Nucleon

In physics a nucleon is a collective name for the two baryons the neutron and the proton. They are constituents of the atomic nucleus and till the 1960s were thought to be elementary. In those days their interactions (now called internucleon interactions) defined strong interactions. Now they are known to be composite particles, made of quarks and gluons. Understanding the nucleons' properties is one of the major goals of quantum chromodynamics, the modern theory of strong interactions.

Related Topics:
Physics - Baryon - Neutron - Proton - Atomic nucleus - Internucleon interaction - Strong interaction - Quark - Gluon - Quantum chromodynamics

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The proton is the lightest baryon and its stability is a measure of baryon number conservation. The proton's lifetime thus puts strong constraints on speculative theories which try to extend the standard model of particle physics.

Related Topics:
Baryon - Baryon number - Standard model

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The neutron decays into the protons through the weak decay. The two are members of an isospin I=1/2 doublet.

Related Topics:
Weak decay - Isospin

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