Physics Stack Exchange
Physics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [atoms]

A nucleus made of protons and neutrons surrounded by a cloud of electrons equal in number to the protons.

A nucleus made of protons and neutrons surrounded by a cloud of electrons equal in number to the protons. Not to be confused with ions, whose number of electrons should be different from the number of protons[1].

884 questions
10
votes
3 answers

Why is the relationship between atomic number and density not linear?

What are the factors that affect the density of an atom?
Smashery
  • 842
5
votes
1 answer

Why are atoms not destroyed when dropped?

I made the following thought experiment: Dropping a gold ring on a wooden table. It drops, hits the table, bounces off, hits again with less velocity and so on until it finally rests. Now consider an gold atom inside the ring. It will of course be…
Johannes Maria Frank
  • 237
5
votes
1 answer

J.J. Thomson's cathode ray tube: Why does the magnetic field bend the cathode ray downward?

The cathode ray is bent upward toward the plate by electric field and downward by the magnetic field. The first part isn't what I am confused about. However, the second part is. How did the magnetic field bend the cathode ray downward?
most venerable sir
  • 1,331
3
votes
1 answer

What's in the empty space between a nucleus and the electrons?

I was thinking the other day about how the empty space in an atom is relatively huge, but I was wondering, is it really empty space? Originally I just assumed it was a vacuum and that was it, but that just posed more questions. Please will somebody…
VVLP
  • 31
2
votes
1 answer

How large would an atom have to be to see it?

I was thinking about atoms, and then I came up with this: How would an atom visible to the naked eye look? What would be its half life and chemical properties? Could it even exist? Edit: “Seeable”, in this question means be like so you can…
11111
  • 347
2
votes
2 answers

Is there a sharp distinction between atoms and non-atoms?

Suppose we have an electron and proton that are separate... not forming an atom... At some point when bringing them together, they form a hydrogen atom. What is the dividing line between atom and non-atom and what exactly is the distinction? Is…
Ameet Sharma
  • 1,214
2
votes
1 answer

Magnetic field in the ground state of hydrogen

What is the magnitude of the B field produced by the electron's orbital motion in H1, according to classical model? I found all sorts of values, I myself calculated 1/8 T, using the standard formula, but I suppose it is not exact. What is QM…
user104372
2
votes
0 answers

Cathode Ray Tube

I am considering the cathode ray tube of the set up, when the cathode rays were discovered Voltage = Very High Gas = any Atmospheric Pressure = We change (In the following example i am just changing the atmospheric pressure everything else is kept…
Daksh Shah
  • 419
1
vote
1 answer

Can radioactive isotopes stay unstable after beta decay?

Say you had a very radioactive element in a confined area: could that element (hypothetically speaking) go through beta decay, then, once it has too many protons could it immediately go through electron capture to become that same radioactive…
user28141
  • 279
1
vote
2 answers

How is it possible to obtain an emission line spectrum?

In my book, it is written that when an atomic gas or vapour is excited either by heating or electrifying it the electrons get excited and immediately de excite and emit light of specific wavelengths. This is how an emission line spectrum is…
RIPAN BARUAH
  • 807
1
vote
0 answers

Is Slater's list of atomic radii still state of the art?

The wikipedia page for atomic radius shows two periodic tables for the atomic radius https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_radius One was published by slater in 1964, the other by Clementi in 1967. I understand why those tables are different, but I…
And
  • 143
1
vote
0 answers

How to calculate electronegativity for an atom?

So there is Pauling electronegativity scale, but thous are constants based on experiments, right? Another way is Allred-Rochow method, but it has rumors being a bit imprecise comparing to real measurements. Are there any other good methods where I…
John T
  • 853
1
vote
2 answers

Covalent bonding vs Ionic bonding

Why some atoms do ionic bonding (electron gain/lose) over covalent bonding (sharing electrons). Are there some rules/theories which explain that?
John T
  • 853
1
vote
0 answers

Entering a nucleus

If I drive one kilometer along a straight road from A to B in a car that is a simple path. If I was smaller though (say ant-size) I would have to traverse the road following all the contours in the asphalt. From A to B would be a much greater…
Venus
  • 67
1
vote
4 answers

Does hidden variable quantum mechanics imply the collapse of atoms(electrons falling into the nucleus)?

why do atoms not collapse on themselves. Doesnt this problem rule hidden variables as invalid as the heisenburg uncertainty is the solution to the problem because it says electrons exist in a probability cloud and is in many places at once, not at a…
lee hudson
  • 253
1
2 3