What would be the energy (in J) required to break a proton into its fundamental constituents (quarks)?
Would the following be a legitimate calculation?
According to the wiki article on QCD matter (quark gluon plasma),
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QCD_matter , the temperature required to maintain the plasma is in the order of 10^12 K. Would this be a correct assumption, given the full quote below?
"At ordinary temperatures or densities this force just confines the quarks into composite particles (hadrons) of size around 1 fm and its effects are not noticeable at longer distances. However, when the temperature reaches the QCD energy scale (T of order 10^12K) or the density rises to the point where the average inter-quark separation is less than 1 fm, the hadrons are melted into their constituent quarks"
So, using Hydrogen, as it most closely resembles a lone proton., could I use the following equation, or am i WAY OFF:
(mass of hydrogen sample)(specific heat of hydrogen)(delta T)=E
Update:The spec. heat of hydrogen is 14.304 J/gK, so the formula would be:
(1g)(14.304J/gK)(10^12 K)= E,
So,1.43x10^14 J would be req'd to raise the temperature of 1g of protons to the point at which it will break down...
Is this calculation even remotely valid?
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Wow, an intelligent question (so many questions here are obviously high-schoolers too lazy to even try to think about their homework).
While you may get an answer here, I would recommend reposting the question in the physics section. Chemists in general don't care about quarks, b/c we only work in conditions where subatomic particles are stable. 10^12 degrees Kelvin is several orders of magnitude off where most chemists work.
approximately ninety 3.8% of the mass of the proton arises from the potential of the quarks, not their mass. Its mass is approximately 938 MeV/c^2. So thats approximately 879 MeV of potential (binding and kinetic). (Energies of nucleons are actually not measured in Joules - the Joule is a lot too enormous - they're measured in electron volts - an electron volt is the potential of shifting an electron with the aid of a million volt - MeV potential million electon volts).