Neutrons & Electromagnetic Force: Q&A

[Deepak247]

does neutrons have electromagnetic force?

I mean it is the electromagnetic force which allows particles to feel each other in the first place during detection process, but neutron is neutral with no charge so does it possesses it?

 

[Drakkith]

I think you should read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetism

 

[Bill_K]

does neutrons have electromagnetic force?

Although a neutron has zero net charge, it is composed of quarks which are charged particles. As a result the neutron has an electromagnetic 'form factor', i.e. charge density as a function of radius. Also a magnetic dipole moment aligned with its spin.

 

[vanesch]

does neutrons have electromagnetic force?

I mean it is the electromagnetic force which allows particles to feel each other in the first place during detection process, but neutron is neutral with no charge so does it possesses it?

If you're talking about *detection* of neutrons, well, you're right: particle detectors want to see charges and neutrons don't provide them *directly*. But there are ways to provide these charged particles *indirectly*:

* for fast neutrons, elastic collision will set nucleae of the material composing the detector in motion. The neutron will literally knock out a nucleus from its place, and the electron cloud will not follow. The elastic interaction itself is a result of the *nuclear* interaction between the neutron and the nucleus, and not the electromagnetic interaction. The nucleus set in motion will be charged and one will be able to detect it through ionisation and/or excitation.

* for thermal neutrons, one needs a nuclear interaction. For instance, a fission reaction induced on U-235, but there are others. These nuclear interctions will provide fast charged particles (in our example, the fission products), which again, will excite and ionise, and which we can detect.

 

[Drakkith]

neutrons are made of quarks ,then homework neutron disintegrates into proton ,eletron,neutrino during weak interaction(does some thing in w- boson & in neutron combines to form electron).quarks are of size of electron ;neutrons are about 1837times size of electron,3quarks in an neutron&proton,is there any thing else in neutrons, when we calculate electostatic force within neutron there is a net force but no net charge,but in case of proton there's no net force but net charge exists,are strong forces caused by electromagnetic forces of quarks acting acting at very short distance+ interaction of other matter-energy present in nucleus?

In a neutron, one of the down quarks decays via weak force into an up quark. This turns the neutron into a proton and releases the particles. Note that the particles didn't exist before this decay. They weren't already in the neutron. It was the mass difference between the down quark and the up quark that is converted to different particles.

In both protons and neutrons there are electromagnetic forces from each quark. In the proton they happen to add up to 1 while in the neutron they add up to 0. I don't know what you mean by a "net force" within the neutron but not the proton. The strong force holds the quarks together in both particles, not the electromagnetic force.

 

[hi friends]

wts difference between up quark& down quark is it amount of energy ? in above topic i thk sanoy87 is talking about coloumb force between 2/3,-1/3 charges of quarks,when r->0=> force ->infinty, may be that's what he is talking about

 

[Drakkith]

An up quark is slightly less massive than a down quark and has a charge of +2/3 while a down quark has a charge of - 1/3.

 

[Deepak247]

In both protons and neutrons there are electromagnetic forces from each quark. In the proton they happen to add up to 1 while in the neutron they add up to 0.

I just need to clear up one more concept here so please help,

What if those three quarks which add up to 0 in the neutron were hypothetically neutral, i.e. everyone had 0 charge

would the neutron still had the electromagnetic 'form factor' or electromagnetic force to excite or ionize other particles in a reaction?

 

[Drakkith]

I don't believe it would.