This issue has always bothered me, and I would like to hear a logical resolution. The classical prescription for finding it is L=T-V. From the LaGrangian, the equations are motion are then deduced using the Euler-LaGrange eqs. But - the equations are motion are required in order to determine T...
I think it is a very trivial and useless question. Everyone I know considers an "atom" to be the bound state of a nucleus (Z) and some number of electrons. It is trivially obvious that bare nuclei can and DO exist, so if you want to call them atoms, go ahead!
I am unable to find a practical answer to this in any of the conventional texts. Suppose an excited atom drops back down to the ground state and emits a single photon of energy h-nu. The conventional description of this photon is that it is a single excitation of the EM field contained in an...