Conservation of charge or mass-energy?

Norris Rosener: These sub-atomic processes invoke the conservations of energy and momentum. So as gamma is all energy the total energy is E = hF = sqrt(e^2 + k^2)*sqrt(2) which is the total energy of the positron and electron, and e = mc^2 and k = Mvc, where m is the positron and electron rest mass, and k is the kinetic of each one and M is relativistic inertia ~ m when the resulting speeds v are not near light speed. The sqrt(2) accounts for the two particles: electron and positron.So there you are. The COE, which means both mass-energy (e = mc^2) and kinetic (k = mvc) in the energy audit. My point is that it's not just the mass-energy in the energy conservation.Of course the charges do add up. Starting with 0 charge on the gamma photon we have + 1 - 1 = 0 from the positron and electron; so the net charge is still zero. And that, too, is conserved. So you are right, two electrons, two - 1's, would not balance to net zero and two charges would be gained...- 2 in t! he daughter particles....Show more

Davina David: Conservation of Charge. The gamma ray presumably has enough energy to represent the total energy of the two particles produced, otherwise they will not form.Note also that gamma photons will not spontaneously form two particles, unless they can trigger off a charge... like a previously existing electron. So you might see (in a bubble chamber) the tracks to two electrons, and one positron. One of those electrons was already in existence....Show more

Lolita Deschamp: Conservation of charge.A photon as zero charge. So the products must have a total of zero charge.An electron has a charge of +e and a positron has charge of -e, the total is thereforee zero.