I have been reading a lot of QED books lately, and understand (as well as possib

Question

I have been reading a lot of QED books lately, and understand (as well as possible anyway) the interaction between electrons and photons. But I can't seem to get a clear indication of the interaction between photons and protons. It seems that normal light (not talking about high-energy levels or anything exciting, just the stuff that comes out of a light bulb) would be insufficient to really produce a reflection, but, so far, it depends upon who I ask.

That said, to boil down what I am really trying to determine: Would otherwise-normal atoms (or matter, really) with no electrons be visible? Would the protons take up the role normally provided by the electrons and cause a similar scattering of light, or would it really just mess things up?

Explanation / Answer

Ordinary light has far too little energy to significantly affect protons. But gamma rays are the result of interactions between protons, neutrons and photons in an unstable nucleus (i.e., a radioactive atom).

Normal atoms without their electrons are positively charged and would not form ordinary matter but an exploding gas. Most ordinary experience would become invalid.

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