Proton (source code)
= Proton
{title2=$p$}
{wiki}
The <proton> is a positively charged spin-$1/2$ <baryon> with ordinary valence <quark> content $uud$. It carries <electric charge> $+e$ and <baryon number> one. A hydrogen <atomic nucleus> is a single <proton>, while other ordinary <atomic nuclei> contain <protons> together with <neutrons>.
A <proton> is composite even when an atomic calculation treats it as a pointlike source. <Electron scattering> at increasing <momentum> transfer probes its spatial and magnetic response, whereas low-energy atomic behavior often needs only its charge, mass and magnetic moment. Its mass is about $1836$ <electron> masses; that ratio does not make it a bound collection of <electrons>.
Back to article page