Mechanism Research on Neutron Binding Energy and Separation Work

Free neutron beta decay and neutron generation through proton electron capture constitute a pair of reciprocal physical processes. Conventional mainstream theories only analyze product kinetic energy in neutron decay, and ignore the energy storage mechanism during neutron formation as well as the Coulomb separation work consumed in disintegration, which creates a spurious energy deficit and further introduces the neutrino hypothesis to fill theoretical gaps. Based on fundamental particle constants published by PDG and NIST, quantitative calculations are carried out in this paper. The total intrinsic decay energy derived from the rest energy difference among neutron, proton and electron is 0.782 MeV. Disassembling the proton and electron inside a neutron consumes Coulomb separation work of 0.393 MeV. After subtracting this work consumption loss, the total output kinetic energy of proton and electron is approximately 0.390 MeV. This value agrees with early experimental observations of classical beta spectra[3]. When a neutron is formed by proton electron capture, Coulomb potential energy is converted into relative kinetic energy of particles. This kinetic energy is stored inside the photon cage self locking structure as binding storage energy. Beta decay must draw on this stored energy to overcome electrostatic binding for disintegration. Under a complete bidirectional energy closed loop, the system satisfies energy conservation without hypothesizing neutrinos for energy transport. This paper also interprets the internal mechanism for differences in neutron stability under varied nuclear environments and responds to observational phenomena related to neutrino oscillation. Beta decay phenomena do not require an independent weak interaction force and essentially belong to internal energy redistribution and transformation within particle systems.