Re: resonance states of the neutron
kiloVolts
> Hi,
>
> The neutron is believed to have some sort of internal structure. I'm
> not up on current quark theory. The free neutron decays with a half
> life of ~15 min according to:
>
>
> n -> p + e + 1.29 MeV, (ignore neutrinos)
>
>
> That's a lot of energy per unit mass. Fortunately the relatively long
> decay time provides some kind of "get away from danger grace time".
>
>
> However, in the event of a relatively high energy inelastic nuclear
> collision, internal resonance states of the neutron might be excited
> that might enhance the rate of decay. That would make high kinetic
> energy neutrons more dangerous than might be expected from the value
> of the kinetic energy alone. I'm thinking of processes that might take
> place in less than a millisecond.
>
>
> My questionis to any quark experts out there: Are internal resonance
> states of the neutron known that might effectively 'catalyze' more
> rapid release of neutron energy?
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadron
[some editing]
"A hadron in particle physics, is any strongly interacting composite
subatomic particle. All hadrons are composed of quarks. Hadrons are divided
into two classes, according to their baryon number:
Baryons are all hadrons with a baryon number of 1. Baryons are fermions.
Triquarks are baryons made of three quarks, such as the proton and the
neutron."
"Excited baryon or meson states are known as resonances. Each ground state
hadron may have many excited states, and hundreds have been observed in
particle experiments. Resonances decay extremely quickly (within about
10^?24 s) via strong interactions."
10^?24 sec. is a much shorter time than a millisecond, so the answer to your
question is no.
kiloVolts
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadron
[some editing]
10^-24 s) via strong interactions."
10^-24 sec. is a much shorter time than a millisecond, so the answer to your
question is no.