Controlling Electron Orbitals: The Key to Creating a Hydrogen Atom?

[cragar]

how do i make a hydrogen atom , if i shoot an electron by a proton will it start to orbit the proton , what dictates whether it will orbit or not .

 

[mathman]

It is primarily a question of mechanics - similar to a planet in relation to a star. Basically it depends on the speed and direction of the electron relative to the proton.

 

[cragar]

Does it have anything to do with their wave-functions overlapping .

 

[mikeph]

The classical and quantum-mechanical answers to this question are totally different.

Classically you have the standard 1/r^2 potential well and can solve the two-body problem analytically to find the conditions for capture and escape (which turn out to be elliptical and parabolic orbits), given a known starting position and velocity. However, whether you count an electron orbiting a proton with an eccentricity of 0.99 as an "atom" might depend on whether you call Pluto a planet! You also need to disregard radiation which will lead to fast decaying orbits.

Quantum mechanically I know a lot less about. You can probably find solutions to the static Schroedinger equation in a coulomb potential and argue they represent an atom, but a free electron appears in the maths as a wave with a time-dependent element so I don't know how it would be approached.

 

[cragar]

I see thanks for your answers maybe i will wait until i take QM