College Physics (7th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-32160-183-1
ISBN 13: 978-0-32160-183-4

Chapter 26 - Relativity - Learning Path Questions and Exercises - Conceptual Questions - Page 905: 15

Answer

Classical physics works with 2MeV but not with 2000 MeV.

Work Step by Step

The rest energy of the proton is 938 MeV and since the kinetic energy is much less than this, classical dynamics techniques are fine for solving the problem. However, when the kinetic energy is 2000 MeV, relativity is required.
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