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Edi
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Why can't an electron have a even lower energy level in atom and be closer to the nuclei? (as the next step is to fuse with one of the protons and make neutron.. )
Edi said:Why can't an electron have a even lower energy level in atom and be closer to the nuclei? (as the next step is to fuse with one of the protons and make neutron.. )
genericusrnme said:Pretty much what fzero said
It's got nothing to do with quantum mechanics having some understanding of things like
'as the next step is to fuse with one of the protons and make neutron.. '
When you play about with the hydrogen atom you say that there is a point charge at r=0 that doesn't move or do anything interesting.
kurros said:Well, that's not entirely true. An inner-shell electron CAN "fuse with one of the protons to make a neutron", it is called electron capture, but it is of course only energetically beneficial if the new nucleus has a lower ground state energy, so if you start from a nice stable nucleus you cannot lower the energy of the system this way.
genericusrnme said:I didn't say it couldn't, but that isn't built into schrodingers eigenvalue equation
kurros said:Of course, but the question is about what actually happens, not just what schrodingers equation says happens.
genericusrnme said:Without using maths you cannot describe what 'actually' happens, people aren't from the microscopic world, we don't have the correct brains for it.
Would you argue about me using F=ma to describe and predict the motion of a cannon ball?
It's a second order differential equation, just like schrodingers eigenvalue equation.
The energy levels of an electron in an atom are determined by its quantum numbers, specifically the principal quantum number, n. This number dictates the distance of the electron from the nucleus and thus, its energy level. According to the laws of quantum mechanics, an electron cannot occupy energy levels lower than its ground state, n=1. This is because lower energy levels require the electron to be closer to the nucleus, which violates the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle that states that the position and momentum of a particle cannot be known simultaneously.
The energy levels of an electron in an atom are determined by its quantum numbers, specifically the principal quantum number, n. This number dictates the distance of the electron from the nucleus and thus, its energy level. The higher the value of n, the further the electron is from the nucleus and the higher its energy level.
No, it is not possible for an electron to have a negative energy level. The energy levels of electrons in an atom are defined as negative values, with the ground state having an energy of 0. This is simply a convention used in quantum mechanics to distinguish between the energy levels of electrons in an atom.
Yes, an electron can move between energy levels by either absorbing or emitting energy in the form of photons. When an electron absorbs a photon, it gains energy and moves to a higher energy level. Conversely, when an electron emits a photon, it loses energy and moves to a lower energy level.
According to the Aufbau principle, electrons in an atom occupy the lowest energy levels available before moving to higher energy levels. This is due to the principle of energy minimization, where the electron seeks to occupy the most stable and lowest energy state possible. This is also why electrons fill orbitals in a specific order, following the rules of the Pauli exclusion principle and Hund's rule.