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Electrons Pushing Protons
Name: Neil
Status: student
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
I have read a very little on electron proton interaction
and have a question on intersize particle interaction. I am just
wondering. Can an electron (electrons being so much smaller than
protons) which is travelling near the speed of light 'push' a
proton? Further down, how does a single photon, which is so much
smaller than an electron, manage to 'push' that much bigger electron
out of orbit?
Replies:
Neil,
These are good questions you ask. The answers lie in the different
types of forces and energies. While an electron and a proton have
very different masses and volumes, their electrical charge is equal
in magnitude but opposite in direction. If you confer the concept
of momentum onto an electrical charge, then a proton and electron
have equal but opposite electrical momentum.
It is a similar concept with a photon and electron. A photon has a
zero net electrical charge, but is composed of electromagnetic and
mechanical energy. An electron does not get pushed out of orbit by
a photon, per se, rather the electron absorbs the photon's energy
exactly like food absorbs thermal energy in a microwave. It is all
part of the same electromagnetic radiation spectrum. When this
absorption occurs, the electron increases in energy and moves
further away from a given nucleus.
To be sure, I cannot answer your question completely on why this
happens. A point that I would next bring up is since an electron is
moving at the speed of light, its kinetic (mechanical) energy cannot
increase since it cannot move faster. There must be a gain in
another type of energy, which I would assume is either potential or
thermal. The key concept of your question is to understand that
there are different types of energy, thermal (heat), mechanical
(motion--kinetic and potential), chemical, nuclear, gravitational
and electromagnetic.
A good example of conversion of one type of energy to another is the
mixture of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) with vinegar (acetic
acid). This is a great way to show the release of chemical energy
into thermal and mechanical energy. And of course an atomic bomb is
another good example of energy conversion. Nuclear energy converts
small amounts of matter (mass) into intense thermal and
electromagnetic energy (radiation).
Matt Voss
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Update: June 2012
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