Can two photons make an electron?
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Can two photons make an electron?
For example, a photon can turn into an electron and an anti-electron. If two photons head towards each other and they both turn into electron/anti-electron pairs at about the same time, then these particles can interact. A photon comes from the left of the diagram and decays into an electron and an anti-electron.
Why does electron-positron annihilation produce two photons?
These photons are emitted in opposite directions and each have an energy of 0.511 MeV. (The reason TWO photons are produced may seem a bit complicated, but two are needed to conserve both momentum and energy. Briefly, since the electron and the positron were at rest, the total system had no momentum.
How much energy must a photon have if it is to have the momentum of a 10 MeV proton?
The total energy of the 10MeV proton would be 948.28MeV because the proton rest energy is 938.28MeV.
What particles make up a photon?
The photon belongs to the class of bosons. Like all elementary particles, photons are currently best explained by quantum mechanics and exhibit wave–particle duality, their behavior featuring properties of both waves and particles….Photon.
| Photons are emitted in threaded laser beams | |
|---|---|
| Composition | Elementary particle |
| Symbol | γ |
Why are there 2 photons produced in annihilation?
Annihilation occurs when a particle and a corresponding antiparticle meet and their mass is converted into radiation energy. Two photons are produced in the process (as a single photon only would take away momentum which isn’t allowed, as no outside forces act).
What type of photons create electrons and positrons?
Gamma-Ray
Gamma-Ray Astronomy In the pair production process, an incident gamma ray of sufficiently high energy is annihilated in the Coulomb field of a nearby charged particle, resulting in the creation of an electron–positron pair.