Some nuclear reactions are very well known and have been thoroughly studied. One would therefore
expect that we therefore know all there is to know about such reactions, and that we understand the
products created by these reactions. Afterall they are routinely used in nuclear power plants
and nuclear warhead tests. Let's examine if SAM can provide a different perspective on these.
In essence there are two types of nuclear reactions, fusing and fissioning which is building
and the disintegration of elements. Transmutations are a result of either of these and often result
in the emission, or absorption in some cases, of particles called Alpha or Beta particles.
Beta particles emissions are split into two groups beta - and beta + the later may actually show
the absorption of a particle rather than the emission but we will come back to that later.
We will start with Alpha decay. Here an atom ejects an alpha particle and is converted into a
different element. But why is an alpha particle emitted and not a series of protons, neutrons
or other combination of these? In SAM we use the concept of densest packing which means
a combination of protons and proton electron pairs will attempt to pack themselves in the
smallest possible configuration as this will be the lowest energy configuration.
Unstable atoms are therefore in a specific configuration that is not stable.
They need to resettle to adhere to the lowest energy state and max. BE. In the case of Alpha
emission they achieve this by ejecting a pair of deuterons from either a four ending or two
two endings on nearby branches. This allows the nucleus to resettle into the lower energy state.
But what would the preconditions be for alpha decay? With some minor exceptions there would
need to be enough structure in the nucleus so that there are four endings or two endings,
or possibly some PEPs on different branches but close together. This
would mean that when they are ejected they are close enough to want to combine
into the tetrahedron shape. This means that it will only tend to occur
with the larger elements as these are where the branches become more developed.
Let's examine some examples of Alpha particle emission.
The first is the well known example of firing a proton at Lithium can cause the Lithium to
decay into two alpha particles which are emitted at 180deg to each other.
Let now examine one with a larger element. Polonium-210
is not a stable isotope and has a half life of 138 days.
It decays to Lead 206 the majority of the time by the emission of an alpha particle.
As we can see this has a four ending. Two deuterons are ejected are ejected from
either side combining into a tetrahedron which becomes our alpha particle which is emitted.
This means the nucleus must resettle and we can see a slight change to the shape
going from Polonium 210 to Lead 206.
Let’s now Examine Beta decay. In the language of the standard model, when a neutron in the
nucleus is converted into a proton a high speed electron is emitted as well as an anti-neutrino.
This reaction is called beta minus decay. Equally if a proton is converted into a neutron
then a high speed positron is emitted as well as a neutrino. Current theory holds that a
positron is an electron with a positive charge. This is called beta plus decay.
Lets start by examining Beta Minus decay. In SAM there is no fundamental neutron. Therefore
when a proton-electron pair in the nucleus loses an electron, the proton remains and the electron
is ejected from the nucleus. This can occur if two proton-electron pairs combine to create a
deuteron. This can also happen when there is no room in the nucleus to hold all the inner
electrons - when there is too much negative charge in the nucleus. As a consequence, one electron
is emitted and a deuteron is created. This is a topic we will cover in more detail in the future.
Let's examine an example we are familiar with
from our densest packing video. When we looked at Boron 12 we said it would decay to Carbon
12. With Boron 12 we can see that there are two additional neutrons or proton electron pairs.
They would prefer to create a deuteron but as each has its own inner electron this is not
possible. By removing one of these inner electrons from one of these pairs we are left with a proton
electron pair and a single proton. These will readily join to create a deuteron. This means
it has an additional deuteron and therefore is a different element now, carbon in this case.
But what about the anti-neutrino then? When we examine the kinetic energy of the emitted electron
it should be a very specific value determined by the change in binding energy
and the released energy when the electron detaches from the proton.
Yet it is not. In fact when we examine the kinetic energy it produces a continuous energy spectrum.
This problem was solved by the creation of an additional particle, the anti-neutrino.
This particle does not really interact with normal matter, has almost no mass but conveniently fills
in the gap for the missing energy. So how could we explain this in SAM? There is no definitive answer
at this stage but in SAM they reject the notion of simply inventing a nearly unmeasurable particle
with just the right properties. But it might be useful to ponder on this thought:
When the inner electron leaves the nucleus this is not an instantaneous step.
It takes time, in this time the electron losses its kinetic energy gained from the excess energy
of the rearrangement. What is measured in a continuous spectrum are different electrons
at various points in time during the ejection process, whose velocity is most likely not linear.
One other reason they required the anti-neutrino was due to the spin of the particles.
In the standard model the spin calculations of the electron,
proton and neutron do not add up unless an additional particle is created to balance this.
So in this case the neutron would be converted into a proton and an electron. The problem is when
we look at the spins they don't add up. So another reason they needed the anti neutrino is to balance
this. And the anti neutrino's spin magically is minus a half. Which makes the two sides
of the equation now balance. In SAM the spin is considered an artifact of a different model which
needs to be replaced by a proper understanding of the magnetic moment within the nucleus
and the atom. Once more we see no reason to invent a new particle to fix a calculation issue.
Let's move on to look at Beta plus decay.
Here, at least for higher energies, an atom emits a positron and a neutrino causing a
proton to be converted into a neutron and the element to change to the prior element.
Let's examine some examples. Sodium-22 will decay into Neon-22 through beta plus decay.
In the mainstream model Sodium-22 decays to Neon-22 through beta plus decay. Here a
positron is ejected, converting a proton into a neutron.
This positron then eventually collides with an electron, annihilates and produces gamma rays.
So let's consider a different way of looking at this reaction. When we look at Sodium-22
you can see the structure is not balanced. There is a lithium ending on one side and
only a four-ending on the other side. If we now look at Neon 22 you will immediately see the
structure is balanced and one of the protons has moved from the lithium ending to the other side.
This would have meant the deuteron on the lithium side would need to be split. This would leave
one proton electron pair on this side but would require an additional electron to be pulled in,
in order to allow the proton to join on the other side, forming a proton electron pair.
This electron is pulled in from the outer shell but as we have now moved to Neon
we require one less electron in the outer shell anyway. You will also notice that there is a
difference in shape between Sodium 22 and Neon 22. In Neon 22 the carbon nuclet has moved closer
to the icosahedron shape and hence will be a lower energy configuration (denser packing).
The working hypothesis of the SAM team is that there is no positron ejected.
In the mainstream model the positron is responsible for creating two gamma rays
when it annihilates with an electron. In the Structured Atom model however these gamma rays
are created when the electron is pulled in and the proton moves to its new location.
This means that the structure is moving to a lower energy state, a more densely packed
structure and therefore the difference in energy must be released. Whenever protons rearrange
themselves into a lower energy structure in the nucleus this will emit gamma rays.
So how would this account for the emission of positron? The electrons path will appear to be
the opposite of a positron as the mainstream model sees this process in reverse. This means that its
path could make it appear as if it were a positive particle while in fact it is still a negative one.
What is a negative particle moving towards a positive charge
appears as if it is a positive particle racing away from a positive charge.
In some senses you might describe a positron as an electron moving backwards in time.
So the SAM model the movement and rearrangement of the nucleus releases the same amount of energy
and is responsible for the emission of the gamma rays.
There is therefore no positron that is ejected in the SAM model.
Now the idea of an electron moving into the nucleus is actually something that does exist.
At lower energies in the Mainstream model there is a process of electron capture as described here
but it only occurs at lower energy levels!