Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted (edited)

I saw AJB say that the mass of a free electron + free proton is larger than that of a hydrogen atom....why is that?

the mass of hydrogen is lighter because of the binding energy which is negative.

 

m = mp + me - E/c^2

 

m is mass of hydrogen (in ground state), mp mass of proton, me mass of electron and E/c^2 is the mass contribution due to the binding energy. the energy required to separate the electron is equal to the absolute value of the binding energy.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_energy

Edited by andrewcellini

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.