Clifford fields and the relativistic equation of the nucleon

A relativistic equation for free fields which take their values in the Clifford algebra associated with the Minkowski metric is shown to be interpretable as the equation of the nucleon. The internal symmetry group SU(2) arises naturally from the associative algebra structure of the representation space. The latter structure can be used to construct coupling terms consistent with the transformation properties of the interacting fields; in particular, it allows the familiar couplings of the nucleon field with the electromagnetic field and with the pi-meson field.