I realize I am asking strange questions, but sometimes it pays off to consider alternate ideas.
For example, is 12 a magic number when it comes to the number of quarks in one grouping? Since alpha particles are emitted during some radioactive decays but no D's, perhaps 12 is magic while 6 is not strongly bound as an individual group. The 6 quark combination of proton and neutron must be more firmly connected to the remainder of the nucleus than to each other. We typically think of an alpha particle as composed of 4 units, when it might make sense to consider it 12 quarks of the best possible combination. The binding energy of helium is unique when compared to other elements. Just speculation. :-) Dave -----Original Message----- From: Eric Walker <eric.wal...@gmail.com> To: vortex-l <vortex-l@eskimo.com> Sent: Wed, Dec 9, 2015 10:21 pm Subject: Re: [Vo]: How many atoms to make condensed matter? On Wed, Dec 9, 2015 at 9:06 PM, David Roberson <dlrober...@aol.com> wrote: Guys, what would you expect to happen if the identity of individual nucleons is lost once they enter the nucleus? There is an assumption that the identity is lost, in a sense. Through meson exchange, neutrons are thought to regularly become protons and vice versa, very rapidly, and it might be considered experimentally impossible to keep track of any one nucleon over time. Since each is supposed to be constructed from 3 quarks, it may be logical to assume that nearby nucleons behave as one greater one composed of 6 or more quarks. How would one prove that each proton and neutron keeps its identity separate? I think the current understanding is that by using probes with sufficient energy to "see" individual nucleons rather than the nucleus as a whole (e.g., using electrons accelerated to very high energies), the data are consistent with nucleons containing three valence quarks. Beyond this I don't know much more. Eric
