# Proton to Neutron conversion

Is there a way to convert a proton in a nucleus to a neutron?

Hyperphysics writes that if a proton was supplied with 1.29 MeV of energy, there would be enough energy to make that conversion.

Has this process ever been observed experimentally, and if so, what was the general experiment?

I understand that there are natural decay processes that do this, such as electron capture. My question pertains to the idea that given any nucleus, is there any way to covert a proton to a neutron?

• Do you mean to exclude natural decay processes like Electron Capture? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_capture – Paul Young Oct 11 '19 at 14:00
• @PaulYoung Yes, I mean to exclude natural decay processes. I'll edit the question to correct that. – Aakash Sunkari Oct 11 '19 at 14:01

Yes, you just have to hit it with an antineutrino of the required energy. It needs more than $$1.29$$ MeV because to conserve charge the process has to create a positron as well as converting the proton to a neutron. The Feynman diagram for the process is: