Abstract
The principal decay modes of subatomic particles are governed by
fundamental conservation laws, and it is recounted how traditional views
of conservation laws have been altered by the development of modern
theories of elementary particle interactions. Proton decay experiments
have gradually increased the empirical lower boundary on the lifetime of
the proton. It is now known to have a lifetime at least 10 to the 30th
times the age of the universe, but recent theoretical work is cited as
an indication that this fundamental constituent of matter is not
immortal. The conclusion is that all matter will eventually disintegrate
if the proton indeed does not live forever.
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