Naked Science Forum
On the Lighter Side => New Theories => Topic started by: talanum1 on 15/07/2021 10:40:12
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When a particle and its antiparticle meets at exactly equal and opposite momentum, does its annihilation still produce a photon?
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Yes and no.
Annihilation, as always, produces (at least) a pair of photons.
From some point of view, every annihilation happens when "a particle and its antiparticle meets at exactly equal and opposite momentum".
Imagine you were sat on the line between the two particles.
They would both be heading directly towards you.
Now imagine you were on that line but moving along it at the average of the speeds of the two particles.
They would come directly towards you at the same speed.
So their total momentum, from your point of view (and that of the bit of space where they collide) is always zero.