In reply to Axil Axil's message of Sun, 6 Sep 2015 18:02:31 -0400: Hi, [snip] >A muon track could look like a proton track in a cloud chamber. How can you >tell the difference? > >We can use a magnetic field to see which way the particle bends, either >positive for the proton or negative for the muon. I don't think that >Piantelli has proved the the particle he is seeing is a proton. It could be >any number of other subatomic particle types including mesons.
The length of the track would be an indicator. Muons are very penetrating, so would likely keep right on going through the chamber and out the other side. The track itself might be very thin or even invisible (not much interaction per atom). A proton track OTOH would probably stop in the chamber after maybe roughly 10 cm? 4-5 MeV alphas travel a few centimeters in air (2-5). Protons have a somewhat longer range, because they are only singly charged. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html
