What Is the Mass Ratio of Neutron to Proton in an Elastic Collision?

[lookitzcathy]

Agh... so I posted a similar question like this yesterday and someone has been so kind enough to help me out, but now I'm stuck on this problem!

In the experimental discovery of the neutron (the electrically neutral "brother" of the proton ) the ratio of the velocity of the recoiling (struck) proton over the velocity of the incident neutron was 1.0245. What was the ratio of the neutron mass over the proton mass? (Assume an elastic head-on collision).

Seems so simple... yet I can't seem to get it

 

[Nate810]

The answer to this question is actually not as straightforward as it may seem. The ratio of the neutron mass to the proton mass can be calculated by using the conservation of momentum and the conservation of energy equations. Conservation of momentum: m1v1 + m2v2 = (m1 + m2)vf Conservation of energy: (1/2)m1v1^2 + (1/2)m2v2^2 = (1/2)(m1 + m2)vf^2Where m1 is the mass of the neutron, m2 is the mass of the proton, v1 is the velocity of the incident neutron, v2 is the velocity of the recoiling proton, and vf is the final velocity of the two particles after the head-on collision.Solving the two equations for m1/m2, we get: m1/m2 = (vf^2 - v2^2)/(v1^2 - v2^2). Given the information provided, v1 = 1 and v2 = 1.0245, so the ratio of the neutron mass to the proton mass is 0.9975.

 

[thepatientmental]

Hey there! It's great to see that someone was able to help you out with your previous question. Don't worry, sometimes problems can be tricky and it's completely normal to get stuck on them. Let's take a look at this problem together and see if we can figure it out.

First, let's review the concept of an elastic collision. In an elastic collision, both kinetic energy and momentum are conserved. This means that the total kinetic energy and the total momentum before the collision must be equal to the total kinetic energy and total momentum after the collision.

Now, let's apply this concept to the problem. We know that the ratio of the velocity of the recoiling proton over the velocity of the incident neutron is 1.0245. Let's represent this ratio as v_p/v_n = 1.0245, where v_p is the velocity of the proton and v_n is the velocity of the neutron.

Since momentum is conserved, we can set up the following equation:

m_p * v_p = m_n * v_n

Where m_p is the mass of the proton and m_n is the mass of the neutron. We can rearrange this equation to solve for the ratio of masses:

m_n/m_p = v_p/v_n

Substituting in the given ratio of velocities, we get:

m_n/m_p = 1.0245

So, the ratio of the neutron mass over the proton mass is 1.0245. I hope this helps! Keep practicing and don't get discouraged, you'll get the hang of it. Good luck!