Relativistic particles speed through the atmosphere of the Earth at 0.6c. If the upper atmosphere is 500 km from the ground, from the perspective of an observer on Earth, how long does it take the particles to travel that distance? Please show all the steps and equations
Neglecting the effects of the atmosphere and the relativistic effects, we have:
.60 X 299,792,458=179,875,474.8m, the speed of the particle; the height of 500Km X 1,000=500,000m, hence 500,000/179,875,474.8=1/360 of 1 second. Time that the particle will take to reach the ground.
