In reply to Eric Walker's message of Sat, 9 Mar 2013 23:10:56 -0800: Hi, [snip] >I take it that the proposed interaction with the ZPE adds mass to the >exposed nucleons and doesn't to the shielded ones? What is the possible >mechanism involved here? Is there a name for the proposal? > >Does the ZPE operate both within and outside of the nucleus, or just >outside of it? > >Eric
The idea is that the ZPE is the provider of *all* mass to all things. However in a nucleus the outer nucleons form a sort of Casimir cavity partially shielding the inner nucleons, resulting in the inner ones having slightly less mass. The closer to the center, the greater the shielding, and hence also the greater the mass loss. such a mechanism would explain why protons and neutrons have less mass in nuclei than they do as free particles, and goes a long way toward explaining the shape of the binding energy curve. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html
