Fractioned electrons, what do they mean?

In summary: You are adding the electrons to a very large number of atoms, so it doesn't really mean that each atom has the same number of extra electrons. Electrons are very small and very light, so it doesn't take many of them to make a significant charge on the sphere.In summary, a small lead sphere with a mass of 8.00g is given a net charge of -3.20x10^-9C by placing excess electrons on it. To find the number of excess electrons, the charge is divided by the charge of an electron, resulting in 2x10^10 electrons. When divided by the number of lead atoms in the sphere, this gives a fraction of 8.594x10^-13
  • #1
Raul Trejo
6
0

Homework Statement


Excess electrons are placed on a small lead sphere with mass 8.00g so that it's net charge is -3.20x10^-9C (a) Find the number of excess electrons on the sphere. (b) how many excess electrons are there per lead atom? The atomic number of lead is 82, and its atomic mass is 207g/mol.

Homework Equations


We have -3.20x10^-9C . All charge is "quantized" meaning it is an integer multiple of the charge "e" (-1.602x10^-19C/electron). To obtain the amount of "excess" (Neutrally charged atoms have the same amount of protons and electrons, so a negatively charged atom has more electrons, the charge is due to theses extra electrons) we divide our charge Q by e. Electrons= (-3.20x10^-9C)/(-1.602x10^-19C/electron)=1.997x10^10 which we round to 2x10^10 electrons. We then obtain the number of moles the lead ball has, multiply it by avodagro's number to obtain the amount of atoms, and then divide the amount of electrons by the amount of atoms.And we end up with 8.594x10^-13electrons/atom.[/B]

The Attempt at a Solution



I can't get my head around the fact that 8.59x10-13 electrons is not an integer multiple of 1 electron. What does it even mean to have https://www4c.wolframalpha.com/Calculate/MSP/MSP157620gi5hegf6iihfdf00005if81hhidie84ia2?MSPStoreType=image/gif&s=59 extra electrons per atom? My understanding is that electrons are moved(transfered from one atom to the next) in integers, you can't really divide an electron to have 8.59x10^-13 of it. What does this actually mean?
 
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  • #2
Raul Trejo said:

Homework Statement


Excess electrons are placed on a small lead sphere with mass 8.00g so that it's net charge is -3.20x10^-19C (a) Find the number of excess electrons on the sphere. (b) how many excess electrons are there per lead atom? The atomic number of lead is 82, and its atomic mass is 207g/mol.

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution


The problem I'm having isn't numerical in sense. The answer to the part a is 2x10^10 electrons, but the answer to part (B) is 8.59x10^-13 electrons/atom. I can't get my head around the fact that 8.59x10-13 electrons is not an integer multiple of 1 electron. What does it even mean to have https://www4c.wolframalpha.com/Calculate/MSP/MSP157620gi5hegf6iihfdf00005if81hhidie84ia2?MSPStoreType=image/gif&s=59 extra electrons per atom? My understanding is that electrons are moved(transfered from one atom to the next) in integers, you can't really divide an electron to have 8.59x10^-13 of it. What does this actually mean?
It's not clear how you got your answer for (a). There is a definite electric charge per electron.

Can you post all of your calculations?
 
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  • #3
SteamKing said:
It's not clear how you got your answer for (a). There is a definite electric charge per electron.

Can you post all of your calculations?
Note: I just realized I put -3.20x10^-19C, it's actually 10^-9.
We have -3.20x10^-9C . All charge is "quantized" meaning it is an integer multiple of the charge "e" (-1.602x10^-19C/electron). To obtain the amount of "excess" (Neutrally charged atoms have the same amount of protons and electrons, so a negatively charged atom has more electrons, the charge is due to theses extra electrons) we divide our charge Q by e. Electrons= (-3.20x10^-9C)/(-1.602x10^-19C/electron)=1.997x10^10 which we round to 2x10^10 electrons. We then obtain the number of moles the lead ball has, multiply it by avodagro's number to obtain the amount of atoms, and then divide the amount of electrons by the amount of atoms.And we end up with 8.594x10^-13electrons/atom. The answer is correct, I've checked it (Sears and Zemansky's University Physics with Modern Physics, problem 21.1). The question is, what does the fraction electrons really mean? What does it mean to have https://www4c.wolframalpha.com/Calculate/MSP/MSP157620gi5hegf6iihfdf00005if81hhidie84ia2?MSPStoreType=image/gif&s=59 electrons extra per atom? because you can't add only a fraction of an electron to an atom.
 
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  • #4
Raul Trejo said:
Note: I just realized I put -3.20x10^-19C, it's actually 10^-9.
We have -3.20x10^-9C . All charge is "quantized" meaning it is an integer multiple of the charge "e" (-1.602x10^-19C/electron). To obtain the amount of "excess" (Neutrally charged atoms have the same amount of protons and electrons, so a negatively charged atom has more electrons, the charge is due to theses extra electrons) we divide our charge Q by e. Electrons= (-3.20x10^-9C)/(-1.602x10^-19C/electron)=1.997x10^10 which we round to 2x10^10 electrons. We then obtain the number of moles the lead ball has, multiply it by avodagro's number to obtain the amount of atoms, and then divide the amount of electrons by the amount of atoms.And we end up with 8.594x10^-13electrons/atom. The answer is correct, I've checked it (Sears and Zemansky's University Physics with Modern Physics, problem 21.1). The question is, what does the fraction electrons really mean? What does it mean to have https://www4c.wolframalpha.com/Calculate/MSP/MSP157620gi5hegf6iihfdf00005if81hhidie84ia2?MSPStoreType=image/gif&s=59 electrons extra per atom? because you can't add only a fraction of an electron to an atom.

You've got so many excess electrons and so many atoms on which to distribute these electrons. Having a fraction of an electron doesn't really mean anything, IMO.
 
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  • #5
Raul Trejo said:
What does it mean to have
00005if81hhidie84ia2%3FMSPStoreType%3Dimage%2Fgif%26s%3D59&hash=11656f3b4753bb02e89d8bfcc98697ef.png
electrons extra per atom?
If you eat an apple each day, how many apples per second do you eat? It is just expressing an average.
 

1. What are fractioned electrons?

Fractioned electrons refer to the phenomenon where electrons in a material split into smaller units or fractions, instead of existing as whole particles.

2. How do fractioned electrons differ from regular electrons?

Fractioned electrons have a different behavior and properties compared to regular electrons. They can exhibit collective behavior and have unique charge and spin properties.

3. What causes fractioned electrons?

Fractioned electrons are caused by strong interactions between particles in a material, such as the repulsive force between electrons and the attractive force between electrons and the material's lattice structure.

4. What are the potential applications of fractioned electrons?

Fractioned electrons have potential applications in fields such as quantum computing, high-temperature superconductivity, and topological materials. They may also lead to advancements in information storage and processing.

5. Are fractioned electrons a new discovery?

Fractioned electrons have been studied and theorized for decades, but experimental evidence of their existence has only recently been discovered in certain materials. Further research and study are still needed to fully understand their properties and potential applications.

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