Question

Why are alpha, beta, and gamma decay the only kinds of decay we observe? Of course we can get bigger particles from fission, but why can't we say, get lithium nuclei if we can get helium?

Answer 1

Mind answering or pointing me to where the explanation is? I hope I'm not asking a question that involves too much of the strong/weak forces @Michele_Laino

Answer 2

fission is an induced nuclear reaction, whereas Alpha, beta, and gamma processes are spontaneous nuclear transformations

Answer 3

even if a gamma process can also be an induced process

Answer 4

Yes - my understanding is that the decay of elements that are radioactive is either via alpha, beta, or gamma emission modes... what in particular makes it so these are the only modes we observe? Why can't say, 3 protons and 3 neutrons escape as a group instead of 2 protons and 2 neutrons? I read that part of alpha decay was due to quantum tunneling, but are there any big reasons we don't observe bigger particles in radioactive decay of elements?

Answer 5

I think that it was mother nature who decided so!
Such processes, as observed processes, belong to natural empiricism

Answer 6

even if, maybe, in other galaxies the processes you have mentioned are occurring as ordinary processes

Answer 7

hahaha, well, if one of the only people on openstudy studying nuclear physics tell me it is so, I guess I will just have to keep wondering ;). Maybe if the LHC (and aren't they building a linear collider?) helps our standard model out enough I'll find out the answer before I die tehehe.

Answer 8

At LHC are studing the nuclear interactions, namely the nature of the nuclear force. In this way, as the energy of collisions increases, other nuclear processes will discovered, nevertheless such processes will be induced or artificial processes

Answer 9

furthermore, even if the available enrgy for collisions increases, by means of more powerful magnets and so on, we can not observe isolated quarks, for a long time, since the process of creation of mesons will occur before we can observe a free isolated quark

Answer 10

energy*

Answer 11

What do you think of the need to resolve general relativity with quantum mechanics? do you think something like the LHC will give us the answer to that?

Answer 12

I think that, a new theory can born from new ideas, rather than \(only\) from experiments at a particle collider, even if the experimental results are fundamental in order to create a new theory. Personally I think that the experiments at LHC are not suffice to explain the Universe, since Physics goes on with new ideas, for example, I think that the General Theory of Relativity could not be created at a particle collider

Answer 13

Einstein usually said that quantum mechanics is an incomplete theory, even if it is a successful theory. So I think that in order to create a new synthesis, in my opinion, I think it is necessary to introduce a new vision of the ordinary phenomena

Answer 14

That viewpoint helps elucidate to me some of the current state of physics; thank you. I apologize if I have kept you hanging... I forgot to respond to this post. It's getting a bit late here so I'll probably consider thinking about physics another day. Thank you for your time and expertise :)

Answer 15

:)
Since I left the university, after the degree, I spent my time to forget the learnt technical formulas, and contemporarily to get closer to philosophy. For example I admire Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein for their intuitions. Please keep in mind that for Niels Bohr, the writing was an extraneous activity
thanks! for this discussion :)