Can a hydrogen atom really become a negative ion?

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SUMMARY

A hydrogen atom can indeed become a negative ion, known as a hydride ion, which is a common chemical reagent. The discussion also clarifies that when moving an electron to the third orbital, there are specific energy requirements and selection rules that dictate the possible transitions. The first method requires exact energy to move directly from the first to the third orbital, while the second method allows for transitions through the second orbital. The conversation emphasizes the importance of quantum theory in understanding these processes.

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  • Basic grasp of selection rules in quantum mechanics
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Zargawee
Hello,
I Have Some Question ,
Is Hydrogene atom able to become a negative ion ?
Why not ?

Another question.

We have a stable Hydrogene atom , how many possibilities can we get when moving the electron to to the 3rd orbit ?
I Was thinking of unlimited possibilites , because we can can send the electron to any orbit and get see if it get back to the 3rd one ...
My teacher says that there's two solutions ,
the first says 1 ( if the energy is EXACTELY enough for the electon to move there , he will move , otehr wise , nothing happens )
the second says , 3 ( 1 successful try , and 2 faulty ones )

Thanks In adcance .
 
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Yes, it's called a hydride ion, it's a very common chemical reagent.

I'm not sure what you mean about the third orbital. You can get there by exciting it from the 1st orbital to the 3rd directly, but yes, there are other ways.
 
I think your teacher was referring to the fact that the "3rd orbitals" are the 2s and 2p ones (2s is significantly lower-energy than 2p). There is just one 2s orbital (discounting spin), and three 2p orbitals. Various things call "selection rules" prohibit most transitions, so some of these (I don't remember which exactly) will not be allowed (because of things like angular momentum conservation.)
 
damgo , you just explained what I Know ...
at this point , I need to know more about this ... the gap still exsists .

Chemicalsuperfreak,
If the energy we gave to the elctron to excite him was not enough to send him to the third orbit , it won't go ... Quantum theory.
 
Originally posted by Zargawee
damgo , you just explained what I Know ...
at this point , I need to know more about this ... the gap still exsists .

Chemicalsuperfreak,
If the energy we gave to the elctron to excite him was not enough to send him to the third orbit , it won't go ... Quantum theory.

That's right. If you want to excite it to the third, you can give it just enough energy to go from 1st to 3rd, or you can excite it to the second, and then excite again to the third, or you can excite it past the third, to the 4th, 5th, etc. and let it relax back down to the 3rd. The easiest to do is just excite it to the third.
 
LOL. Thats it, I just got a great idea for a question in the 'Ask a stupid quetion' thread
 

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