Can a Hydrogen Atom Decay Into a Neutron?

[jackle]

A long time ago, when I did my degree I was taught that Neutrons have a half life of (about 10 minutes?). I also remember that the elementry particle equation was:

N <-> P+e.

Now, a proton plus an electron could look a lot like a hydrogen atom and I also remember that the electron in a hydrogen atom at it's lowest allowed energy does a figure 8 through the nucleus with a node in it's centre. The proton has a small radius, I know, but it seems like the electron would occasionally be in the proton? I am also thinking of the energy being negotiable because of the HUP.

Now I am probably sounding confused.

The question I would like to ask is:

Is there a probability (perhaps a very small one) that a hydrogen atom can decay into a neutron? Why/Why not?

 

[selfAdjoint]

It works the other way around. A neutron can decay into a proton and an electron, plus an antineutrino, via the weak interaction. But that's not because the neutron has the proton and electron inside it; it's because the weak force can turn one kind of quark into another, and conservation of charge has to be satisfied in the cheapest way possible.

 

[jackle]

Yeah, I think they taught me that, it was just too long ago.

What stops the process happening in reverse?

 

[jackle]

Happy birthday by the way. I just noticed!

 

[jackle]

err, so is it an entropy thing then?

 

[selfAdjoint]

Happy birthday by the way. I just noticed!

Thank you.

The reason it doesn't run in reverse is that there isn't enough energy. The weak decay is energetically downhill,and inverse weak decay is uphill.

 

[jackle]

Any idea how much energy?