33.5 Exercise 35

(a) How much energy would be released if the proton did decay via the conjectured reaction $p \rightarrow \pi^{0} + e^{+ }$?

(b) Given that the $\pi^{0}$ decays to two $\gamma$ s and that the $e^{+ }$ will find an electron to annihilate, what total energy is ultimately produced in proton decay?

(c) Why is this energy greater than the proton’s total mass (converted to energy)?