Question: A free neutron decays into a proton and an electron (and an anti-neutrino). A free proton has never been observed to decay. Why then do

A free neutron decays into a proton and an electron (and an anti-neutrino). A free proton has never been observed to decay. Why then do we consider the neutron to be as "fundamental" (at the nuclear level) a particle as the proton? Why do we not consider a neutron to be a proton-electron composite?

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