryons and their quark structures

A
  • Protons - udu
  • Neutrons - dud
37
Q

What is significant about a proton?

A
  • It is the only stable baryon
  • All baryons will eventually deacy into protons
38
Q

What are some examples of leptons?

A
  • Electron
  • Muon
  • Neutrino
  • Anti-particles of the above
39
Q

What does a muon decay into?

A

An electron and 2 types of neutrino

40
Q

What is the strangeness value of a strange quark?

A

-1

41
Q

What are strange particles?

A

Particles that are produced through the strong interaction and decay through the weak interaction

Physics (13 decks)

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