pair creation

Thân thiện

A scientist explains pair creation using a diagram in a physics textbook.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A nuclear physics process: "pair creation" refers specifically to the physical phenomenon in which a gamma-ray photon, upon interacting with the strong electric field near an atomic nucleus, is converted into two particles: an electron and its antiparticle, a positron.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Pair creation is a prime example of mass-energy conversion, as described by Einstein's equation.
  • The detector is designed to identify the simultaneous tracks of an electron and positron resulting from pair creation.
  • In astrophysics, pair creation can occur in the intense magnetic fields near pulsars.

Advanced Usage

• "threshold energy for pair creation": the minimum photon energy required for the process to occur, which is equivalent to the combined rest mass of the created electron and positron.
  • The threshold energy for pair creation is 1.022 MeV.

Variants and Related Words

• Pair production: This is a fully synonymous term for "pair creation" and is used interchangeably in physics literature.
• Annihilation: The inverse process to pair creation, where an electron and a positron collide and are converted back into photons.

Synonyms

• Pair production (n): The direct synonym, identical in meaning.

Related Scientific Concepts

• Photoelectric effect: A different process where a photon ejects an electron from an atom.
• Compton scattering: A process where a photon scatters off and transfers energy to an electron.
• Bremsstrahlung: The emission of a photon by a decelerating charged particle, often considered an inverse process in certain contexts.

Học thuật

Noun

1. the transformation of a gamma-ray photon into an electron and a positron when the photon passes close to an atomic nucleus

Từ đồng nghĩa

• pair production
• pair formation