this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2024
54 points (100.0% liked)

Ask Science

8644 readers
78 users here now

Ask a science question, get a science answer.


Community Rules


Rule 1: Be respectful and inclusive.Treat others with respect, and maintain a positive atmosphere.


Rule 2: No harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or trolling.Avoid any form of harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or offensive behavior.


Rule 3: Engage in constructive discussions.Contribute to meaningful and constructive discussions that enhance scientific understanding.


Rule 4: No AI-generated answers.Strictly prohibit the use of AI-generated answers. Providing answers generated by AI systems is not allowed and may result in a ban.


Rule 5: Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.Adhere to community guidelines and comply with instructions given by moderators.


Rule 6: Use appropriate language and tone.Communicate using suitable language and maintain a professional and respectful tone.


Rule 7: Report violations.Report any violations of the community rules to the moderators for appropriate action.


Rule 8: Foster a continuous learning environment.Encourage a continuous learning environment where members can share knowledge and engage in scientific discussions.


Rule 9: Source required for answers.Provide credible sources for answers. Failure to include a source may result in the removal of the answer to ensure information reliability.


By adhering to these rules, we create a welcoming and informative environment where science-related questions receive accurate and credible answers. Thank you for your cooperation in making the Ask Science community a valuable resource for scientific knowledge.

We retain the discretion to modify the rules as we deem necessary.


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Or in other words which forces keep electrons in orbitals and prevent it from flying away or crashing into the nucleus according to modern understanding?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I looked it up, after 6.6 x 10e28 years or so they are theorised to decay into neutrinos and photons.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

Huh, interesting. So would charge not be conserved in that process? Neither neutrinos nor photons are charged.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Charge conservation would indeed be violated, which is why this decay is not expected. Dave is mistaken: the half-life they're referring to is an experimental lower-bound, not a actual expected value.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Thanks, that makes more sense.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Presumably there is a transformation of charge to energy which is then carried away by the photon, but all of this is beyond my understanding of the theories involved.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Charge conservation would unambiguously be violated, which is why this decay is not expected. The half-life you quote is an experimental lower-bound.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Six hundred and sixty octillion years. That research is going to be hard to fund.