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Please tell me if fundamental particles (Electron,Proton & Neutrons) are compressible?

Hritik Narayan
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Saif KhAn
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2 Answers2

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By definition, fundamental particles are point particles with no volume, so they can't get any smaller. So no, they're not compressible.

Also, protons and neutrons aren't fundamental particles; they're made up of quarks and gluons.

tparker
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Have you heard of neutron stars? They are made of a liquid of neutrons [*], packed together with a density similar to that of atomic nuclei. The pressure in a neutron star ranges from $10^{28}$ to $10^{30}$ atmospheres but we have all the reasons to believe that the neutrons in there are exactly like those we know on Earth. That should illustrate nicely how utterly incompressible are neutrons, at least!

[*] They are the ultimate fate of massive stars (10$\times$ to 30$\times$ heavier than our Sun), after they explode in a supernova.