question_answer 55)

  Before the neutrino hypothesis, the beta process was thought to be the transition,  If this was true, show that if the neutron was at rest, the proton and electron would emerge with fixed energies and calculate them. Experimentally, the electron energy was found to have a large range.

Answer:

                  We are supporting that -decay is due to the transition Suppose before beta decay, neutron is at rest.        After -decay, from conservation of linear momentum, we have                 Also,            and From conservation of energy , i.e.,                                                                         ?(i) As energy difference between mp c2 and  is small , therefore pc will be small.         However, pc may be greater than mec2. Therefore, from (i),                                                   To first order of approximation, This gives the momentum of proton or neutron. and