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Question 7
7. The following diagram gives information on the Standard Model of fundamental particles. (a) Explain why the proton and the neutron are not fundamental particles.... show full transcript
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Answer
The proton and neutron, though often referred to as fundamental particles, are actually composite particles. They are made up of smaller constituents known as quarks. While quarks themselves are considered fundamental particles, the combination of quarks held together by the strong force forms protons and neutrons, indicating that they possess internal structure.
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Answer
The statement 'All baryons are hadrons, but not all hadrons are baryons' is correct because baryons, such as protons and neutrons, are a specific category of hadrons made from three quarks. However, hadrons also include mesons, which are made from a quark-antiquark pair. Therefore, while all baryons qualify as hadrons, not all hadrons are classified as baryons.
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Answer
The charge on the strange quark can be derived from the balance of the total charge of the sigma particles. For the neutral sigma (Σ⁰) particle, which consists of one up quark (charge = rac{2}{3}e) and two down quarks (charge = -rac{1}{3}e each), the equation is:
rac{2}{3}e + 2 imes ext{-}rac{1}{3}e = 0
From this, it can be deduced that the charge of the strange quark is -rac{1}{3}e.
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Answer
To calculate the mean lifetime of the Σ⁻ particle from the perspective of an observer where it is moving at a speed of 0.9c, we utilize time dilation, given by:
t' = rac{t}{ ext{sqrt}(1 - v^2/c^2)}
Here, is the proper lifetime (1.5 × 10⁻⁸ s), so we first compute:
Taking the square root, we find:
Now, substituting back:
t' = rac{1.5 imes 10^{-8}}{0.43589} o t' ext{ (approximately) } 3.44 imes 10^{-8} ext{ s}
Thus, the mean lifetime of the Σ⁻ particle as measured by the observer is approximately s.
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