I Free electrons in an accelerated metal?

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When a conductor is exposed to a nearby negative charge, its free electrons are repelled and accumulate on the opposite side. Accelerating the metal causes the free electrons to experience a force, potentially leading to a 'slosh' effect similar to water in a moving container. Upon impact with a surface, the electrons may produce a small voltage pulse due to their delayed response in reducing momentum compared to the metal's structure. The discussion references the Stewart-Tolman effect, which relates to the behavior of electrons in this context. Overall, the interaction of free electrons in accelerated metals raises interesting questions about their movement and electrical potential.
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What happens to free electrons in an accelerated metal?
I take a conductor and expose one side to a nearby region of negative charge. The metal's free electrons are repelled, and many collect at the opposite side to the charged region. High School stuff.

Okay, so now I accelerate the metal in one direction. What happens to the free electrons...do they slosh up against the side of the metal, the same way water does in an accelerated bottle?
 
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Welcome to PF.
The amount of 'slosh' in the free electrons will be determined by the mass of an electron multiplied by the acceleration, which is a force; balanced by the repulsive forces between the distributed free electrons.
 
...so I drop a cube of metal, and for the brief moment when it strikes the ground, there is an electrical potential measurable between the top and bottom sides? Prolly not a large one, I imagine?
 
When you hammer in a nail, free electrons move towards the point of impact where the hammer hits the nail.
 
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M de L said:
...so I drop a cube of metal, and for the brief moment when it strikes the ground, there is an electrical potential measurable between the top and bottom sides?
No, because the electrons and ions accelerate together. Neither has to pull or push the other.
 
Okay, so I conduct away all the free electrons in a cube of metal, by hammering it against an earth. My conductor is now an insulator. What happens then?
 
Vanadium 50 said:
No, because the electrons and ions accelerate together. Neither has to pull or push the other.
That is true during the fall, but on impact the metal stops due to bond forces, while the free electrons take slightly longer to reduce their momentum, so they produce a small voltage pulse, negative at the bottom, positive at the top.
 
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M de L said:
Summary:: What happens to free electrons in an accelerated metal?

I take a conductor and expose one side to a nearby region of negative charge. The metal's free electrons are repelled, and many collect at the opposite side to the charged region. High School stuff.

Okay, so now I accelerate the metal in one direction. What happens to the free electrons...do they slosh up against the side of the metal, the same way water does in an accelerated bottle?
What happens to the electrons that are in orbit, does the orbit shift and become closer to the front of the accelerated object?
 
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paradisePhysicist said:
What happens to the electrons that are in orbit, does the orbit shift and become closer to the front of the accelerated object?
What orbit? Low Earth orbit?
 
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berkeman said:
What orbit? Low Earth orbit?
I mean the electrons in the orbital, the electron shell.
 
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Lord Jestocost said:
It's called the Stewart-Tolman effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart–Tolman_effect
Thank you for a most interesting paper. I noticed that the ballistic galvanometer used could detect a charge in the order of 10^-8 Coulombs, an extraordinary feat.
 
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