No one really knows exactly what processes are taking place inside the atom. The only thing that remains reliably known is that electrons rush around the orbitals in the outer shell of the atom, forming a large amount of empty space, in the center of which is a nucleus of protons and neutrons. Gathering together, protons and neutrons give the atom unique properties that further determine certain qualities of a substance, which can be either oxygen or hydrogen, or iron or xenon. According to an article published on livescience.com, it is still unknown how exactly protons and neutrons behave inside the atom. In addition, the experiments carried out have shown that the protons and neutrons located inside the nucleus seem to be much larger than they really are. What are these properties associated with and how can they be applied in practice?
How does an atom work?
As you may be aware, the protons and neutrons located inside the atom are made up of tiny particles called quarks, the interactions between which are so strong that no external force can deform them. Gerald Miller, a nuclear physicist at the University of Washington, believes that the nucleons that are formed when protons and neutrons merge have very little energy inside them. When, in 1983, physicists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) noticed that electron beams were repelled by iron in a different way than free protons, they concluded that the size problem causes protons and neutrons inside heavy nuclei to act as if they had much big sizes. This phenomenon was named the EMC effect after the group that accidentally discovered it.
Quarks are the smallest discovered particles in the universe
While quarks, the special particles that make up nucleons, interact with each other inside a separate proton and neutron, quarks located in different protons and neutrons cannot actively interact with each other. At the same time, due to the fact that about 20% of the nucleons in the nucleus are actually outside their orbitals, the interaction between them is much more energetic than usual. This phenomenon arises because quarks are able to penetrate the walls of nucleons, causing the destruction of the walls inside individual protons and neutrons.
Despite the fact that this theory of interactions sounds very plausible, experts believe that the hypothesis does not completely solve the problem of the atomic nucleus, suggesting replacing it with so-called quantum chromodynamics or a system of rules governing the behavior of quarks. The difficulty in solving this problem lies in the low level of modern technologies, which do not allow for the extremely complex chromodynamic calculations required to confirm the theory.
Nevertheless, the EMS effect can already help in clarifying some important issues of modern quantum physics. Will the introduction of supercomputers help solve the problem of the atom? Perhaps time will tell.