Endless Facts, One Snippet at a Time
Particle Decay: How Unstable Particles Transform
- Particle decay happens when unstable particles transform into lighter, more stable ones.
- The process follows strict rules of energy and momentum conservation.
- A free neutron, for example, decays into a proton, electron, and neutrino in about 15 minutes.
- Some particles, like muons, live only millionths of a second before decaying.
- Decay can happen through the weak nuclear force, which changes one type of quark into another.
- Each particle has a half-life, the time it takes for half of a group to decay.
- Particle decay powers natural processes like radioactivity and the heat of Earth’s core.
- In stars, decay reactions are vital to fusion and element creation.
- Studying decay helps scientists test the Standard Model and search for new physics.
- These fleeting transformations reveal the hidden dynamics of the subatomic world.