Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-course-of-the-year-4-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2015/paper-1/section-a/a9/solution
Past exam of the physics course of the year 4 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2015 Paper 1 Section A A9 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Assume independent arrivals at constant rate , so the count follows a Poisson distribution. In its mean is . ThereforeOver observation time , the rate estimate is and its standard deviation is . Thus the fractional one-standard-error uncertainty is . To make this strictly less than ten per cent requiresThe mean current magnitude is . The accuracy statement needs a confidence convention: the boxed time uses one standard error, not a guaranteed bound on every realization. A Gaussian 95-percent relative interval would instead require approximately events, or . Dead time and correlated arrivals would need another count model; the mean rate alone does not establish Poisson statistics.
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