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-1 votes
1 answer
136 views

Is this Why a Neutron can Decay Into a Proton, Electron and Electron Antineutrino?

A neutron is udd, then an u-anti-u starts to exist close to the neutron. Then the one d and u change places forming an uud (proton) and anti-ud which decays to an electron and electron-antineutrino. ...
Willem Esterhuyse's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
25 views

Improved estimate of density of free neutrons in solar core

In an answer to this question: Free neutrons in the sun's core? I made a very rough attempt to estimate the density of free neutrons in the solar core. There is some non-zero rate for production ...
Andrew Steane's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
74 views

$\beta^{+}$ and $\beta^{-}$ decay processes

We know that electron cannot exist inside the nucleus for various reasons like its energy, angular momentum violation and etc. But these $\beta^{+}$ and $\beta^{-}$ processes occurs inside the nuclei ...
Anshul Sharma's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
67 views

Has Anti-beta decay been observed?

I am looking for references or resources regarding the transition of an anti-neutron through weak decay, into an anti-proton, positron, and electron-neutrino. Have such studies been conducted or ...
4 votes
3 answers
891 views

Do cold neutrons produce radioactive elements?

As far as I have understood neutron nuclear reactions, if a fast neutron gets captured by a nucleus, since the kinetic energy has to go somewhere, the newly formed nucleus is radioactive and must ...
iblue's user avatar
  • 632
1 vote
1 answer
145 views

What determines whether free neutron decay results in the production of a neutral hydrogen atom?

Free neutrons (outside the nucleus) are known to be highly unstable with a mean lifetime of around 14 minutes and 40 seconds. Inside the neutron, which is composed of 1 up quark and 2 down quarks, a ...
schizoid_man's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
69 views

$W^-$ behavior in Neutron decay

Why does $W^-$ always decay into electron and anti-neutrino in neutron decay? Why doesn't the $W^-$ particle decay into quark-antiquark pair?
Kiran Karthik G's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

How can neutron be converted to proton and electron?

Since a neutron and a proton are made up of quarks and an electron is a lepton, how can a neutron yield an electron?
ranjitha bc's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
114 views

Could anyone explain how energy and momentum are conserved when an isolated neutron decays into a beta-minus particle?

I am not able to get to a reasonable explanation as to how momentum and energy are conserved when an electron, a proton, and a neutrino are created.
user206007's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
612 views

Why is the Beta-Decay of a Neutron asymmetric?

The Wu-experiment, which originally showed the parity violation of Beta-Decay experimentally, is often used to give an intuitive explanation for the asymmetry of the decay: $${}^{60}_{27}\text{Co} \...
Chris's user avatar
  • 41
2 votes
1 answer
141 views

What happens when we constantly observe a neutron?

The mechanism which we think neutrons decay is by the weak force. The interaction between the quarks of a neutron cause one of them to change their flavor to "up". Thus the neutron decays into a ...
user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
168 views

Cold neutron radiative capture by proton

What is the mechanism of cold neutron radiative capture by proton? I have seen some experimental papers on studies of parity violation via this reaction, but I haven't seen a fundamental description ...
MsTais's user avatar
  • 1,184
1 vote
1 answer
404 views

Why don't neutron stars transform into proton stars as a result of neutron beta decay? [duplicate]

Free neutrons, as we know them, are unstable and hence undergo a three-body decay into proton, electron and antineutrino with a mean lifetime of just under 15 minutes. But there are astrophysical ...
Rebel's user avatar
  • 115
3 votes
2 answers
863 views

How is an electron "recycled" in a neutron?

A proton is made up, they say, by 2 up and 1 down quark, drowned in a sea of virual paricles: when an electron is captured this process thereby changes a nuclear proton to a neutron and ...
user avatar
0 votes
4 answers
563 views

Change in the half-life of a neutron

What would happen if the half-life of a neutron was much more less than it is now? How could this affect the nuclei?
Mixalis's user avatar
  • 31

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