crossboss Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Do neutrons attract each other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaynos Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 They interact using the nuclear strong force, and gravity. With the strong force I don't think they attract each other at any range, but I can't recall, someone else will have to comment on this. The gravitational force between any 2 energetic (or massive as the two are related) particles is always attractive, but this is very weak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crossboss Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share Posted February 1, 2007 If protons and neutrons can gather in the center. Is it possible that the same effect could happen with electrons and neutrons, with protons orbiting the electron nucleus? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaynos Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I believe the strong nuclear force, which is responsible for the nucleon bonding does not act strongly enough on electrons to break the electron coulomb repulsion (EM). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 If protons and neutrons can gather in the center. Is it possible that the same effect could happen with electrons and neutrons, with protons orbiting the electron nucleus? No. You can't confine electrons a such a small volume, and protons are much more massive — if we simplify it to a classical picture for a moment, Newton's third law is going to dictate that the more massive particles be closer to the center of the "orbit." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little guy Posted February 4, 2007 Share Posted February 4, 2007 could the electrical pulls supplied by the electrons even hold the protons in orbit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted February 4, 2007 Share Posted February 4, 2007 could the electrical pulls supplied by the electrons even hold the protons in orbit? Ignoring the center-of-mass and quantum issues, yes. The force a proton exerts on an electron is identical to the force an electron exerts on a proton. It has to be, by Newton's third law. It would be true even if they did not have the same magnitude of charge. You get a little closer to examining this when you create "exotic atoms" like muonium, the bound state of an antimuon and electron. The muon mass is smaller than that of a proton, so the orbital dynamics are changed, making it a good test of QED. Or a mesonic atom, where you replace an electron with a meson. Or positronium, the bound state of an electron and positron. And others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now