Several questions on the quantum level

[Mukilab]

Sorry, didn't know if this classified in the quantum section.

 

I'd just like some answers to some random questions.

 

Is there anything in the world which will make electrons spin/orbit (although it's not really an orbit, I know) around the nucleus faster?

 

Why do electrons not spiral into the center of an atom? I believe the name of the force is electrostatis but I don't know anything about it.

 

Why do atoms vibrate and not move in a single direction?

 

What does one mean or what happens on a particle level with delocalized electrons?

 

 

Feel free to answer one or all at a time.

[Mr Skeptic]

1) Yes, if you ionize an atom so that it has a huge positive charge, the electron cloud around it will be smaller, which if it were with classical particles would correspond to faster orbits

2) Electrons, due to quantum mechanics, have a minimum energy they need to orbit, and also there are limits to what photons can be emitted. In neutron stars, electrons are crushed into an atom, collapsing it and also causing reverse beta decay turning all protons into neutrons.

3) Atoms vibrate because they are hot. If it is in a solid, then the atom has motion but isn't allowed to go anywhere, so it has to vibrate in place. Also, atoms in molecules vibrate. I'm not sure about atoms in a noble gas that has just 1 atom per molecule.

4) Not sure what you mean here. Can you give an example?

[swansont]

Atoms in a gas can and do move in a single direction until they hit something. In a liquid or solid, and when you have molecules, there are interactions with neighbors which preclude this.

[Mukilab]

1) Yes, if you ionize an atom so that it has a huge positive charge, the electron cloud around it will be smaller, which if it were with classical particles would correspond to faster orbits

2) Electrons, due to quantum mechanics, have a minimum energy they need to orbit, and also there are limits to what photons can be emitted. In neutron stars, electrons are crushed into an atom, collapsing it and also causing reverse beta decay turning all protons into neutrons.

3) Atoms vibrate because they are hot. If it is in a solid, then the atom has motion but isn't allowed to go anywhere, so it has to vibrate in place. Also, atoms in molecules vibrate. I'm not sure about atoms in a noble gas that has just 1 atom per molecule.

4) Not sure what you mean here. Can you give an example?

 

Atoms in a gas can and do move in a single direction until they hit something. In a liquid or solid, and when you have molecules, there are interactions with neighbors which preclude this.

 

 

Thank you both.

 

Regarding question 4) (as denoted by Mr Skeptic), I was referring to what happens on a molecular level. At my level the only answer I could hope to receive from my teacher is that the electrons are 'free to move'.

What does this mean? Electrons can be transmitted to other molecules freely? It's so incredibly vague I don';t know what to make of it.

 

Oh and please expand on 2)

Edited March 3, 2010 by Mukilab

[swansont]

Electrons being free to move could be a plasma, where the electrons are not bound to the atoms. But the statement is pretty vague. Delocalized electrons could also be referring to their wave nature.

[Mr Skeptic]

And if you have a molecule with a resonance, then at least one electron can go all over the place, rather than being "stuck" in a particular bond.