Do Electrons Attract AND Repel?

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter FeDeX_LaTeX
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Electrons Repel
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the interactions between electrons, specifically addressing whether they attract each other due to gravitational forces despite their negative charges causing repulsion. Participants explore the balance between gravitational and electrostatic forces, the behavior of electrons in atomic orbitals, and the implications of relativistic speeds on these forces.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants note that electrons repel each other due to their negative charges but also attract each other through gravitational forces, questioning the relative strength of these forces.
  • One participant asserts that for fundamental particles, electric repulsion is always much greater than gravitational attraction, except in cases involving massive bodies like the Earth and moon.
  • Another participant emphasizes that both gravitational and electrostatic forces follow an inverse square law, suggesting that the interaction depends on the mass and charge of the particles involved.
  • Questions arise regarding why electrons in the same orbital do not repel each other, with some suggesting that they are kept in place by attraction to the positively charged nucleus.
  • One participant proposes a method to compare the magnitudes of electrostatic and gravitational forces between two electrons to determine which dominates.
  • Another participant introduces the concept of opposite spins creating magnetic fields that may influence electron behavior in orbitals.
  • A later post discusses the behavior of like charges moving at relativistic speeds and questions the effects on gravitational forces from different reference frames.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of agreement and disagreement regarding the nature of electron interactions, with some asserting the dominance of electric forces while others explore the implications of gravitational attraction. The discussion remains unresolved on several points, particularly regarding the behavior of electrons in orbitals and the effects of relativistic speeds.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention various assumptions, such as the conditions under which gravitational forces might be considered significant compared to electrostatic forces. There are also references to the complexities of electron behavior in quantum mechanics that are not fully addressed.

FeDeX_LaTeX
Science Advisor
Messages
436
Reaction score
13
Bit confused here. Electrons repel each other because they both have negative charges. But wouldn't they also ATTRACT each other because of the force of gravity?

F_{g} = \frac {Gm_{1}m_{2}} {d^{2}}

Do two electrons by this law have a force of gravity that attracts them? Is it possible to get two identically charged particles to ATTRACT if the force of gravity given by the above formula is GREATER than the repulsive electron force?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
FeDeX_LaTeX said:
Bit confused here. Electrons repel each other because they both have negative charges. But wouldn't they also ATTRACT each other because of the force of gravity?

F_{g} = \frac {Gm_{1}m_{2}} {d^{2}}

Do two electrons by this law have a force of gravity that attracts them? Is it possible to get two identically charged particles to ATTRACT if the force of gravity given by the above formula is GREATER than the repulsive electron force?

Everything you say is correct. But for fundamental particles, the electric repulsion will always be much greater than the gravitational attraction. However, if you give the Earth and moon each one electron charge, the gravitational attraction will still be dominant :-)
Torquil
 
You're correct. The electron repels each other because of the same charge but attracts because of the gravitational force. Both kinds of force obeys the square law (force is proportional to \frac{1}{r^2}). Two things repelling or attracting depending on charge and mass of themselves.
 
Why don't electrons in the same orbital repel each other
 
Saad Ahmed said:
Why don't electrons in the same orbital repel each other

Of course they do! In a simple 'pictorial' model, they keep as far from each other as possible - but they are, of course, attracted to the + nucleus at the same time, which keeps them from drifting away.
 
FeDeX_LaTeX said:
Bit confused here. Electrons repel each other because they both have negative charges. But wouldn't they also ATTRACT each other because of the force of gravity?

F_{g} = \frac {Gm_{1}m_{2}} {d^{2}}

Do two electrons by this law have a force of gravity that attracts them? Is it possible to get two identically charged particles to ATTRACT if the force of gravity given by the above formula is GREATER than the repulsive electron force?

1. Put two electrons at a fix distance from each other.

2. Compute the electrostatic force between them.

3. Compute the gravitational force between them.

4. COMPARE the magnitude of both forces and see which one DOMINATES!

zZ.
 
Repulsive Forces in greater than Gravitational Force...
Than why electrons does repel each other in same Orbital?
i think due to opposite spin which create opposite magnetic field in btw Electrons As we know opposite Magnetic field of lines attracts each other...
 
why does an electron not collide with nucleus??

why does an electron not collide with nucleus??
 


Saad Ahmed said:
why does an electron not collide with nucleus??

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=511179
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #10


For two like charges moving parallel at a relativistic speed, the magnetic component of the Lorentz force nearly cancels out the electric component of the Lorentz force. According to General Relativity, does the gravitational "force" increase, decrease, or remain the same when viewed from the rest frame of that system?
 
  • #11
"Relativistic speed" relative to each other is zero, surely.
 

Similar threads

Undergrad Magnetism: Same Pole Repulsion & Heteropolar Attraction
  • · Replies 32 ·
2
Replies
32
Views
3K
Undergrad If an electron is repelled by another electron how do we get current?
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
2K
Undergrad What Causes Attraction and Repulsion in Physics?
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
High School Problems I Have With Electrostatics and Pith Ball Experiments
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
5K
High School Basic questions regarding theory of electrical capacitance
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K
High School How is surface charge accumulated?
  • · Replies 36 ·
2
Replies
36
Views
7K
Undergrad The electric repulsion of electrons and their attraction
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
Undergrad Calculating the force on an electron from two positive point charges
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
High School Gravitational & Electrostatic Force: Why They Attract/Repel
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
High School Do magnets that attract actually touch?
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
4K