Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory Office of Science NEWTON's Homepage NEWTON's Homepage
NEWTON, Ask A Scientist!
NEWTON Home Page NEWTON Teachers Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Frequently Asked Questions Referencing NEWTON About NEWTON About Ask A Scientist Education At Argonne Mass of Proton and Quarks 
Name: Dave
Status: student
Age: 17
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 10/16/2004
Question:
Why is a proton heavier than the sum of its parts?

Replies:
Dave,

When the parts, the quarks, move together, they start with a large potential energy. As they move closer together, this energy changes form. Sometimes the energy becomes mass: E=mc^2. Sometimes the energy becomes kinetic energy and the quarks do not stick together.

Dr. Ken Mellendorf
Physics Instructor
Illinois Central College


Click here to return to the Physics Archives

NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.

For assistance with NEWTON contact a System Operator (help@newton.dep.anl.gov), or at Argonne's Educational Programs

NEWTON AND ASK A SCIENTIST
Educational Programs
Building 360
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, Illinois
60439-4845, USA
Update: June 2012
Weclome To Newton

Argonne National Laboratory