A Qualitative Hypothesis on the Stability of the Hydrogen Atom

The stability of the hydrogen atom is conventionally described within quantum mechanics by stationary electron states derived from the Coulomb interaction between an electron and a point-like proton. While this framework successfully reproduces observed energy levels, the physical mechanism preventing the electron from collapsing into the proton is embedded in the formal structure of the theory rather than arising from a specific short-range interaction. In this work, an alternative hypothesis is proposed in which the stability of the hydrogen atom originates from the internal charge structure of the proton. The proton is modeled as possessing a positively charged core surrounded by a weakly negative, neutrino-like charge distribution. This internal configuration modifies the effective electron–proton interaction at short distances, producing a repulsive or screening effect that prevents collapse. The resulting effective potential exhibits a minimum at a finite radial distance, naturally defining a stable equilibrium separation. The model is presented as a qualitative and exploratory hypothesis intended to complement, rather than replace, the standard quantum mechanical description.