A stationary unstable neutral particle decays into 2 separate particles with equal mass and velocity, what might the resulting bubble chamber diagram look like?

The two decayed particles will form identical spirals but in the opposite direction to one another, as they will have to be oppositely charged to preserve the overall charge. The spiral patterns will be identical as the two particles will have equal momentum, overall momentum is still unchanged as the vector sum of the two particle's momenta will still be zero. 

PL
Answered by Patrick L. Physics tutor

3329 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

How do you work out the work out the current through resistors in parallel?


A pendulum of mass m is released from height h with a speed v at the bottom of its swing. a) What is the gravitational potential energy at height h and the kinetic energy at the bottom of its swing? b) Use conservation of energy to define the speed v.


A car travelling at 28 m/s brakes until it stops completely after travelling a distance of 15 m. Calculate the deceleration of the car.


If an alpha particle (Z = 2) of kinetic energy 7 MeV is incident on a gold nucleus (Z = 79), what is its closest distance of approach?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning