In reply to Harry Veeder's message of Sun, 24 Mar 2013 20:36:40 -0400: Hi, [snip] >> It's actually classically forbidden. 1 baseball + a second baseball does not >> make 3 baseballs. > >I don't understand your analogy. >Aren't we talking about 1e combining with 1p to make 1n?
Yes, but that's the problem. 1p + 1e is not enough to make 1n. In fact you would need the mass of about an extra 1 1/2 electrons to make an n. e.g. 1p + 2 1/2 e ~= 1n, but then you have too much negative charge. In order to make 1n from 1p and only 1e, at least one of the two needs to be moving very fast before the collision, so that the kinetic energy can be converted to the needed extra mass, according to m = E/c^2. [snip] >> Note that they can only be made *in* another nucleus, or at the very least, >> very, very close to it, such that the ensuing neutron(s) are immediately >> captured. > >I am just speculating on the possibility that ionized hydrogen could be made >into a reduced mass neutron since the reduced mass neutron won't >produce radioactive >isotopes needing gamma shielding. Ionized hydrogen, i.e. a proton, >would become a reduced >mass neutron by "colliding" with a free electron. As the electron >approaches the proton >it would be on a trajectory where the combination is a inevitable >outcome. This scenario is based on >on a analogy from celestial mechanics where different approach >trajectories can result in >different outcomes: collision, stable orbit, escape. In most >environments, free electrons and protons >form atoms, i.e. systems with stable orbits. However, the environment >of some lattices would tend to channel >protons and electrons on to paths such that they are bound to "collide". They are also oppositely charged, so they naturally attract one another. That improves the chances of a collision a lot. [snip] Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html
