Conventional (current) wisdom has it that inside each proton or neutron are a number of Quarks. The number is three, but if we imagine the proton or neutron to be like a petrie dish, and the quarks to be like three peas sitting in the dish, why do we believe there are three? Are they analogous to teh protons and neutrons themselves which make up atoms. In atoms, one proton creates Hydrogen, but the next element with two protons has two neutrons as well, or four particles in the nucleus, yet the four particles together cancel out any positive force, in inert helium, but the protons and neutrons together push the element apart, causing it to be light.
It is likely but yet unproven that there are five particles which make up the nucleus of a proton or neutron. They are too small to see. One of these is likely to be key to making a proton, and one of them key to making a neutron. They are likely to be as different from one another as Beryllium is from Boron, in other words, very simple on an atomic scale, but also unique. The other three particles, (or particle) are likely to be common to both, yet is is not possible to easily transform a proton to a neutron or vice versa, even though this atomic model shows how vast amounts of untapped energy exist. It is just that as these superfast particles head off towards the biggest mass in front of them, energy is flowing equally in the opposite direction, always keeping the system in balance.
When the first atomic pile was built by Enrico Fermi in 1942, the uranium core was moderated by graphite. How does graphite act to absorb all those stray neutrons which are excited by the concentrated uranium? How did they prevent a critical chain reaction and consequent explosion? It was only a miracle and blind luck which prevented it, and the method by which graphite absorbs so many neutrons is still not properly understood.
Think of a helium atom as a nucleus surrounded by a cloud of electrons. To get the nucleus to split, you must doublr the amount of energy in it, and that is done by bombarding with high energy neutrons from the enriched uranium source. If you don't have enough energy, it is like trying to pop a baloon by stabbing it with soggy spaghetti.
Chicago Pile-1 (CP-1) was the world's first artificial nuclear reactor.[4][5] The construction of CP-1 was part of the Manhattan Project, and was carried out by the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago. It was built under the west viewing stands of the original Stagg Field. The first man-made self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was initiated in CP-1 on 2 December 1942, under the supervision of Enrico Fermi. Fermi described the apparatus as "a crude pile of black bricks and wooden timbers." It was made of a large amount of graphite and uranium, with "control rods" of cadmium, indium, and silver, and unlike most subsequent reactors, it had no radiation shield or cooling system.
