Does ionization affect the volume of hydrogen gas at STP?

[Misha Kuznetsov]

At STP, a mole of hydrogen gas would take up 22.4 L. If that hydrogen gas was ionized and stripped of 100% of the electrons, would the remaining protons have a larger volume than 22.4 L? I'm not sure because on one hand, taking away the electrons leaves each proton with much less volume, but on the other hand, protons repel from one another.

So in essence, would the pressure be higher in a 22.4 L container full of hydrogen gas or the corresponding number of protons?

- Misha

 

[SteamKing]

At STP, a mole of hydrogen gas would take up 22.4 L. If that hydrogen gas was ionized and stripped of 100% of the electrons, would the remaining protons have a larger volume than 22.4 L? I'm not sure because on one hand, taking away the electrons leaves each proton with much less volume, but on the other hand, protons repel from one another.

So in essence, would the pressure be higher in a 22.4 L container full of hydrogen gas or the corresponding number of protons?

- Misha

The quick answer is no. I don't think a bunch of ionized hydrogen atoms can reasonably approximate a perfect gas.

 

[Misha Kuznetsov]

OK, so the pressure in a 22.4 L container would be less if it was filled with protons than if it was filled with a mole of hydrogen gas?

 

[SteamKing]

OK, so the pressure in a 22.4 L container would be less if it was filled with protons than if it was filled with a mole of hydrogen gas?

Do you really think that a container filled with a bunch of positively charged ions is going to have lower pressure? This thing would probably blow up like a bomb, assuming you could corral the ions in the first place.

Don't discount the effect of Coulomb forces when talking about matter which is ionized.

 

[Misha Kuznetsov]

Alright, I just wasn't sure how it would work. Since 99.999% of an atom is empty space, I thought that maybe this would cause it to take up less volume.

But thank you for answering.