# Tag Info

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The mass of a free neutron is 939.566 MeV/c$^2$ (almost 1 GeV/c$^2$, so that's probably where your instructor got the "1" value), and the mass of a free proton is 938.272 MeV/c$^2$. A free neutron will decay into a free proton, free electron ($\beta^-$), and an anti-neutrino, $\bar{\nu}$. The mass of the electron is 0.511 MeV/c$^2$, and of the ...

6

Your question asks why the "current quark masses" [see http://pdg.lbl.gov/2011/download/rpp-2010-booklet.pdf at page 21] of the quarks that make up a proton don't add up to the mass of the proton. The problem is that, for the light quarks, the "current quark masses" are very different from the "constituent quark masses" [see wikipedia]. "Constituent quark ...

6

Ever since Newton and the use of mathematics in physics, physics can be defined as a discipline where nature is modeled by mathematics. One should have clear in mind what nature means and what mathematics is. Nature we know by measurements and observations. Mathematics is a self consistent discipline with axioms, theorems and statements having absolute ...

3

If you setup a perfect cavity where no modes of light are possible, then the light will not be emitted in the first place (0 probability). You run into problems if you consider the emittor as a classical light-source and then combine it with a quantum-mechanical reasoning regarding interference in cases such as this.

2

To understand this one shall take in quantum-mechanical approximation method namely perturbation theory into account. In perturbation theory, systems can go through intermediate virtual states which often have energies different from that of the initial and final states. This is because of time energy uncertainty principle. Consider an intermediate state ...

2

The equivalence principle tells us that energy and mass are really just two sides of the same coin, and are related by $E = m c^2$. Rearranging, we get that $m = E/c^2$, so instead of asking where all that mass comes from, let's ask where all that energy comes from. In the case of the proton, there are some quarks and gluons that make it up, and those ...

1

The three quarks you talk about are usually called the valence quarks of the proton, and their contribution to the mass of the proton is not it. In particle accelerators, when we hit protons with high energy beams, we discover that protons are made of a cluster of smaller constituents (like quarks and gluons, which constantly are created and destroyed in ...

1

The rest of the energy is basically emitted as heat energy. Why? You have two capacitors in the circuit, and the connecting wires offer negligible resistance. Hence, when electrons flow from the charged capacitor to the uncharged one, the electrons basically face no resistance, and they collide with high speed with the uncharged capacitor. This collision ...

1

The point source keeps radiating light. Will the light undergo destructive interference completely? Point particle as a source of light is OK, but it would need to move with acceleration to produce EM radiation. Static source of light of zero size seems to be reduction ad absurdum, at least from the standpoint of common theory of light based on EM ...

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