Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: jaiii on 12/01/2014 20:39:00

Title: Photon+positron
Post by: jaiii on 12/01/2014 20:39:00

Hey.

Can be divided photon to electron and positron?
And how?

Thank you.

Goodbye.

Title: Re: Photon+positron
Post by: evan_au on 13/01/2014 11:48:16

One photon can't produce an electron & positron entirely by itself.
To ensure conservation of energy, momentum and charge, two photons (gamma rays) are required to produce an electron/positron pair.
Pair production can also occur from interaction of a gamma ray with an atomic nucleus.
The energy provided by the Gamma ray(s) must be at least 1.2 MeV, which is the energy corresponding to the mass of an electron plus a positron.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pair_production

Title: Re: Photon+positron
Post by: jaiii on 13/01/2014 13:12:18

Thank.