A nucleus whose mass is 3.499612 × 10−25 kg undergoes spontaneous “alpha” decay. The original nucleus disappears and there appear two new particles: a He-4 nucleus of mass 6.640678 × 10−27 kg (an...

A nucleus whose mass is 3.499612 × 10−25 kg undergoes spontaneous “alpha” decay. The original nucleus disappears and

there appear two new particles: a He-4 nucleus of mass 6.640678 × 10−27 kg (an “alpha particle” consisting of two protons

and two neutrons) and a new nucleus of mass 3.433132 × 10−25 kg (note that the new nucleus has less mass than the original

nucleus, and it has two fewer protons and two fewer neutrons).

(a) When the alpha particle has moved far away from the new nucleus (so the electric interactions are negligible), what

is the combined kinetic energy of the alpha particle and new nucleus?

(b) How many electron volts is this?

In contrast to this nuclear reaction, chemical reactions typically involve only a few eV.