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By gathering the right data, we should be able to investigate the lifetimes of relativistic particles. That is, we would like to take time dilation, length contraction, and the statistical nature of particle decay into account as we analyze the results of experiments to successfully find the mean lifetimes of specific particles found in nature.

Now that we have the information, let us begin to solve the problem. Using readily available materials and information, how can we:

  1. Calculate the lifetimes of particles with relativistic energies?

  2. Show how relativity and statistics are used in Particle Physics?

Inspect all three different activities linked below for determining relativistic lifetimes and then choose your path . . . .

Simulation of a Muon Lifetime Experiment
Design Your Own Experiment
Existing Fermilab Data on the Lifetime of the Charmed Meson

Questions for Further Study and Reflection:

  1. A proton in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is accelerated to close to the speed of light as it circulates around the 27 km circumference accelerator ring. Is the ring 27 km around in the reference frame of the particle? Is it larger? Smaller? Is the LHC ring still circular in the reference frame of the proton?

  2. It takes the proton in the above question 0.09 milliseconds to go once around the ring in the reference frame of the accelerator control room. Does it take the same time in the reference frame of the proton? More time? Less?

  3. A proton going clockwise encounters a proton going counterclockwise in the LHC at "hyper-relativistic" energies. How does relativity affect the ability of quarks in one proton to interact with quarks in the other?