eli5 I read that no particles in the universe can be created or be destroyed but changes form. Is this true?
In: Physics
Matter and energy cannot be created. The same amount of matter+energy that existed in the beginning of the universe is what exist now.
Matter can transform into energy and energy can transform into matter.
People get confused because matter can transform to a different matter and thus “new” matter is created. But the total mass remains the same.
Hydrogen atom fuses with another hidrógen atom and forms Helium. Helium would be a “new” element. But it’s ever so slightly “lighter “ (has less mass) than the 2 hydrogen atoms. That mass that was “lost” turned into energy. And basically that’s how a fusion reactor, or star like our sun, works.
A neutron can “create” an electron” under certain circumstances but it doesn’t actually create anything from zero it just transforms
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