Is an electron a muon?

Is an electron a muon?

The muon (/ˈmjuːɒn/; from the Greek letter mu (μ) used to represent it) is an elementary particle similar to the electron, with an electric charge of −1 e and a spin of 1/2, but with a much greater mass. It is classified as a lepton.

Can a muon orbit a proton?

Muonic hydrogen is an exotic hydrogen atom, where a muon (instead of an electron) orbits the proton. Because the muon is 200 times heavier than the electron, the muon’s orbit is 200 times closer to the proton in muonic hydrogen than that of the electron in regular hydrogen.

Is a muon heavier than a proton?

The next-heavier charged lepton is the muon. It has a mass of 106 MeV, which is some 200 times greater than the electron’s mass but is significantly less than the proton’s mass of 938 MeV. The tau, with a mass of 1,777 MeV, is even heavier than the proton and has a very short lifetime of about 10−13 second.

How are muons formed?

Muons are generated in the Earth’s upper atmosphere by cosmic rays (high energy protons) colliding with atomic nuclei of molecules in the air. We can form surface muon beams from pions decaying at the surface of the target. That beam is made of positive muons only, as the negative muons are captured.

How are muons created in particle accelerators?

Muons are generated in the Earth’s upper atmosphere by cosmic rays (high energy protons) colliding with atomic nuclei of molecules in the air. High energy protons (>500 MeV) generated by a particle accelerator collide into a carbon or beryllium target.

What is the role of the muon in this atom?

In this atom, the muon acts as the nucleus. The positive muon, in this context, can be considered a pseudo-isotope of hydrogen with one ninth of the mass of the proton. Because the reduced mass of muonium, and hence its Bohr radius, is very close to that of hydrogen, this short-lived “atom” (or a muon and electron)…

Can a positive muon be captured by a proton?

A positive muon, when stopped in ordinary matter, cannot be captured by a proton since it would need to be an antiproton. The positive muon is also not attracted to the nucleus of atoms. Instead, it binds a random electron and with this electron forms an exotic atom known as muonium (Mu) atom.

Why are muonic hydrogen atoms much smaller than hydrogen atoms?

Muonic hydrogen atoms are much smaller than typical hydrogen atoms because the much larger mass of the muon gives it a much more localized ground-state wavefunction than is observed for the electron.

What is the opposite charge of a muon?

Like all elementary particles, the muon has a corresponding antiparticle of opposite charge (+1 e) but equal mass and spin: the antimuon (also called a positive muon). Muons are denoted by. μ −.