Vol. 7, Issue 5, Part C (2021)

Abstract
The discovery of the neutron by Chadwick in 1932 is discussed in detail. Pauli pointed out that the profile for neutron decay indicates unequivocally that a third particle, in addition to the proton and electron, is involved, which has since been referred to as the anti-neutrino . Fermi then argued that the electron could not have been present in the neutron prior to decay. He based his conclusion on the assumption that the laws of physics must be in accord with the Lorentz transformation, which Einstein used as the cornerstone of his Special Theory of Relativity (STR). On this basis, it should be impossible for a potential to exist which is capable of binding an electron to a proton in such a small space (500 Mev would be required according to Fermi’s calculation based on de Broglie’s p=h/λ relation). The present work assesses this claim on the basis of recent theoretical developments which make use of the exponentially damped Breit-Pauli-Schrödinger (XPBS) equation. Calculations of this type have been successful in showing that the binding energy of an electron to a positron might be exactly equal to the energy equivalent of an electron and positron (2m_oec²). The possibility of a non-zero charge-to-mass ratio is considered as a way to make the Breit-Pauli interactions relevant to the description of the neutron’s internal structure.