Past exam of the physics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2015 / Paper 1 / Section B

An impulse is $\mathbf{J}=\int \mathbf{F}dt$, giving $\Delta \mathbf{P}=\mathbf{J}$. For a short localized impulse at displacement $\mathbf{r}$ from the centre of mass, the angular impulse is $\Delta {\mathbf{L}}_{\mathrm{CM}}=\mathbf{r}\times \mathbf{J}$; for a changing lever arm use its instantaneous value inside the integral. For a uniform solid sphere with volume density ${\rho }_V$, direct integration about the $z$ axis givesTake forward translation $u$ and forward-rolling clockwise spin $\Omega$ as positive. Neglect the table's tangential impulse during the much shorter cue impact. Immediately afterwards,The bottom contact point has slip velocity $s_0=u_0-a{\Omega }_0$. The cue height for immediate rolling is therefore $d=2a/5$.

For the impulse-driven slipping-to-rolling transition of a sphere at an arbitrary admissible impact height, let $J_f$ be the signed friction impulse accumulated before slipping ends. Translation and spin then obey $u_f=u_0+J_f/M$ and ${\Omega }_f={\Omega }_0-a{J}_f/I$. Impose $u_f=a{\Omega }_f$ and eliminate $J_f$:This expression handles both sliding directions. If $d<2a/5$, the contact point slips forward and friction slows the centre; if $d>2a/5$, excess spin makes it slip backward and friction accelerates the centre. friction still dissipates total mechanical energy. For ${\mu }_d>0$, $\dot{s}=-(7/2){\mu }_{d}g\mathrm{sgn}s$, so the slipping time is $2|s_0|/(7{\mu }_{d}g)$. Its duration depends on friction, while the final speed does not. With zero friction no slipping-to-rolling transition occurs unless rolling was present from the outset.

Newton's first law identifies inertial frames in which a force-free body maintains constant velocity. The second is $\dot{\mathbf{P}}={\mathbf{F}}_{\mathrm{net}}$ for a closed system; for fixed mass it becomes $m\mathbf{a}=\mathbf{F}$. The third gives equal and opposite pair forces. Summing the second law over a closed collection cancels internal force pairs, so total momentum is conserved when the resultant external force vanishes. A rocket alone is an open variable-mass subsystem, so one must include the momentum carried by exhaust before applying this reasoning.

Choose downward velocity as positive and write $M(t)=M_0-\alpha t$. During $dt$, exhaust mass $dm=\alpha dt$ leaves downward with speed $v+v_E$ in the surface frame. To first order, momentum balance for rocket plus this exhaust givesIntegration, with $v(0)=v_0$, yieldsSetting $g=0$ gives the gravity-free result. This assumes a constant downward relative exhaust speed, constant mass-loss rate and $M_0-\alpha t>0$ throughout the burn; the negative logarithm supplies the upward thrust effect.

Height satisfies $\dot{h}=-v$. Put $u(t)=1-\alpha t/M_0$. Integrating the logarithm and choosing $h(0)=h_0$ givesEquivalently, the last term is $v_E[t+(M_0-\alpha t)\log u/\alpha ]$. Differentiating either form recovers $-v$ and checks the sign.

For this constant-rate retro-rocket landing, at touchdown $u_L=3/4$ and $v_L=0$, henceThe fuel condition gives $\alpha =M_0/(4t_L)=200.30$ kg/s. Requiring $h(t_L)=0$ then givesIn this burn the downward speed decreases monotonically to zero: the initial thrust acceleration already exceeds gravity and increases as fuel is consumed. The result is the idealized vertical landing, without atmospheric drag, changing gravity or a separate terminal burn phase.

For a particle of rest mass $m_r$, $E=\gamma m_r{c}^2$ and $p=\gamma m_{r}v$, with $\gamma =(1-v^2/c^2{)}^{-1/2}$. The low-speed expansion is $E=m_r{c}^2+\frac{1}{2}{m}_r{v}^2+O(m_r{v}^4/c^2)$, separating invariant rest energy from the nonrelativistic kinetic energy term.

Conserve the total laboratory energy and momentum at coalescence: $E_{\mathrm{tot}}=4m{c}^2$ and $p_{\mathrm{tot}}=2.4mc$. Since $V=c^2{p}_{\mathrm{tot}}/E_{\mathrm{tot}}$, the combined particle moves at $0.6c$. Its rest mass is $M=\sqrt{4^2-2.4^2}m=3.2m$. The incident particle is not of mass $m$: its stated energy and momentum imply $m_{\mathrm{incident}}=\sqrt{3^2-2.4^2}m=1.8m$. ThusThe extra $0.4m{c}^2$ is internal rest energy retained by the composite after a perfectly inelastic collision; total energy and four-momentum are conserved, while the sum of individual rest masses need not be.

The composite's Lorentz factor is $1.25$. For a rest-frame lifetime $\tau$, the corresponding laboratory time is $1.25\tau$ and its travel distance isIf $\tau$ denotes a mean radioactive lifetime, this is the mean flight distance, not a fixed distance for every decay. The separate frame diagrams below use the common positive collision axis.

In the laboratory frame the incoming particle and the composite move along $+x$, while the target is initially at rest. In the equal-energy two-photon decay of a moving particle, zero total transverse momentum makes the two photon directions symmetric about $+x$. Each photon has energy $2m{c}^2$ and momentum magnitude $2mc$, so longitudinal momentum conservation gives $2(2mc)\cos \theta =2.4mc$. ThereforeTheir momenta can be written $(1.2,\pm 1.6)mc$. The opening angle is not $180^{\circ }$ in this frame, because the parent carried nonzero total momentum.

Boost along $+x$ at $0.6c$ into the centre-of-momentum frame. The composite is stationary. The incoming particle has $p_x^{\prime }=1.25(2.4-0.6\times 3)mc=0.75mc$, while the target has $p_x^{\prime }=-0.75mc$. After decay the two photons have energies $M{c}^2/2=1.6m{c}^2$ and opposite momenta.

Equal laboratory photon energies require the rest-frame photons to have zero momentum component along the boost: $E_{\mathrm{lab}}=\gamma (E^{\prime }+V{p}_x^{\prime })$ must be equal for two opposite photons. Their directions are therefore $+y$ and $-y$ in the centre-of-momentum diagram, perpendicular to the incoming collision axis. Boosting those transverse photons gives exactly the laboratory momenta in part (a). A stationary composite has no direction-of-travel arrow in this frame.