Re: What happens when you split a proton, neutron, or electron?

Dear Zach,

If a proton or neutron is hit with enough energy, then the tiny
particles called quarks bound together inside the proton or neutron
can momentarily escape each other's grasp.  But quarks can not exist
as free particles for long.  The escaping quarks will find other
quarks to bind to and form new particles.  Sometimes the newly created
particles are heavier than the initial proton or neutron!

You are completely correct that the energy required to split a
nuclear particle is much larger than the energy required to split
an atom.  However, the energy required to split a SINGLE proton is
still very small in human terms.  Also, you must supply the energy
to break up a proton; protons are stable (as far as we know) and
do not spontaneously explode.

Electrons, unlike protons and neutrons, have no smaller particles
like quarks rattling around inside them.  Electrons can not be split.


--Randall J. Scalise    http://www.phys.psu.edu/~scalise/