Modern physics relativity and nuclear physics questions

Solution Preview

---

Following is the text part of the solution. Please see the attached file for complete solution. Equations, diagrams, graphs and special characters will not appear correctly here. Thank you for using Brainmass.
===============================================================================

Relativity

1. A conclusion from special relativity is that events that are simultaneous in one inertial frame
are simultaneous in all inertial reference frames.
are simultaneous in all inertial frames moving at the same speed.
may not be simultaneous in another inertial reference frame.
are simultaneous in inertial reference frames moving in the same direction.
are simultaneous in inertial reference frames moving in the opposite direction.

2. A spaceship is observed from the Earth to be moving toward a star at a speed of 0.80 c. If the distance from the spaceship to the star is 1.6 light-years as measured from earth, how long does an observer on Earth find that it takes for the space ship to reach the star?
2.0 years
2.1 years
1.6 years
1.2 years
0.96 years

No relativity involved in the calculations, since everything is measured with respect to a single frame namely earth.

t = d/v = 1.6 c /0.8 c = 2 years

3. A spaceship is observed from the Earth to be moving toward a star at a speed of 0.80 c. If the distance from the spaceship to the star is 1.6 ly as measured from earth, how much time passes on the space ship while traveling to the star?
2.0 years
2.1 years
1.9 years
1.2 years
0.96 years

As observed from space ship, distance = 1.6 ly/¦Ã
where ¦Ã = 1/ sqrt(1-v^2/c^2) = 1.666.
As observed from space ship, distance = 1.6 ly/¦Ã = 0.96 ly
Time as measured from space ship = distance/velocity = 0.96 c /0.8 y = 1.2 y

4. How fast is a particle moving if its kinetic energy is equal to its rest energy?
0
0.57 c
0.75 c
0.87 c
0.50 c

Relativistic K.E = ¦Ã mc^2 ¨C mc^2
Rest energy = mc^2
Equating these two and solving for v, one get v = 0.87 c
Note that ¦Ã = 1/ sqrt(1-v^2/c^2)

5. If the momentum of an electron is 1.53 MeV/c, what is its kinetic energy?
1.53 Mev
1.02 Mev
1.44 Mev
1.10 Mev
2.59 Mev

K.E = [sqrt(p^2c^2 ¨C mc^2)] ¨C mc^2
For electron mc^2 = 0.511 Mev
Plugging in the given value for p, we get K.E = 1.10 Mev

6. The rest energy of a proton is 938.3 MeV. What is the kinetic energy of a proton moving at 0.80 c?
1564 Mev
1251 Mev
938.3 Mev
2502 Mev
626 Mev

¦Ã = 1/ sqrt(1-v^2/c^2) = 1.666.
K.E = ¦Ã mc^2 ¨C mc^2 = 938.3 * (¦Ã-1) = 626 Mev

7. A star like the sun has a luminosity of 3.9E+26 W. How much mass must be turned into energy each second to produce this power?
1.3E+18 kg
...