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Chaste
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I'm studying particle physics now and am confused with all these terminologies.
tom.stoer said:I hydrogen ion can be the nucleus (w/o electron) consisting of
a) a proton
b) a deuteron = proton + oen neutron
c) a triton = proton + two neutrons
a) and c) are fermions whereas b) is a boson
Yes. The combination of two spin 1/2 particles is either a spin 0 or spin 1 "particle." Either way, it's an integral spin, and thus a boson.Chaste said:Thanks. That's was what I'm looking for. Just wondering would (a) with an electron be a boson?
A hydrogen atom is considered a fermion, as it consists of an electron (a fermion) and a proton (also a fermion) in its nucleus.
A fermion is a type of elementary particle that has half-integer spin and follows the Pauli exclusion principle, which states that no two fermions can occupy the same quantum state simultaneously.
The spin of an electron is what determines its fermionic nature, as fermions have half-integer spin values. This means that a hydrogen atom, which contains an electron, also inherits the fermionic classification.
No, a hydrogen atom can never exhibit bosonic behavior as it is composed of fermions. Bosons, on the other hand, are particles with integer spin and can exhibit collective behavior, unlike fermions.
Besides electrons and protons, other particles that are considered fermions include neutrons, quarks, and neutrinos. Fermions are the building blocks of matter and are essential for understanding the structure of atoms and the universe.