What The Voyagers’ Journeys Tell Us About The Atom
The voyager satellites were launched in 1977 to explore the outer planets of the solar system. The exploration was hugely successful and we learned far more than expected from these probes
They not only accomplished their missions but have continued to provide data from beyond our solar system. They have gone further than any made object.
They were able to accomplish this great journey because the alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune in 1977 allowed for the gravity from the planets to add energy to the satellites, giving them additional speed to reach the next planet and eventually leave the solar system.
All that was needed was enough energy to reach Jupiter and enough power to run the instruments and transmit the data back to Earth. Reaching Jupiter was not an easy task, for every kg of payload 1,215 kg of fuel is needed to make the 500,000 km trip to Jupiter.
The satellites needed not only to carry their instruments and radios but also maneuvering fuel to correct their trajectories, so weight was at a premium and needed to be minimized.
The energy from the sun reaching the outer planets is not strong enough to utilize solar panels to provide electricity for the instruments and radios so a different source of electrical power was needed and batteries would be too heavy.
The power source selected was using the radioactive decay of plutonium to produce heat and then use thermocouples to convert that heat into electric power.
Plutonium decays giving off alpha particles and neutrons and the kinetic energy of these particles would provide the heat to generate electricity. Plutonium was chosen because another of the elements from its decay is Uranium 235, which also emits alpha particles and neutrons, providing more power in a smaller package.
Enough plutonium was used to provide enough power to run the instruments and radio transmitter for five years, the time needed in order to accomplish the mission. After five years the power from the radioactive decay of the plutonium would declined to where it could no longer run the instruments and transmitter.
It has been fifty years and the Voyagers are still powered up. The longest journey man has ever traveled has provided us with information about the smallest of objects, the atom.
Clearly the rate of decay or half life of Plutonium has declined during the journies The excess power that was not needed to power the equipment at the start of the journey was available after it should have been exhausted, meaning the assumption that radioactive decay occurs at a constant rate, regardless of the environment, is incorrect. Our theory of the structure of the atom is wrong.
This error of constant rate of radioactive decay is supported by the clocks on the satellites orbiting Earth. The clocks on satellites use the beta decay of cesium and rubidium to measure the passage of time. The clocks are all synchronized to a standard before they are launched but in orbit the clocks measure different rates of time at different altitudes and must be regularly adjusted back to the standard setting.
Both alpha and beta decay of the nucleus of the atoms is being influenced by the environment the atom is in, so the claim of quantum physics that there are separate laws of physics at the subatomic level is false. The laws of physics are the same throughout the universe, regardless of perceived size.
The current theory of the nucleus maintains that there are two forces that hold the nucleus together: the strong and weak nuclear forces, that overcome the electric repulsion force between the protons within the nucleus..
The strong nuclear force is a binding force within the nucleus that is confined solely to the nucleus and does not radiate from the atom. If it were radiated it should be detected. This strong force, by itself, it not able to overcome the repelling force within the nucleus so a weak nuclear force was created that made atoms stable. It is believed that it is a lack of strength of this weak force that results in nuclear decay.
None of this makes sense or is supported by evidence. It is now currently believed that the weak nuclear force is electrical in nature meaning there are electrons within te nucleus.
In beta decay of the nucleus, energy is expended to eject an electron, not only overcoming the attractive force of the protons in the original element but the added attraction of the additional proton in the new element.
How can the inadequate strength of the weak nuclear force eject something that would strengthen the attraction between protons, having enough energy to leave the atom and then form a stable nucleus? Can’t happen. You can’t have the weak force expending energy and emitting energy as gamma radiation and then become stronger.
When a nucleus emits an alpha particle or neutron it is undergoing fission, creating an helium or hydrogen atom and other stable elements. Helium and hydrogen are the end ashes of energy combining with matter to form objects with both energy and matter.
As elements get larger the strength of the strong nuclear force must increase to overcome the increasing repelling force between protons. As the nucleus grows from the addition of a proton, the strong nuclear force must increase exponentially as every proton in the nucleus now has an increase in repelling force acting upon it requiring the total strength of the binding force must increase.
The addition of a proton from beta decay must not only increase the strength of the weak nuclear force but the proton must add more strength to the strong nuclear force than the repelling force it adds.
Energy is attracted to mass or the nucleus of the atom and equalizes with that mass. It is a subatomic force as is the force between electrons and protons. Energy is attracted to protons and it is a compression force of this energy that hold the nucleus of an atom together, The force of energy being stronger than the electric repulsion force between protons and prevent the electrons from recombining with the protons.
We see this force in action when a neutron is no longer in the nucleus of the atom. The force is able to split a neutron into a proton, an electron, and emit energy as gamma radiation in a matter of minutes. The “binding” force is being radiated from the nucleus, not just confined to it and acts on any free proton-electron molecule that is not protected within the nucleus.
Stable atoms last for billions of years even though they contain neutrons that are unstable by themselves.
If a nucleus has an outer shell of protons, the force of energy attracted to it will form a stable nucleus. If an electron is exposed upon the surface of the nucleus, it will be displaced by the energy causing the beta decay we see in certain elements.
If there are too few electrons within the nucleus the repelling force within the nucleus will be too strong for the force acting on the surface of the nucleus causing fission. The alpha particle with two electrons within a tetrahedral four protons will form an extremely stable structure a helium nucleus.
A subatomic molecule consisting of a proton and an electron (neutron) emitted by the nucleus will have the electron exposed to the energy force and will further decay to produce a hydrogen atom.
The energy force compressing the nucleus radiates from the atom as a force attracted to other positive electric matter as gravity or in a directional form of magnetism.
It is the interaction of energy and matter that creates the universe. Without matter energy cannot be detected and without energy matter cannot be detected. Without matter there is no motion and without energy there is no motion. These two indestructible building blocks of the universe are distinct and behave differently
Energy and matter act in similar ways but in opposite fashion, which causes them to have perpendicular orientation. When two opposite magnetic poles combine the radiated magnetic field increases, while when two opposite charges combine, the radiated electric fields decrease, When similar magnetic poles are combined the radiated magnetic force disappears while when similar electric charges are combined the radiated electric force increases.
The north flow and south flow of radiated energy coming from positive matter in the nucleus will be equal at the midpoint or equator causing matter radiating a negative charge to form a horizontal disc. We see this structure in galaxies, solar systems, the rings of planets so it is also true of atoms where the energy flows from the positive nucleus.
The theory of electron shells that are perpendicular or diagonal is based on the assumption of there being no magnetic/energy field but without energy there would be no free electrons or motion.
Because the attraction of energy to positive matter decreases with distance the strength of the compression force around a nucleus decreases as the nucleus gets larger because of geometry, the force holding the nucleus together is determined by the area it acts upon, which is a function of the square of the radius, while the internal repelling force between protons is a function of volume which a cube of the radius. Larger elements have more unstable isotopes.
This change in the ratio of area to volume explains why a nucleus can be unstable if it has either too many electrons/neutrons or too few electrons/neutrons.
When a radioactive element moves into a weaker energy field, moving away from the source like the Earth or sun, the compression force holding the nucleus together weakens.
This reduction of pressure allows electrons to remain in the interior of the nucleus thus reducing beta decay and also reduces alpha and neutron decay as the force trying to split the nucleus declines.
The rate of radioactive decay declines as the energy field compression is reduced. This is shown by the clocks of the satellites orbiting the Earth.
Initially the clocks go faster as the altitude increases but then slow upon entering the sun’s energy field where increasing altitude means an in increase in the strength of the compression by energy.
The unexpected long life of the Voyager satellites has provided us with information to better understand the atom.
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