Monday, June 22, 2020

Question about conservation of momentum!?

Donte Liversedge: Its more of a logic problem then a math problem.Momentum conservation must hold in all nonaccelerating reference frames (inertial frames), so you first choose a reference frame in which the two particles have a total vector momentum of zero. Particles of equal mass would have equal & opposite velocities in this frame. This is also called the center of mass reference frame.Now it is clear (i hope its obvious to you) that when the particles annihilate, in this reference frame, you must have at least two photons created to guarantee zero momentum (identical photons going in opposite directions).Since the process can be viewed in any inertial frame if two photons must be created in one frame then two must be created in all frames....Show more

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