BRAINCAKEPair Production
If a photon with sufficient energy passes near a nucleus or an electron, it can suddenly change into a particle-antiparticle pair which would then separate from each other.
The photon creates a particle and a corresponding antiparticle with a minimum energy given by:
min Energy of photon
= h f min
= 2 E0
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Key terms in this lesson
- Photon
- A discrete packet, or quantum, of electromagnetic energy.
- Antiparticle
- A particle with the same rest mass as its corresponding particle but with opposite charge and opposite values of other quantum properties.
- Positron
- The antiparticle of the electron: it has the same mass as an electron but a positive charge.
More in Particles and Radiation
- The Electron Volt
- Photons
- Anti-matter
- Annihilation
- The Discovery of the Positron
- The Electromagnetic Force
- Feynman Diagrams
- The Weak Nuclear Force
All 22 lessons in Particles and Radiation · All AQA AS-level Physics topics