Difference between revisions of "Muon"
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Muons are elementary particles which interact '''graviationally''', '''electromagnetically''' and '''weakly'''. The particles do not undergo strong interactions, owing to their half-integer spin. | Muons are elementary particles which interact '''graviationally''', '''electromagnetically''' and '''weakly'''. The particles do not undergo strong interactions, owing to their half-integer spin. | ||
| − | The mass of muons is about 106 MeV/c<sup>2</sup>, making them about 207 times heavier than electrons. | + | The mass of muons is about 106 MeV/c<sup>2</sup>, making them about 207 times heavier than electrons. |
| − | + | ||
| − | The weak interaction mediates the decay of muons. As weak processes can be considered ''slow'' | + | Muons have unit electric charge. Conventionally, muons (μ<sup>-</sup>) are considered to carry a negative charge, while their anti-matter counterparts (anti-muons or μ<sup>+</sup>) are positively charged. |
| + | The weak interaction mediates the decay of muons. As weak processes can be considered ''slow'' on typical sub-atomic timescales, the muons exhibit a mean lifetime of about 2.2 μs. The most common decay products are electrons and neutrinos. | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
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| Spin || 1/2 | | Spin || 1/2 | ||
|} | |} | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Muons in cosmic showers == | ||
| + | |||
| + | Muons appear in cosmic showers as secondary shower particles. Owing to their finite lifetime, the mean path of muonic shower particles is limited. | ||
| + | Classically, one | ||
| + | <math> | ||
| + | s = v t | ||
| + | </math> | ||
Revision as of 13:15, 10 April 2020
A muon (μ) is an elementary particle with unit electric charge and a mass of about 106 MeV/c2. Muons have a mean lifetime of about 2.2 μs and decay primarily into electrons and neutrinos.
Particle properties
Muons are elementary particles which interact graviationally, electromagnetically and weakly. The particles do not undergo strong interactions, owing to their half-integer spin. The mass of muons is about 106 MeV/c2, making them about 207 times heavier than electrons.
Muons have unit electric charge. Conventionally, muons (μ-) are considered to carry a negative charge, while their anti-matter counterparts (anti-muons or μ+) are positively charged. The weak interaction mediates the decay of muons. As weak processes can be considered slow on typical sub-atomic timescales, the muons exhibit a mean lifetime of about 2.2 μs. The most common decay products are electrons and neutrinos.
| Interactions | Gravity, Electromagnetic, Weak |
| Mass | 105.6583755(23) MeV/c2 |
| Mean lifetime | 2.1969811(22) x 10-6 s |
| Electric charge | 1 |
| Spin | 1/2 |
Muons in cosmic showers
Muons appear in cosmic showers as secondary shower particles. Owing to their finite lifetime, the mean path of muonic shower particles is limited. Classically, one
