help with neutron

Question

as a nucleus gets larger, will the neutrons tend to change into protons and electrons?

 

thanks

Answer 1

There is a process called beta minus (β^-) decay in which a neutron within an unstable nucleus converts into a proton, emitting an electron and anti-neutrino in the process to conserve energy and charge.  Carbon 14 decays into Nitrogen 14 via beta minus decay.  The mass number stays the same but the atomic number increases, converting the carbon into a different element (Nitrogen).  Beta decay occurs when the nucleus seeks to optimize the balance of protons with neutrons and lower the nucleus' energy state.

 

http://education.jlab.org/glossary/betadecay.html

Answer 2

No, neutrons do not change into protons or electrons as the nucleus gets larger.  What happens as a nucleus gets larger is that the repulsive force of the additional *protons* starts to get strong enough to make it more difficult for the nucleus to stay together.  Neutrons are neutral and so do not contribute to this effect.  As the additional protons all have positive charge, the probability that the nucleus breaks apart increases.  This "breaking apart" is called decay, or radioactive decay, and happens for atoms with large numbers of protons in the nucleus.  Note:  there are *no* electrons in the nucleus, they only swarm around the nucleus, exterior to it, in the "electron cloud" of an atom, sometimes called electron orbital shells (e.g., in a chemistry class).