- #1
nonequilibrium
- 1,439
- 2
Hello,
So I'm reading about isospin in Griffith's Introduction to Elementary Particles, but the concept seems rather fishy, and I'm not quite sure what to make out of it.
For example, if p and n (proton and neutron) are seen as different states of the same system, then what does [itex]\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} \left( p + n \right)[/itex] possibly mean? I suppose that expression makes sense if p and n really are different states of the same system, but not if they are kind of similar. Being the same or not is not really a continuous scale. So how serious should I take things like [itex]\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} \left( p + n \right)[/itex]? And what does it mean to you?
So I'm reading about isospin in Griffith's Introduction to Elementary Particles, but the concept seems rather fishy, and I'm not quite sure what to make out of it.
For example, if p and n (proton and neutron) are seen as different states of the same system, then what does [itex]\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} \left( p + n \right)[/itex] possibly mean? I suppose that expression makes sense if p and n really are different states of the same system, but not if they are kind of similar. Being the same or not is not really a continuous scale. So how serious should I take things like [itex]\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} \left( p + n \right)[/itex]? And what does it mean to you?