The decays
neutron -> proton + electron (+ antineutrino, btw)
proton -> neutron + positron (+ neutrino, btw)
do NOT logically imply either that the neutron "is made of" (i.e.
contains) a proton and an electron or the reverse, i.e. that the
proton contains a neutron and a positron.
[ Nitroglycerin decays into water, carbon dioxide and diatomic
nitrogen, but does not _contain_ those entities as such. ]
All you can say about the decays
neutron -> proton + electron + antineutrino
proton -> neutron + positron + neutrino
is that, given certain reasonable assumptions about conservation,
* a neutron and a (proton + electron + antineutrino)
are made of the same things,
and
* a proton and a (neutron + positron + neutrino)
are made of the same things.
[ Nitroglycerin does not _contain_ water, carbon dioxide and diatomic
nitrogen. Nitroglycerin and (water + carbon dioxide and nitrogen)
are made of the same things, i.e. C, H, N and O atoms.]
And, indeed, given that protons and neutrons are made of
combinations of up and down quarks and given that particle-antiparticle
pairs can be created out of energy, that is the case. |
