Big encyclopedia of oil and gas. Elementary particles

Whole material world, according to modern physics, is built from three elementary particles: proton, neutron and electron. In addition, according to science, there are other "elementary" particles of matter in the universe, some names of which are clearly more than the norm. At the same time, the function of these other "elementary particles" in the existence and evolution of the universe is not clear.

Consider another interpretation of elementary particles:

There is only one elementary particle matter is a proton. All other "elementary particles", including the neutron and the electron, are only derivatives of the proton, and they play a very modest role in the evolution of the universe. Let us consider how such "elementary particles" are formed.

We examined in detail the structure of an elementary particle of matter in the article "". Briefly about the elementary particle:

An elementary particle of matter has the form of an elongated thread in space.
An elementary particle is capable of stretching. In the process of stretching, the density of matter inside an elementary particle falls.
The section of an elementary particle, where the density of matter falls by half, we called matter quantum .
In the process of motion, the elementary particle continuously absorbs (folds, ) energy.
Energy absorption point( annihilation point ) is at the tip of the motion vector of an elementary particle.
More precisely: on the tip of the active quantum of matter.
Absorbing energy, the elementary particle continuously increases the speed of its forward movement.
The elementary particle of matter is a dipole. In which the attractive forces are concentrated in the front part (in the direction of motion) of the particle, and the repulsive forces are concentrated in the rear part.

The property of being elementary in space theoretically means the possibility of reducing the density of matter to zero. And this, in turn, means the possibility of its mechanical rupture: the place of rupture of an elementary particle of matter can be represented as its section with zero density of matter.

In the process of annihilation (absorption of energy), an elementary particle, folding energy, continuously increases the speed of its translational motion in space.

The evolution of the galaxy, in the end, leads the elementary particles of matter to the moment when they become capable of exerting a tearing effect on each other. Elementary particles may not meet on parallel courses, when one particle approaches another slowly and smoothly, like a ship to a pier. They can meet in space and on opposite trajectories. Then a hard collision and, as a result, a break of an elementary particle is almost inevitable. They can get under a very powerful wave of perturbation of energy, which also leads to a rupture.

What can be the "debris" formed as a result of the rupture of an elementary particle of matter?

Let us consider the case when, as a result of external influence, from elementary particles of matter - a deuterium atom - decayed into a proton and a neutron.

The rupture of the pair structure does not occur at the place of their connection -. One of the two elementary particles of the pair structure breaks.

Proton and neutron differ from each other in their structure.

A proton is a slightly shortened (after a break) elementary particle,
neutron - a structure consisting of one full-fledged elementary particle and a "stump" - the front, light tip of the first particle.

A full-fledged elementary particle has a complete set - "N" matter quanta in its composition. The proton has "N-n" matter quanta. The neutron has "N + n" quanta.

The behavior of the proton is clear. Even having lost the final quanta of matter, he actively continues energy: the density of matter of his new final quantum always corresponds to the conditions of annihilation. This new final quantum of matter becomes a new point of annihilation. In general, the proton behaves as expected. The properties of protons are well described in any physics textbook. Only it will become a little lighter than its "full-fledged" counterpart - a full-fledged elementary particle of matter.

The neutron behaves differently. Consider first the structure of the neutron. It is its structure that explains its "strangeness".

Essentially, the neutron consists of two parts. The first part is a full-fledged elementary particle of matter with an annihilation point at its front end. The second part is a strongly shortened, light "stump" of the first elementary particle, left after the rupture of the double structure, and also having an annihilation point. These two parts are interconnected by annihilation points. Thus, the neutron has a double annihilation point.

The logic of thinking suggests that these two weighted parts of the neuron will behave differently. If the first part, which is a full-weight elementary particle, will, as expected, annihilate free energy and gradually accelerate in the space of the universe, then the second, lightweight part will begin to annihilate free energy at a higher rate.

The movement of an elementary particle of matter in space is carried out due to: the diffusing energy drags a particle that has fallen into its flows. It is clear that the less massive a particle of matter, the easier it is for energy flows to drag this particle along with it, the higher the speed of this particle. It is clear that what large quantity energy is simultaneously folded by an active quantum, the more powerful the flows of diffusing energy, the easier it is for these flows to drag a particle along with them. We get the dependency: The speed of the translational motion of a particle of matter in space is proportional to the mass of the matter of its active quantum and is inversely proportional to the total mass of the particle of matter :

The second, lightweight part of the neutron has a mass that is many times less than the mass of a full-weight elementary particle of matter. But the masses of their active quanta are equal. That is: they annihilate energy at the same rate. We get: the speed of the translational motion of the second part of the neutron will tend to increase rapidly, and it will begin to annihilate the energy faster. (In order not to introduce confusion, we will call the second, lightweight, part of the neutron an electron).

drawing of a neutron

A sharply increasing amount of energy annihilated simultaneously by an electron, while it is in the composition of a neutron, leads to the inertness of the neutron. The electron begins to annihilate more energy than its "neighbor" - a full-fledged elementary particle. It cannot yet break away from the common neutron annihilation point: powerful forces of attraction interfere. As a result, the electron begins to "eat" behind the common annihilation point.

At the same time, the electron begins to shift relative to its partner and its condensation free energy falls within the range of its neighbor's annihilation point. Which immediately begins to "eat" this thickening. Such a switching of an electron and a full-fledged particle to "internal" resources - the condensation of free energy behind the annihilation point - leads to a rapid drop in the forces of attraction and repulsion of the neutron.

The detachment of the electron from the general structure of the neutron occurs at the moment when the displacement of the electron relative to a full-weight elementary particle becomes large enough, the force tending to break the bonds of attraction of two annihilation points begins to exceed the force of attraction of these annihilation points, and the second, light part of the neutron (electron) quickly flies away away.

As a result, the neutron decays into two units: a full-fledged elementary particle - a proton and a light, shortened part of an elementary particle of matter - an electron.

According to modern data, the structure of a single neutron exists for about fifteen minutes. It then spontaneously decays into a proton and an electron. These fifteen minutes are the time of displacement of the electron relative to the common point of annihilation of the neutron and its struggle for its "freedom".

Let's sum up some results:

PROTON is a full-fledged elementary particle of matter, with one point of annihilation, or a heavy part of an elementary particle of matter, which remains after light quanta are separated from it.
NEUTRON is a double structure, having two annihilation points, and consisting of an elementary particle of matter, and a light, front part of another elementary particle of matter.
ELECTRON - the front part of the elementary particle of matter, which has one point of annihilation, consisting of light quanta, formed as a result of the rupture of the elementary particle of matter.
The “proton-neutron” structure recognized by science is the DEUTERIUM ATOM, a structure of two elementary particles that has a double annihilation point.

An electron is not an independent elementary particle revolving around the nucleus of an atom.

The electron, as science considers it, is not in the composition of the atom.

And the nucleus of an atom, as such, does not exist in nature, just as there is no neutron in the form of an independent elementary particle of matter.

Both the electron and the neutron are derivatives of a pair structure of two elementary particles, after it is broken into two unequal parts as a result of external influence. In the composition of an atom of any chemical element, a proton and a neutron are a standard pair structure - two full-weight elementary particles of matter - two protons united by annihilation points.

In modern physics, there is an unshakable position that the proton and electron have equal but opposite electric charges. Allegedly, as a result of the interaction of these opposite charges, they are attracted to each other. Pretty logical explanation. It correctly reflects the mechanism of the phenomenon, but it is completely wrong - its essence.

Elementary particles have neither positive nor negative "electric" charges, just as there is no special form of matter in the form of an "electric field". Such "electricity" is an invention of man, caused by his inability to explain the existing state of affairs.

The "electrical" and electron to each other is actually created by energy flows directed to their annihilation points, as a result of their forward movement in the space of the universe. When they fall into the zone of action of the forces of attraction of each other. It really looks like an interaction of equal in magnitude but opposite electric charges.

"similar electric charges", for example: two protons or two electrons also has a different explanation. Repulsion occurs when one of the particles enters the zone of action of the repulsive forces of another particle - that is, the zone of energy condensation behind its annihilation point. We covered this in a previous article.

The interaction "proton - antiproton", "electron - positron" also has a different explanation. By such an interaction we understand the interaction of the spirit of protons or electrons when they move on a collision course. In this case, due to their interaction only by attraction (there is no repulsion, since the repulsion zone of each of them is behind them), their hard contact occurs. As a result, instead of two protons (electrons), we get completely different “elementary particles”, which are actually derivatives of the rigid interaction of these two protons (electrons).

The atomic structure of substances. Atom Model

Consider the structure of the atom.

Neutron and electron - as elementary particles of matter - do not exist. This is what we have discussed above. Accordingly: there is no nucleus of an atom and its electron shell. This error is a powerful obstacle to further research into the structure of matter.

The only elementary particle of matter is only the proton. An atom of any chemical element consists of paired structures of two elementary particles of matter (with the exception of isotopes, where more elementary particles are added to the paired structure).

For our further reasoning, it is necessary to consider the concept of a common annihilation point.

Elementary particles of matter interact with each other by annihilation points. This interaction leads to the formation of material structures: atoms, molecules, physical bodies… Which have a common atom annihilation point, a common molecule annihilation point…

GENERAL ANNIHILATION POINT - is the union of two single annihilation points of elementary particles of matter into a common annihilation point of a pair structure, or common annihilation points of pair structures into a common annihilation point of an atom of a chemical element, or common annihilation points of atoms chemical elements– to the common molecular annihilation point .

The main thing here is that the union of particles of matter acts as attraction and repulsion as a single integral object. In the end, even any physical body can be represented as a common point of annihilation of this physical body: this body attracts other physical bodies to itself as a single, integral physical object, as a single point of annihilation. In this case, we get gravitational phenomena - attraction between physical bodies.

In the phase of the development cycle of the galaxy, when the forces of attraction become large enough, the unification of deuterium atoms into the structures of other atoms begins. The atoms of chemical elements are formed sequentially, as the speed of the translational motion of elementary particles of matter increases (read: the speed of the translational motion of the galaxy in the space of the universe increases) by attaching new pair structures of elementary particles of matter to the deuterium atom.

The unification occurs sequentially: in each new atom, one new pair structure of elementary particles of matter appears (less often, a single elementary particle). What gives us the combination of deuterium atoms into the structure of other atoms:

A common point of annihilation of the atom appears. This means that our atom will interact by attraction and repulsion with all other atoms and elementary particles as a single integral structure.
The space of the atom appears, inside which the density of free energy will many times exceed the density of free energy outside its space. A very high energy density behind a single annihilation point inside the space of an atom simply will not have time to drop strongly: the distances between elementary particles are too small. The average free energy density in the intraatomic space is many times greater than the value of the free energy density constant of the space of the universe.

In the construction of atoms of chemical elements, molecules chemical substances, physical bodies, the most important law of interaction of material particles and bodies is manifested:

The strength of intranuclear, chemical, electrical, gravitational bonds depends on the distances between annihilation points inside an atom, between common annihilation points of atoms inside molecules, between common annihilation points of molecules inside physical bodies, between physical bodies. The smaller the distance between common annihilation points, the more powerful attractive forces act between them.

It is clear that:

By intranuclear bonds we mean interactions between elementary particles and between pair structures within atoms.
By chemical bonds we mean interactions between atoms in the structure of molecules.
By electrical connections, we understand the interactions between molecules in the composition of physical bodies, liquids, gases.
By gravitational bonds we mean interactions between physical bodies.

The formation of the second chemical element - the helium atom - occurs when the galaxy accelerates in space to a sufficiently high speed. When the attractive force of two deuterium atoms reaches a large value, they approach at a distance that allows them to combine into a quadruple structure of the helium atom.

A further increase in the speed of the progressive motion of the galaxy leads to the formation of atoms of the subsequent (according to the periodic table) chemical elements. At the same time: the genesis of atoms of each chemical element corresponds to its own, strictly defined speed of the progressive movement of the galaxy in the space of the universe. Let's call her the standard rate of formation of an atom of a chemical element .

The helium atom is the second atom after hydrogen to form in the galaxy. Then, as the speed of the forward movement of the galaxy increases, the next atom of deuterium breaks through to the helium atom. This means that the speed of the forward motion of the galaxy has reached the standard rate of formation of a lithium atom. Then it will reach the standard rate of formation of an atom of beryllium, carbon ..., and so on, according to the periodic table.

atom model

In the above diagram, we can see that:

Each period in the atom is a ring of paired structures.
The center of the atom is always occupied by the quadruple structure of the helium atom.
All paired structures of the same period are located strictly in the same plane.
The distances between periods are much larger than the distances between pair structures within one period.

Of course, this is a very simplified scheme, and it does not reflect all the realities of the construction of atoms. For example: each new pair structure, joining an atom, displaces the rest of the pair structures of the period to which it is attached.

We get the principle of constructing a period in the form of a ring around the geometric center of the atom:

the period structure is built in one plane. This is facilitated by the general vector of translational motion of all elementary particles of the galaxy.
pair structures of the same period are built around the geometric center of the atom at an equal distance.
the atom around which a new period is built behaves towards this new period as a single complete system.

So we get the most important regularity in the construction of atoms of chemical elements:

REGULARITY OF A STRICTLY DETERMINATED NUMBER OF PAIR STRUCTURES: simultaneously, at a certain distance from the geometric center of the common point of annihilation of an atom, only a certain number of pair structures of elementary particles of matter can be located.

That is: in the second, third periods of the periodic table - eight elements each, in the fourth, fifth - eighteen, in the sixth, seventh - thirty-two. The increasing diameter of the atom allows the number of paired structures to increase in each subsequent period.

It is clear that this pattern determines the principle of periodicity in the construction of atoms of chemical elements, discovered by D.I. Mendeleev.

Each period inside the atom of a chemical element behaves in relation to it as a single integral system. This is determined by jumps in the distances between periods: much larger than the distances between pair structures within a period.

An atom with an incomplete period exhibits chemical activity in accordance with the above regularity. Since there is an imbalance of the forces of attraction and repulsion of the atom in favor of the forces of attraction. But with the addition of the last pair structure, the imbalance disappears, the new period takes the form right circle- becomes a single, integral, complete system. And we get an atom of an inert gas.

The most important pattern of constructing the structure of an atom is: atom has a plane-cascadestructure . Something like a chandelier.

pair structures of the same period should be located in the same plane perpendicular to the vector of the translational motion of the atom.
at the same time, the periods in the atom must cascade.

This explains why in the second and third periods (as well as in the fourth - fifth, sixth - seventh) the same number of paired structures (see the figure below). Such a structure of an atom is a consequence of the distribution of forces of attraction and repulsion of an elementary particle: attractive forces act in the front (in the direction of motion) hemisphere of the particle, repulsive forces - in the rear hemisphere.

Otherwise, free energy concentrations behind the annihilation points of some pair structures fall into the zone of attraction of the annihilation points of other pair structures, and the atom will inevitably fall apart.

Below we see a schematic volumetric image of the argon atom

argon atom model

In the figure below, we can see a “section”, a “side view” of two periods of an atom - the second and third:

This is exactly how the paired structures should be oriented, relative to the center of the atom, in periods with an equal number of paired structures (the second - the third, the fourth - the fifth, the sixth - the seventh).

The amount of energy in the condensation behind the annihilation point of an elementary particle is continuously growing. This becomes clear from the formula:

E 1 ~m(C+W)/2

E 2 ~m(C–W)/2

ΔE \u003d E 1 -E 2 \u003d m (C + W) / 2 - m (C - W) / 2

∆E~W×m

where:

E 1 is the amount of free energy rolled up (absorbed) by the annihilation point from the front hemisphere of motion.

E 2 is the amount of free energy of the folded (absorbed) annihilation point from the rear hemisphere of motion.

ΔЕ is the difference between the amount of free energy rolled up (absorbed) from the front and rear hemispheres of the movement of an elementary particle.

W is the speed of movement of an elementary particle.

Here we see a continuous increase in the mass of energy condensation behind the annihilation point of the moving particle, as the speed of its forward motion increases.

In the structure of the atom, this will manifest itself in the fact that the energy density behind the structure of each subsequent atom will increase in geometric progression. Annihilation points hold each other with their force of attraction with an “iron grip”. At the same time, the growing repulsive force will increasingly deflect the pair structures of the atom from each other. So we get a flat - cascade construction of an atom.

The atom, in shape, should resemble the shape of a bowl, where the "bottom" is the structure of the helium atom. And the "edges" of the bowl is the last period. Places of "bends of the bowl": the second - the third, the fourth - the fifth, the sixth - the seventh periods. These "bends" make it possible to form different periods with an equal number of paired structures

helium atom model

It is the flat - cascade structure of the atom and the ring arrangement of pair structures in it that determine the periodicity and row of construction of the periodic system of chemical elements of Mendeleev, the periodicity of the manifestation of similar chemical properties of atoms of one row of the periodic table.

Plane - cascade structure of the atom gives the appearance of a single space of the atom with a high density of free energy.

All pair structures of an atom are oriented in the direction of the center of the atom (more precisely: in the direction of a point located on the geometric axis of the atom, in the direction of the atom's movement).
All individual annihilation points are located along the rings of periods inside the atom.
All individual free energy clusters are located behind their annihilation points.

The result: a single high-density free energy concentration, the boundaries of which are the boundaries of the atom. These boundaries, as we understand, are the boundaries of the action of forces known in science as the Yukawa forces.

The plane-cascade structure of the atom gives a redistribution of the zones of forces of attraction and repulsion in a certain way. We already observe the redistribution of zones of forces of attraction and repulsion in the paired structure:

The zone of action of the repulsive forces of the pair structure increases due to the zone of action of the forces of its attraction (compared to single elementary particles). The zone of action of attractive forces decreases accordingly. (The zone of action of the force of attraction decreases, but not the force itself). The flat-cascade structure of the atom gives us an even greater increase in the zone of action of the repulsive forces of the atom.

With each new period, the zone of action of the repulsive forces tends to form a full ball.
The zone of action of the forces of attraction will be an ever-decreasing cone in diameter

In the construction of a new period of the atom, one more regularity can be traced: all pair structures of one period are located strictly symmetrically relative to the geometric center of the atom, regardless of the number of pair structures in the period.

Each new pair structure, joining, changes the location of all other pair structures of the period so that the distances between them in the period are always equal to each other. These distances decrease with the addition of the next pair structure. Incomplete outer period an atom of a chemical element makes it chemically active.

The distances between periods, which are much larger than the distances between paired particles within a period, make the periods relatively independent of each other.

Each period of the atom is related to all other periods and to the whole atom as an independent whole structure.

This determines that the chemical activity of the atom is almost 100% determined only by the last period of the atom. The completely filled last period gives us the maximum filled zone of the repulsive forces of the atom. The chemical activity of an atom is almost zero. An atom, like a ball, pushes other atoms away from itself. We see gas here. And not just a gas, but an inert gas.

The addition of the first pair structure of the new period changes this idyllic picture. The distribution of zones of action of the forces of repulsion and attraction changes in favor of the forces of attraction. The atom becomes chemically active. This is an atom alkali metal.

With the addition of each next pair structure, the balance of the zones of distribution of the forces of attraction and repulsion of the atom changes: the zone of repulsive forces increases, the zone of forces of attraction decreases. And each next atom becomes a little less metal and a little more non-metal.

The flat-cascade form of atoms, the redistribution of the zones of action of the forces of attraction and repulsion gives us the following: An atom of a chemical element, meeting with another atom even on a collision course, without fail falls into the zone of action of the forces of repulsion of this atom. And it does not destroy itself and does not destroy this other atom.

All this leads us to a remarkable result: the atoms of chemical elements, entering into compounds with each other, form three-dimensional structures of molecules. In contrast to the flat - cascade structure of atoms. A molecule is a stable three-dimensional structure of atoms.

Consider the energy flows inside atoms and molecules.

First of all, we note that an elementary particle will absorb energy in cycles. That is: in the first half of the cycle, the elementary particle absorbs energy from the nearest space. A void is formed here - a space without free energy.

In the second half of the cycle: energies from a more distant environment will immediately begin to fill the resulting void. That is, in space there will be energy flows directed to the point of annihilation. The particle receives a positive momentum of translational motion. BUT bound energy inside the particle will begin to redistribute its density.

What are we interested in here?

Since the annihilation cycle is divided into two phases: the phase of energy absorption and the phase of energy movement (filling the void), then average speed energy flows in the region of the annihilation point will decrease, roughly speaking, by a factor of two.

And what is extremely important:

In the construction of atoms, molecules, physical bodies, a very important regularity is manifested: the stability of all material structures, such as: paired structures - deuterium atoms, individual periods around atoms, atoms, molecules, physical bodies is ensured by the strict orderliness of their annihilation processes.

Consider this.

Energy flows generated by a pair structure. In a pair structure, elementary particles annihilate energy synchronously. Otherwise, the elementary particles would "eat up" the concentration of energy behind each other's annihilation point. We obtain clear wave characteristics of the pair structure. In addition, we remind you that due to the cyclical nature of annihilation processes, the average rate of energy flows here falls by half.
Energy flows within an atom. The principle is the same: all paired structures of the same period must annihilate energy synchronously - in synchronous cycles. Similarly: the processes of annihilation within the atom must be synchronized between periods. Any asynchrony leads to the destruction of the atom. Here the synchronicity may vary slightly. It can be assumed that periods in an atom annihilate energy sequentially, one after another, in a wave.
Energy flows inside a molecule, a physical body. The distances between atoms in the structure of a molecule are many times greater than the distances between periods inside an atom. In addition, the molecule has a bulk structure. Just like any physical body, it has a three-dimensional structure. It is clear that the synchronism of the annihilation processes here must be consistent. Directed from the periphery to the center, or vice versa: from the center to the periphery - count as you like.

The principle of synchronicity gives us two more regularities:

The speed of energy flows inside atoms, molecules, physical bodies is much less than the speed constant of energy movement in the space of the universe. This pattern will help us understand (in article #7) the processes of electricity.
The larger the structure we see (successively: elementary particle, atom, molecule, physical body), the greater the wavelength in its wave characteristics we will observe. This also applies to physical bodies: the greater the mass of a physical body, the greater the wavelength it has.

Translation

At the center of every atom is the nucleus, a tiny collection of particles called protons and neutrons. In this article, we will study the nature of protons and neutrons, which consist of even smaller particles - quarks, gluons and antiquarks. (Gluons, like photons, are their own antiparticles.) Quarks and gluons, as far as we know, can be truly elementary (indivisible and not composed of something smaller). But to them later.

Surprisingly, protons and neutrons have almost the same mass - up to a percentage:

0.93827 GeV/c 2 for a proton,
0.93957 GeV/c 2 for a neutron.

This is the key to their nature - they are actually very similar. Yes, there is one obvious difference between them: the proton has a positive electric charge, while the neutron has no charge (it is neutral, hence its name). Accordingly, electrical forces act on the first, but not on the second. At first glance, this distinction seems to be very important! But actually it is not. In all other senses, the proton and neutron are almost twins. They have identical not only masses, but also the internal structure.

Because they are so similar, and because these particles make up nuclei, protons and neutrons are often referred to as nucleons.

Protons were identified and described around 1920 (although they were discovered earlier; the nucleus of a hydrogen atom is just a single proton), and neutrons were found somewhere in 1933. The fact that protons and neutrons are so similar to each other was understood almost immediately. But the fact that they have a measurable size comparable to the size of the nucleus (about 100,000 times smaller than an atom in radius) was not known until 1954. That they are made up of quarks, antiquarks, and gluons was gradually understood from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. By the late 70's and early 80's, our understanding of protons, neutrons, and what they are made of had largely settled down, and has remained unchanged ever since.

Nucleons are much more difficult to describe than atoms or nuclei. Not to say that, but at least one can say without hesitation that a helium atom consists of two electrons in orbit around a tiny helium nucleus; and the helium nucleus is a fairly simple group of two neutrons and two protons. But with nucleons, everything is not so simple. I already wrote in the article "" that the atom looks like an elegant minuet, and the nucleon looks like a wild party.

The complexity of the proton and neutron seems to be real, and does not stem from incomplete physical knowledge. We have equations used to describe quarks, antiquarks, and gluons, and the strong nuclear forces that go on between them. These equations are called QCD, from "quantum chromodynamics". The accuracy of the equations can be checked different ways, including measuring the number of particles that appear at the Large Hadron Collider. Substituting the QCD equations into a computer and running calculations on the properties of protons and neutrons, and other similar particles (collectively called "hadrons"), we obtain predictions of the properties of these particles that approximate well the observations made in real world. Therefore, we have reason to believe that the QCD equations do not lie, and that our knowledge of the proton and neutron is based on the correct equations. But just having the right equations is not enough, because:

At simple equations may be very complex decisions,
Sometimes it is not possible to describe complex solutions in a simple way.

As far as we can tell, this is exactly the case with nucleons: they are complex solutions to relatively simple QCD equations, and it is not possible to describe them in a couple of words or pictures.

Because of the inherent complexity of nucleons, you, the reader, will have to make a choice: how much do you want to know about the complexity described? No matter how far you go, you will most likely not be satisfied: the more you learn, the more understandable the topic will become, but the final answer will remain the same - the proton and neutron are very complex. I can offer you three levels of understanding, with increasing detail; you can stop after any level and move on to other topics, or you can dive to the last. Each level raises questions that I can partly answer in the next, but new answers raise new questions. In summary - as I do in professional discussions with colleagues and advanced students - I can only refer you to data from real experiments, various influential theoretical arguments, and computer simulations.

First level of understanding

What are protons and neutrons made of?

Rice. 1: an oversimplified version of protons, consisting of only two up quarks and one down, and neutrons, consisting of only two down quarks and one up

To simplify matters, many books, articles and websites state that protons are made up of three quarks (two up and one down) and draw something like a figure. 1. The neutron is the same, only consisting of one up and two down quarks. This simple image illustrates what some scientists believed, mostly in the 1960s. But it soon became clear that this point of view was oversimplified to the point that it was no longer correct.

From more sophisticated sources of information, you will learn that protons are made up of three quarks (two up and one down) held together by gluons - and there may appear a picture similar to Fig. 2, where gluons are drawn as springs or strings that hold quarks. Neutrons are the same, with only one up quark and two down quarks.

Rice. 2: improvement fig. 1 due to the emphasis on the important role of the strong nuclear force, which keeps quarks in the proton

Not such a bad way to describe nucleons, as it emphasizes the important role of the strong nuclear force, which holds the quarks in the proton at the expense of the gluons (in the same way that the photon, the particle that makes up light, is associated with the electromagnetic force). But that's also confusing because it doesn't really explain what gluons are or what they do.

There are reasons to go ahead and describe things the way I did in : a proton is made up of three quarks (two up and one down), a bunch of gluons, and a mountain of quark-antiquark pairs (mostly up and down quarks, but there are a few weird ones too) . They all fly back and forth at very high speeds (approaching the speed of light); this entire set is held together by the strong nuclear force. I have shown this in Fig. 3. Neutrons are again the same, but with one up and two down quarks; the quark that has changed ownership is indicated by an arrow.

Rice. 3: more realistic, though still not ideal, depiction of protons and neutrons

These quarks, antiquarks, and gluons not only scurry back and forth, but also collide with each other and turn into each other through processes such as particle annihilation (in which a quark and an antiquark of the same type turn into two gluons, or vice versa) or absorption and emission of a gluon (in which a quark and a gluon can collide and produce a quark and two gluons, or vice versa).

What do these three descriptions general:

Two up quarks and a down quark (plus something else) for a proton.
One up quark and two down quarks (plus something else) for a neutron.
"Something else" for neutrons is the same as "something else" for protons. That is, nucleons have “something else” the same.
The small difference in mass between the proton and the neutron appears due to the difference in the masses of the down quark and the up quark.

And since:

for up quarks, the electric charge is 2/3 e (where e is the charge of the proton, -e is the charge of the electron),
down quarks have a charge of -1/3e,
gluons have a charge of 0,
any quark and its corresponding antiquark have a total charge of 0 (for example, the anti-down quark has a charge of +1/3e, so the down quark and down antiquark will have a charge of –1/3 e +1/3 e = 0),

Each figure assigns the electric charge of the proton to two up and one down quarks, and “something else” adds 0 to the charge. Similarly, the neutron has zero charge due to one up and two down quarks:

total electric charge of the proton 2/3 e + 2/3 e – 1/3 e = e,
the total electric charge of the neutron is 2/3 e – 1/3 e – 1/3 e = 0.

These descriptions differ as follows:

how much "something else" inside the nucleon,
what is it doing there
where do the mass and mass energy (E = mc 2 , the energy present there even when the particle is at rest) of the nucleon come from.

Since most of the mass of an atom, and therefore of all ordinary matter, is contained in protons and neutrons, the last point is extremely important for correct understanding our nature.

Rice. 1 says that quarks, in fact, represent a third of a nucleon - much like a proton or a neutron represents a quarter of a helium nucleus or 1/12 of a carbon nucleus. If this picture were true, the quarks in the nucleon would move relatively slowly (at speeds much slower than the speed of light) with relatively weak forces acting between them (albeit with some powerful force holding them in place). The mass of the quark, up and down, would then be on the order of 0.3 GeV/c 2 , about a third of the mass of a proton. But this is a simple image, and the ideas it imposes are simply wrong.

Rice. 3. gives a completely different idea of the proton, as a cauldron of particles scurrying through it at speeds close to the speed of light. These particles collide with each other, and in these collisions some of them annihilate and others are created in their place. Gluons have no mass, the masses of the upper quarks are about 0.004 GeV/c 2 , and the masses of the lower quarks are about 0.008 GeV/c 2 - hundreds of times less than a proton. Where does the mass energy of the proton come from, the question is complex: part of it comes from the energy of the mass of quarks and antiquarks, part comes from the energy of motion of quarks, antiquarks and gluons, and part (possibly positive, possibly negative) from the energy stored in the strong nuclear interaction, holding quarks, antiquarks, and gluons together.

In a sense, Fig. 2 tries to eliminate the difference between fig. 1 and fig. 3. It simplifies the rice. 3, removing many quark-antiquark pairs, which, in principle, can be called ephemeral, since they constantly arise and disappear, and are not necessary. But it gives the impression that the gluons in the nucleons are a direct part of the strong nuclear force that holds the protons. And it doesn't explain where the mass of the proton comes from.

At fig. 1 has another drawback, besides the narrow frames of the proton and neutron. It does not explain some of the properties of other hadrons, such as the pion and the rho meson. The same problems exist in Fig. 2.

These restrictions have led to the fact that I give my students and on my website a picture from fig. 3. But I want to warn you that it also has many limitations, which I will consider later.

It should be noted that the extreme complexity of the structure, implied in Fig. 3 is to be expected from an object held together by such a powerful force as the strong nuclear force. And one more thing: three quarks (two up and one down for a proton) that are not part of a group of quark-antiquark pairs are often called "valence quarks", and pairs of quark-antiquarks are called a "sea of quark pairs." Such a language is technically convenient in many cases. But it gives the false impression that if you could look inside the proton, and look at a particular quark, you could immediately tell if it was part of the sea or a valence. This cannot be done, there is simply no such way.

Proton mass and neutron mass

Since the masses of the proton and neutron are so similar, and since the proton and neutron differ only in the replacement of an up quark by a down quark, it seems likely that their masses are provided in the same way, come from the same source, and their difference lies in the slight difference between the up and down quarks. . But the three figures above show that there are three very different views on the origin of the proton mass.

Rice. 1 says that the up and down quarks simply make up 1/3 of the mass of the proton and neutron: about 0.313 GeV/c 2 , or because of the energy needed to keep the quarks in the proton. And since the difference between the masses of a proton and a neutron is a fraction of a percent, the difference between the masses of an up and down quark must also be a fraction of a percent.

Rice. 2 is less clear. What fraction of the mass of a proton exists due to gluons? But, in principle, it follows from the figure that most of the mass of the proton still comes from the mass of quarks, as in Fig. one.

Rice. 3 reflects a more subtle approach to how the mass of the proton actually comes about (as we can check directly through proton computer calculations, and not directly using other mathematical methods). It is very different from the ideas presented in Fig. 1 and 2, and it turns out to be not so simple.

To understand how this works, one must think not in terms of the proton's mass m, but in terms of its mass energy E = mc 2 , the energy associated with mass. Conceptually right question it will not be “where did the proton mass m come from”, after which you can calculate E by multiplying m by c 2 , but vice versa: “where does the energy of the proton mass E come from”, after which you can calculate the mass m by dividing E by c 2 .

It is useful to classify contributions to the proton mass energy into three groups:

A) The mass energy (rest energy) of the quarks and antiquarks contained in it (gluons, massless particles, do not make any contribution).
B) Energy of motion (kinetic energy) of quarks, antiquarks and gluons.
C) The interaction energy (binding energy or potential energy) stored in the strong nuclear interaction (more precisely, in the gluon fields) holding the proton.

Rice. 3 says that the particles inside the proton move at a high speed, and that it is full of massless gluons, so the contribution of B) is greater than A). Usually, in most physical systems, B) and C) are comparable, while C) is often negative. So the mass energy of the proton (and neutron) is mostly derived from the combination of B) and C), with A) contributing a small fraction. Therefore, the masses of the proton and neutron appear mainly not because of the masses of the particles contained in them, but because of the energies of motion of these particles and the energy of their interaction associated with the gluon fields that generate the forces that hold the proton. In most other systems we are familiar with, the balance of energies is distributed differently. For example, in atoms and in solar system A dominates), while B) and C) are much smaller and comparable in size.

Summing up, we point out that:

Rice. 1 suggests that the mass energy of the proton comes from the contribution A).
Rice. 2 suggests that both contributions A) and C) are important, and B) makes a small contribution.
Rice. 3 suggests that B) and C) are important, while the contribution of A) is negligible.

We know that rice is correct. 3. To check it, we can carry out computer simulations, and more importantly, thanks to various compelling theoretical arguments, we know that if the masses of the up and down quarks were zero (and everything else remained as it is), the mass of the proton would hardly change. So, apparently, the masses of quarks cannot make important contributions to the mass of the proton.

If fig. 3 is not lying, the masses of the quark and antiquark are very small. What are they really like? The mass of the top quark (as well as the antiquark) does not exceed 0.005 GeV/c 2 , which is much less than 0.313 GeV/c 2 , which follows from Fig. 1. (The mass of an up quark is difficult to measure and varies due to subtle effects, so it could be much less than 0.005 GeV/c2). The mass of the bottom quark is approximately 0.004 GeV/c 2 greater than the mass of the top one. This means that the mass of any quark or antiquark does not exceed one percent of the mass of a proton.

Note that this means (contrary to Fig. 1) that the ratio of the mass of the down quark to the up quark does not approach unity! The mass of the down quark is at least twice that of the up quark. The reason that the masses of the neutron and the proton are so similar is not that the masses of the up and down quarks are similar, but that the masses of the up and down quarks are very small - and the difference between them is small, relative to the masses of the proton and neutron. Recall that to convert a proton into a neutron, you simply need to replace one of its up quarks with a down quark (Figure 3). This change is enough to make the neutron slightly heavier than the proton, and change its charge from +e to 0.

By the way, the fact that different particles inside a proton collide with each other, and constantly appear and disappear, does not affect the things we are discussing - energy is conserved in any collision. The mass energy and the energy of motion of quarks and gluons can change, as well as the energy of their interaction, but the total energy of the proton does not change, although everything inside it is constantly changing. So the mass of a proton remains constant, despite its internal vortex.

At this point, you can stop and absorb the information received. Amazing! Virtually all the mass contained in ordinary matter comes from the mass of nucleons in atoms. And most of this mass comes from the chaos inherent in the proton and neutron - from the energy of movement of quarks, gluons and antiquarks in nucleons, and from the energy of the work of strong nuclear interactions that hold the nucleon in its whole state. Yes: our planet, our bodies, our breath are the result of such a quiet and, until recently, unimaginable pandemonium.

As already noted, an atom consists of three types of elementary particles: protons, neutrons and electrons. The atomic nucleus is the central part of the atom, consisting of protons and neutrons. Protons and neutrons have common name nucleon, in the nucleus they can turn into each other. The nucleus of the simplest atom - the hydrogen atom - consists of one elementary particle - the proton.

The diameter of the nucleus of an atom is approximately 10-13 - 10-12 cm and is 0.0001 of the diameter of the atom. However, almost the entire mass of an atom (99.95-99.98%) is concentrated in the nucleus. If it were possible to obtain 1 cm3 of pure nuclear matter, its mass would be 100-200 million tons. The mass of the nucleus of an atom is several thousand times greater than the mass of all the electrons that make up the atom.

Proton- an elementary particle, the nucleus of a hydrogen atom. The mass of a proton is 1.6721 x 10-27 kg, it is 1836 times the mass of an electron. The electric charge is positive and equal to 1.66 x 10-19 C. A coulomb is a unit of electrical charge equal to the amount of electricity passing through transverse section conductor for a time of 1s at a constant current strength of 1A (amperes).

Each atom of any element contains in the nucleus certain number protons. This number is constant for given element and defines its physical and Chemical properties. That is, the number of protons depends on what chemical element we are dealing with. For example, if one proton in the nucleus is hydrogen, if 26 protons are iron. The number of protons in the atomic nucleus determines the charge of the nucleus (charge number Z) and the serial number of the element in the periodic system of elements D.I. Mendeleev (atomic number of the element).

Neutron- an electrically neutral particle with a mass of 1.6749 x 10-27 kg, 1839 times the mass of an electron. A neuron in a free state is an unstable particle; it independently turns into a proton with the emission of an electron and an antineutrino. The half-life of neutrons (the time during which half of the original number of neutrons decays) is approximately 12 minutes. However, in bound state inside stable atomic nuclei he is stable. Total number nucleons (protons and neutrons) in the nucleus is called the mass number (atomic mass - A). The number of neutrons that make up the nucleus is equal to the difference between the mass and charge numbers: N = A - Z.

Electron- an elementary particle, the carrier of the smallest mass - 0.91095x10-27g and the smallest electric charge - 1.6021x10-19 C. This is a negatively charged particle. The number of electrons in an atom is equal to the number of protons in the nucleus, i.e. the atom is electrically neutral.

Positron- an elementary particle with a positive electric charge, an antiparticle with respect to an electron. The mass of an electron and a positron are equal, and the electric charges are equal in absolute value, but opposite in sign.

Different types of nuclei are called nuclides. Nuclide - a kind of atoms with given numbers of protons and neutrons. In nature, there are atoms of the same element with different atomic masses (mass numbers):
, Cl, etc. The nuclei of these atoms contain the same number protons, but different number neutrons. Varieties of atoms of the same element that have the same nuclear charge, but different mass number, are called isotopes . Having the same number of protons, but differing in the number of neutrons, isotopes have the same structure of electron shells, i.e. very similar chemical properties and occupy the same place in the periodic table of chemical elements.

They are denoted by the symbol of the corresponding chemical element with the index A located at the top left - the mass number, sometimes the number of protons (Z) is also given at the bottom left. For example, the radioactive isotopes of phosphorus are designated 32P, 33P, or P and P, respectively. When designating an isotope without indicating the symbol of the element, the mass number is given after the designation of the element, for example, phosphorus - 32, phosphorus - 33.

Most chemical elements have several isotopes. In addition to the hydrogen isotope 1H-protium, heavy hydrogen 2H-deuterium and superheavy hydrogen 3H-tritium are known. Uranium has 11 isotopes, natural compounds there are three of them (uranium 238, uranium 235, uranium 233). They have 92 protons and 146.143 and 141 neutrons, respectively.

Currently, more than 1900 isotopes of 108 chemical elements are known. Of these, natural isotopes include all stable (there are approximately 280 of them) and natural isotopes that are part of radioactive families (there are 46 of them). The rest are artificial, they are obtained artificially as a result of various nuclear reactions.

The term "isotopes" should only be used when we are talking about atoms of the same element, for example, carbon 12C and 14C. If atoms of different chemical elements are meant, it is recommended to use the term "nuclides", for example, radionuclides 90Sr, 131J, 137Cs.

Chapter one. PROPERTIES OF STABLE NUCLEI

It has already been said above that the nucleus consists of protons and neutrons bound by nuclear forces. If we measure the mass of the nucleus in atomic mass units, then it should be close to the mass of the proton multiplied by an integer called the mass number. If the charge of the nucleus and the mass number, then this means that the composition of the nucleus includes protons and neutrons. (The number of neutrons in a nucleus is usually denoted by

These properties of the nucleus are reflected in the symbolic notation, which will be used later in the form

where X is the name of the element whose atom the nucleus belongs to (for example, nuclei: helium - , oxygen - , iron - uranium

The main characteristics of stable nuclei include: charge, mass, radius, mechanical and magnetic moments, spectrum of excited states, parity and quadrupole moment. Radioactive (unstable) nuclei are additionally characterized by their lifetime, the type of radioactive transformations, the energy of emitted particles, and a number of other special properties, which will be discussed below.

First of all, let's consider the properties of elementary particles that make up the nucleus: proton and neutron.

§ 1. MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROTON AND NEUTRON

Weight. In units of the mass of the electron: the mass of the proton is the mass of the neutron.

In atomic mass units: proton mass neutron mass

In energy units, the rest mass of the proton is the rest mass of the neutron

Electric charge. q is a parameter characterizing the interaction of a particle with electric field, is expressed in units of electron charge where

All elementary particles carry an amount of electricity equal to either 0 or The charge of the proton The charge of the neutron is zero.

Spin. The spins of the proton and neutron are equal. Both particles are fermions and obey the Fermi-Dirac statistics, and hence the Pauli principle.

magnetic moment. If we substitute into formula (10), which determines the magnetic moment of the electron instead of the mass of the electron, the mass of the proton, we obtain

The quantity is called the nuclear magneton. It could be assumed by analogy with the electron that the spin magnetic moment of the proton is equal. However, experience has shown that the intrinsic magnetic moment of the proton is greater than the nuclear magneton: according to modern data

In addition, it turned out that an uncharged particle - a neutron - also has a magnetic moment that is different from zero and equal to

The presence of a magnetic moment in the neutron and so great importance the magnetic moment of the proton contradict the assumptions about the point nature of these particles. A number of experimental data obtained in last years, indicates that both the proton and the neutron have a complex inhomogeneous structure. At the same time, a positive charge is located in the center of the neutron, and on the periphery there is a negative charge equal to it in magnitude, distributed in the volume of the particle. But since the magnetic moment is determined not only by the magnitude of the flowing current, but also by the area covered by it, the magnetic moments created by them will not be equal. Therefore, a neutron can have a magnetic moment while remaining generally neutral.

Mutual transformations of nucleons. The mass of a neutron is greater than the mass of a proton by 0.14%, or 2.5 electron masses,

In a free state, a neutron decays into a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino: Its average lifetime is close to 17 minutes.

The proton is a stable particle. However, inside the nucleus, it can turn into a neutron; while the reaction proceeds according to the scheme

The difference in the masses of the particles standing on the left and on the right is compensated by the energy imparted to the proton by other nucleons of the nucleus.

The proton and neutron have the same spins, almost the same masses, and can transform into each other. It will be shown later that the nuclear forces acting between these particles in pairs are also the same. Therefore they are called common denomination- nucleon and they say that the nucleon can be in two states: proton and neutron, which differ in their relation to the electromagnetic field.

Neutrons and protons interact due to the existence of nuclear forces, which are of a non-electric nature. Nuclear forces owe their origin to the exchange of mesons. If we depict the dependence of the potential energy of the interaction of a proton and a low-energy neutron on the distance between them, then approximately it will look like a graph shown in Fig. 5a, i.e., it has the shape of a potential well.

Rice. Fig. 5. Dependence of the potential energy of interaction on the distance between nucleons: a - for neutron-neutron or neutron-proton pairs; b - for a pair of proton - proton

§one. Meet the Electron, Proton, Neutron

Atoms are the smallest particles of matter.
If enlarged to globe an apple of medium size, then the atoms will become only the size of an apple. Despite such a small size, the atom consists of even smaller physical particles.
You should already be familiar with the structure of the atom from the school physics course. And yet we recall that the atom contains a nucleus and electrons that rotate around the nucleus so quickly that they become indistinguishable - they form an "electron cloud", or electron shell atom.

Electrons is usually denoted as follows: e − . Electrons e- very light, almost weightless, but they have negative electric charge. It is equal to -1. Electricity, which we all use is a stream of electrons running in wires.

atom nucleus, in which almost all of its mass is concentrated, consists of particles of two types - neutrons and protons.

Neutrons denoted as follows: n 0 , a protons So: p + .
By mass, neutrons and protons are almost the same - 1.675 10 −24 g and 1.673 10 −24 g.
True, it is very inconvenient to count the mass of such small particles in grams, so it is expressed in carbon units, each of which is equal to 1.673 10 −24 g.
For each particle get relative atomic mass, equal to the quotient of dividing the mass of an atom (in grams) by the mass of a carbon unit. relative atomic masses proton and neutron are equal to 1, but the charge of protons is positive and equal to +1, while neutrons have no charge.

. Riddles about the atom

An atom can be assembled "in the mind" from particles, like a toy or a car from parts children's constructor. It is only necessary to observe two important conditions.

First condition: each type of atom has its own own set"details" - elementary particles. For example, a hydrogen atom will necessarily have a nucleus with a positive charge of +1, which means that it must certainly have one proton (and no more).
A hydrogen atom can also contain neutrons. More on this in the next paragraph.
The oxygen atom (the serial number in the Periodic system is 8) will have a nucleus charged eight positive charges (+8), which means there are eight protons. Since the mass of an oxygen atom is 16 relative units, in order to obtain an oxygen nucleus, we add 8 more neutrons.
Second condition is that each atom is electrically neutral. To do this, it must have enough electrons to balance the charge of the nucleus. In other words, the number of electrons in an atom is equal to the number of protons at its core, and the serial number of this element in the Periodic system.

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