The Disintegration of Deutons by High Speed Protons and the Instability of the Deuton

Abstract

To obtain evidence of the instability of the deuton and the low mass of the neutron, even more direct than those cited in previous communications, we have compared the effect of proton bombardment on pairs of targets containing ordinary and heavy hydrogen. In all cases an excess of long range protons was obtained from the targets containing ${\mathrm{H}}^2$. These are attributed to the disintegration of the deuton by the bombarding protons. The range of the protons so obtained agrees with that calculated from the masses and energies involved, on the assumption that the mass of the neutron is in the neighborhood of unity.