College Physics 10th Edition by Raymond Serway,Chris Vuille

Exercise 35

One method of producing neutrons for experimental use is to bombard Li with protons. The neutrons are emitted according to the reaction
(a) Calculate the mass in atomic mass units of the particles on the left side of the equation. (b) Calculate the mass (in atomic mass units) of the particles on the right side of the equation. (c) Subtract the answer for part (b) from that for part (a) and convert the result to mega electron volts, obtaining the Q value for this reaction. (d) Assuming lithium is initially at rest, the proton is moving at velocity v , and the resulting beryllium and neutron are both moving at velocity V after the collision, write an expression describing conservation of momentum for this reaction in terms of the masses m p , m Be , m n , and the velocities. (e) Write an expression relating the kinetic energies of particles before and after together with Q. (f) What minimum kinetic energy must the incident proton have if this reaction is to occur