Nenad
- 698
- 0
if a bond is not a force, what is it?
chroot said:A 'bond' is a condition in which two particles are energetically bound together. That's about all you can say.
The reason it's not a force is simple: forces accelerate things. If you have two stationary hydrogen atoms bound together, neither is moving -- so the net force on both must be zero.
- Warren
I would like to expand on this slightly. A bond is a state of stable equilibrium. For example, if you take a molecule of two atoms, and move those atoms a little closer or a little further away, a force would appear which would strive to return the molecule to its original state. The state of equilibrium involves a form of internal energy we call "binding energy" or "bond energy", and this energy contributes to the mass of the system.chroot said:A 'bond' is a condition in which two particles are energetically bound together. That's about all you can say.
The reason it's not a force is simple: forces accelerate things. If you have two stationary hydrogen atoms bound together, neither is moving -- so the net force on both must be zero.
- Warren
A state of equllibrium is just a state - a certain configuration that the system can acheive. It is not an actual physical entity like a particle or similar. So no, the equillibrium itself does not have mass. The mass contribution comes from the energy that is associated with that configuration of the system.alpha_wolf said:The state of equilibrium involves a form of internal energy we call "binding energy" or "bond energy", and this energy contributes to the mass of the system.
Dual Op Amp said:Well, I completely forgot I posted this, so that's why I haven't posted back.
I was thinking maybe if more energy were to collide at the same time, that it might create a proton and an anti-proton. .