Questions
Question 1
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State the formula for relativistic momentum.
Question 2
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What does \(m\) mean in \(p=\gamma mv\)?
Question 3
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What is the low-speed limit of relativistic momentum?
Question 4
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A particle with mass \(m\) moves at \(0.600c\). Find \(p\) in units of \(mc\).
Question 5
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A particle with mass \(m\) moves at \(0.800c\). Find \(p\) in units of \(mc\).
Question 6
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A proton with rest energy \(938\,\mathrm{MeV}\) moves at \(0.600c\). Find \(pc\).
Question 7
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Why does relativistic momentum increase without bound as \(v\to c\)?
Question 8
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A particle has \(p=3.00mc\). Find \(\gamma\beta\).
Question 9
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A particle has \(\beta=0.900\). Find \(p/(mc)\).
Question 10
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A proton with rest energy \(938\,\mathrm{MeV}\) moves at \(0.800c\). Find \(p\) in \(\mathrm{MeV}\,c^{-1}\).
Question 11
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Find the speed of a particle for which \(p=mc\).
Question 12
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A particle has \(pc=4.00\,\mathrm{GeV}\) and rest energy \(3.00\,\mathrm{GeV}\). Find its speed as a fraction of \(c\).
Question 13
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A photon has energy \(3.20\times10^{-19}\,\mathrm J\). Find its momentum.
Question 14
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Explain why \(p=mv\) can badly underestimate momentum at high speed.
Question 15
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A particle's momentum is doubled from \(mc\) to \(2mc\). Does its speed double?
Question 16
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Derive \(pc=\gamma\beta mc^2\) from \(p=\gamma mv\).
Question 17
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Show that \(\beta=pc/E\) for a massive relativistic particle.
Question 18
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Why can a photon have momentum even though its rest mass is zero?
Question 19
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A particle and antiparticle have equal and opposite momenta. Explain why total momentum is zero but total energy is not.
Question 20
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Explain why relativistic momentum is needed for momentum conservation to hold in all inertial frames.