Fundamentals of Physics Extended (10th Edition)

Published by Wiley
ISBN 10: 1-11823-072-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-11823-072-5

Chapter 43 - Energy from the Nucleus - Problems - Page 1332: 25a

Answer

$ \frac{\Delta K}{K}=\frac{4 m_n m}{\left(m+m_n\right)^2} $

Work Step by Step

The energy lost by the neutron is the same as the energy gained by the target nucleus, so $ \Delta K=\frac{1}{2} m v_f^2=\frac{1}{2} \frac{4 m_n^2 m}{\left(m+m_n\right)^2} v_{n i}^2 . $ The initial kinetic energy of the neutron is $K=\frac{1}{2} m_n v_{n i}^2$, so $ \frac{\Delta K}{K}=\frac{4 m_n m}{\left(m+m_n\right)^2} $
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