Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
The conservation of the number of nucleons in the sense that they do not decay spontaneously nor are destroyed or created singly in nuclear collisions is generally assumed. The validity of this conservation law was tested experimentally in 1924 with the conclusion that a bound nucleon has a mean lifetime > 10/sup 22/ years. An improvement is reported on this number which is made possible by the use of a delayed-coincidence technique in conjunction with a giant liquid scintillation detector array placed 200 ft below ground. (A.C.)
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Reines et al. (1954) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: