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NothingsMatter
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- TL;DR Summary
- What is it about having the opposite charge and same mass that makes a particle and its antimatter partner annihilate each other?
I did a forum search and couldn't find this, so forgive me if my search skills were insufficient to find a previous explanation of this.
But, I'm a bit confused as to why merely having the same mass but opposite charge would cause, for example, an electron and positron to annihilate each other. Why couldn't they just bond to each other and be a happy little neutral particle with twice the mass, give or take a bit related to the energy change required for them to bond? What I have learned from the worst source (artificial intelligence) is that it creates an unstable situation, resulting in the two converting entirely to energy. But if so, why?
So, is there more to the picture than them just having the opposite charge but same mass? If not, what makes that so volatile? Why would opposite charges but different masses not cause the same thing?
Thanks.
Sidenote: My math background maximum is upper division undergrad level. but if your answer requires graduate level stuff, I'll figure it out enough to get a better understanding than I have now, regardless of the intermediate tag on this thread.
But, I'm a bit confused as to why merely having the same mass but opposite charge would cause, for example, an electron and positron to annihilate each other. Why couldn't they just bond to each other and be a happy little neutral particle with twice the mass, give or take a bit related to the energy change required for them to bond? What I have learned from the worst source (artificial intelligence) is that it creates an unstable situation, resulting in the two converting entirely to energy. But if so, why?
So, is there more to the picture than them just having the opposite charge but same mass? If not, what makes that so volatile? Why would opposite charges but different masses not cause the same thing?
Thanks.
Sidenote: My math background maximum is upper division undergrad level. but if your answer requires graduate level stuff, I'll figure it out enough to get a better understanding than I have now, regardless of the intermediate tag on this thread.