If the atoms in solid matter a tightly grouped?

AI Thread Summary
Electrons in solid matter do not collide due to charge repulsion, which keeps them apart. In non-metals, electrons remain relatively stable and do not wander significantly, while in metals, they can be influenced by external factors like heat to come closer. When electrons do come into proximity, they can be captured in orbitals, potentially leading to atoms having more electrons than protons. However, such occurrences are not typical under normal conditions. Understanding atomic bonds is crucial to grasping these interactions in solids.
Biologik
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Why don't the electrons ever hit each other,and when they do what happens? Do the atoms sometimes have more electrons than protons because other electrons from other atoms come close to it and get caught in its orbitals?
 
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Look up "atomic bonds".
 
Biologik said:
Why don't the electrons ever hit each other,and when they do what happens? Do the atoms sometimes have more electrons than protons because other electrons from other atoms come close to it and get caught in its orbitals?

In non-metals, they electrons don't wander very much (not to say "at all", in most academic theoretical models).

In metals, grossly speaking, they don't hit, they stay apart because of charge repulsion. Giving them higher energies may make them come closer and closer but this doesn't happen unless the metal is externally influenced somehow (heat for example).
 
So I know that electrons are fundamental, there's no 'material' that makes them up, it's like talking about a colour itself rather than a car or a flower. Now protons and neutrons and quarks and whatever other stuff is there fundamentally, I want someone to kind of teach me these, I have a lot of questions that books might not give the answer in the way I understand. Thanks
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