Particles: A neutral η⁰ (having mass 0.642 u) that is at rest decays into two gamma ray photons. What is the energy in MeV of each photon? (1 u = 931.5 MeV/c²) A) 299 MeV B) 597 MeV C) 1190 MeV D) 199 MeV E) 149 MeV

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The energy of each photon is half of the total energy released by the decay, which is calculated using E=mc^2. Given the mass of the particle is 0.642 u, and 1 u = 931.5 MeV/c^2, the total energy is 0.642 u * 931.5 MeV/u = 598 MeV. Since the particle decays into two photons, each photon has half this energy, which is 299 MeV.

Particles: a Neutral η0 (Having Mass 0

Particles: a Neutral η⁰ (Having Mass 0