A uranium nucleus 238^U may stay in one piece for billions of years, but sooner or later it decays into an α particle of mass 6.64 × 10−27^ kg and 234Th nucleus of mass 3.88 × 10−25^ kg, and the decay process itself is extremely fast (it takes about 10−20^ s).
A uranium nucleus 238^U may stay in one piece for billions of years,
but sooner or later it decays into an α particle of mass 6.64 × 10−27^ kg and 234Th nucleus of mass 3.88 × 10−25^ kg, and the decay process itself is extremely fast (it takes about 10−20^ s). Suppose the uranium nucleus was at rest just before the decay.
If the α particle is emitted at a speed of 5.45×106^ m/s, what would be the recoil speed of the thorium nucleus?
Answer in units of m/s.