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guv
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- Homework Statement
- Imagine a hydrogen atom isolated initially. Then a uniform electric field ##E## is turned on at the atom. This pulls electron in one direction pushs proton to the other direction. Forming a dipole as explained in most textbooks. In addition the stronger the external electric field, the greater the separation between electron and proton. However, when examining the set up in details, one can see the balance of the electron or the proton is between two electric forces
$$e E = \frac{ke^2}{d^2}$$
where ##d## is the separation of the electron from the proton. This balance equation predicts the distance must become smaller when external electric field ##E## becomes stronger, contradicting with what most books explain how induced dipoles form. Any suggestion on how to reconcile this? Thanks,
- Relevant Equations
- $$e E = \frac{ke^2}{d^2}$$
$$d = \sqrt{\frac{ke}{E}} \propto \sqrt{\frac{1}{E}}$$
Solution as stated in the problem description.