how much energy do you need to split up a proton?

[TR094]

like is it even possible to split up one in the first place and if so how much energy do you need to do that

[joigus]

You can't split up a proton in the usual sense, as a proton is a bound state of quantum chromodynamics, and its "constituents" (quarks and gluons) cannot fly apart as such, but only form further particles. But they weren't in the proton before the collision, and some of them are similar to the proton itself. It's said that quarks are confined.

So it's kinda like as if you try to split up a PC and, as a result, you get a bigger PC, a laptop, and a tablet. Those are not "parts" of what was there before.

As to how much energy you need, the minimum is the rest energy of the particles you want to produce.

If you want to split the quarks apart the answer is easier: infinite energy.

[Genady]

I find it cool to compare:

[swansont]

Splitting up a proton also violates conservation of baryon number, unless “splitting” means forming a neutron. In which case you need a minimum of 0.782 MeV, and you’d also form a positron and neutrino. But none of these are inside the proton; you’re changing a down quark to an up quark.

[Markus Hanke]

4 hours ago, joigus said:

So it's kinda like as if you try to split up a PC and, as a result, you get a bigger PC, a laptop, and a tablet.

Lol…nice analogy 😉

[KJW]

As one attempts to separate the quarks in a proton, the force between them increases. Thus, there comes a point where there is so much energy that one or more quark-antiquark pairs are created. This results in one or more mesons being released, leaving behind some form of baryon (not necessarily a proton).

 

[joigus]

5 hours ago, Markus Hanke said:

Lol…nice analogy 😉