Here is a conundrum I cannot solve myself, or at least I wish to expose myself and share this and find out if I simply made an error in my thinking or math, or that there is perhaps reason to redefine the mass belonging the the "neutron" and or perhaps there is a completely different conclusion to be drawn?
Looking at the Periodic Table of the Elements (PTE) and assuming the protons and electrons of the elements and isotopes are always the same value, we see that as element increase in size, the mass-defect increases steadily. The atom is made up of protons, electrons and neutrons allegedly (in principle, even if you assume they are in turn made up from smaller stuff).
The proton and the electron have been experimentally measured pretty accurately as far as I understand and the only thing that was at first unclear was the mass belonging to the neutron. So many attempts were made to figure out the mass of the neutron as it could not be measured directly...
* Conversion MeV to mass - 1 u = 931.49410242 MeV
If one uses the neutron -> proton + electron + 0.78 Mev (released as gamma/photon) (yes also an anti-neutrino allegedly, but does not carry any real energy or mass, so we ignore it here)
1.00866491588 u -> 1.007276466621 u + 0.000548579909 u + mass 0.00084 u
As far as I could figure out, this is how the value of the neutron was determined and accepted. We know all values through measurements etc and the neutron was thus calculated to the 1.00866491588 u.
Looks simple and true, right?!
However....
Lets look a bit more at this.
Assembling and disassembling a deuteron is also used to figure out BE for example.
Hydrogen 1 + Hydrogen 1 ↔ Deuterium + Photon (reaction goes both ways!)
is the basic reaction used for that purpose. It of course means that when we fuse two H1 together we see a mass-defect occurring as a result. Problem is that in effect we have transformed one proton and electron into a neutron and as a result the newly created deuterium is now a bit less massive, so the neutron must be less massive than the proton! So how come?
When the Deuteron is hit by a 2.225 MeV gamma it disintegrates again, but usually by creating a neutron and a H1. obviously the neutron then in 15 mins or so disintegrates into a H1 (proton plus electron) again.
Deuterium + photon ↔ Neutron + Hydrogen 1 (n -> p + e + 0.78 MeV) -> H1 + H1
rewriting the formula gives me
Deuterium ↔ Neutron + Hydrogen 1 - photon
and
Neutron ↔ Deuterium - Hydrogen 1 + Photon
gives us (In MeV)
939.565854484 ↔ 1,876.12392797 - 938.783073486 + 2.225
939.565854484 ↔ 937.340854484 + 2.225 (MeV) → 1.00866538 u (mass)
seems correct but the thing is.... we attributed the gamma mass value to the neutron this way!
So lets do the numbers again.
* The mass-defect for Deuterium is 1.442 MeV
* A neutron is proton + electron + 0.78 MeV = H1 (in mass) + 0.00084 u
* photon is 2.225MeV / 0.0023886 u
Hydrogen 1 + Neutron ↔ Deuterium + photon
gives
Neutron (+0.78) – Photon (2.225) ↔ Deuterium - Hydrogen 1
or
neutron <-> Deuterium - Hydrogen 1 + photon - 0.78MeV (note that 2.225 - 0,78 MeV= 1.442 MeV equates the actual mass-defect for the deuterium)
--> neutron (+ 0.78 MeV) - 0.0023886 <-> 1,876.12392797 - 1.00782503190
--> neutron = 2.0141017781 - 1.00782503190 + 0.0023886 - 0.00084 = 1.0078253462 u which of course leaves us with the value of the proton plus electron since we already took the 0.78 MeV into account.
But in reality we have created a neutron by fusing two Hydrogen atom together. The mass-defect is the gamma ray that is released in the process and if we reduce the neutron value by that number we end up with
(neutron) = (H1 + 0.78) - 2.225 MeV -> mass-defect -> 1.0078247462 - 0.0023886 + 0.00084 = 1.0062761462 mass for the neutron !
Finally,
H1 + H1 -> D + 1.442 (mass defect) Where D is the total of proton + electron + neutron
---> H1 + H1 -> (neutron + proton + electron) + 1.442 (MeV)
In Mass (u)
1.00782503190 + 1.00782503190 <-> 1.0062761462 + 1.007276466621 + 0.000548579909 = 2.01410119273 Which is the correct mass value for Deuterium, BUT! The equation is not correct anymore, meaning 1.00782503190 + 1.00782503190 = 2.0156500638 u and the outcomes is 2.01410119273 with an obvious difference of 0.001548 which is the mass-defect again.
What does this mean?
I think that the two proton of the H1 systems fusing together loose energy, but in effect we would have transformed a proton and electron into a neutron. The only conclusion in my mind is that there is no neutron as a fundamental particle. According the the Structured Atom Model we have only protons and nuclear electrons in the nucleus. That would imply here that the protons loose mass when they become a proton that is connected to another proton forming a nucleus. The neutron is not the current value, although it all appears to be correct, but that is because the emitted gamma ray of 2.225 MeV is conveniently forgotten and taken into account with free-neutron decay.
The protons in the H1 system are an entity in the universe on their own, only by releasing their (potential ?) energy in relation to each other can they be fused together and now act as one collectively as an energy system. That means they are as far as the rest of the universe is concerned one, or a construct that is bonded together.
Coming back to the PTE, adding more H1 to an existing nucleus creates more neutrons and energy release which represents the mass-defect. All other components are known fixed values, meaning the proton and electron. So the only way for that system, if one accepts neutrons to be real, is that the neutron releases that energy somehow, meaning the neutron in the nucleus is a less massive entity than the proton is and the difference is radiated away.... Same problem therefore and the neutron cannot be more massive than the proton in this logic! By isolating the free neutron and forgetting where that free neutron came from, namely a nuclear reaction such as fission of deuterium, can we see the whole picture and that shows us, in my mind, that the story is far from complete.
Hydrogen1 + Hydrogen1 or p+e + p+e <-> Deuterium + Energy and if deuterium is indeed made up of electrons and protons then the protons in the nucleus must be according to the SAM logic have shed some of the mass.... or energy, or charge? So the protons in the nucleus in SAM are "down-graded" protons! with the difference radiated away as gamma rays.
The difference between the 2.225 MeV gamma ray and the mass-defect of 1.442 MeV is the inner electron that has a "self-binding" energy of 0.78 MeV. Now all this detail is completely obscured by attributing the difference to the neutron and not looking at the whole picture...
So please please help me out here and comment on this topic with hopefully a healthy skeptical look but also an open mind, because this is not so much about being right or wrong for me, but to really understand what is going on at this most fundamental level.