%0 Journal Article %1 weinberg_decay_1981 %A Weinberg, S. %D 1981 %J Scientific American %K SummerStudentReadList09 article cerenkov conservation decay laws lifetime matter nuclear physics protons radiation radiative radioactive %P 64--75 %T The decay of the proton %U http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1981SciAm.244...64W %V 244 %X The principal decay modes of subatomic particles are governed by fundamental conservation laws, and it is recounted how traditional views of conservation laws have been altered by the development of modern theories of elementary particle interactions. Proton decay experiments have gradually increased the empirical lower boundary on the lifetime of the proton. It is now known to have a lifetime at least 10 to the 30th times the age of the universe, but recent theoretical work is cited as an indication that this fundamental constituent of matter is not immortal. The conclusion is that all matter will eventually disintegrate if the proton indeed does not live forever.

@article{weinberg_decay_1981, abstract = {The principal decay modes of subatomic particles are governed by fundamental conservation laws, and it is recounted how traditional views of conservation laws have been altered by the development of modern theories of elementary particle interactions. Proton decay experiments have gradually increased the empirical lower boundary on the lifetime of the proton. It is now known to have a lifetime at least 10 to the 30th times the age of the universe, but recent theoretical work is cited as an indication that this fundamental constituent of matter is not immortal. The conclusion is that all matter will eventually disintegrate if the proton indeed does not live forever.}, added-at = {2009-07-03T16:37:22.000+0200}, author = {Weinberg, S.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/22aaf8cdbd327a0e42b78ec35a40bdfc0/cernlibrary}, interhash = {0e90edd4bc17b63f0865d2fc03a909bd}, intrahash = {2aaf8cdbd327a0e42b78ec35a40bdfc0}, journal = {Scientific American}, keywords = {SummerStudentReadList09 article cerenkov conservation decay laws lifetime matter nuclear physics protons radiation radiative radioactive}, month = {June}, pages = {64--75}, timestamp = {2009-07-24T15:50:26.000+0200}, title = {The decay of the proton}, url = {http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1981SciAm.244...64W}, volume = 244, year = 1981 }