Is the Net Charge of a Hydrogen Atom the Same in Excited State vs Ground State?

Click For Summary
The net charge of a hydrogen atom remains zero regardless of whether the electron is in an excited state or the ground state, as it consists of a positively charged nucleus and a negatively charged electron. The electron's state does not affect the overall charge; only ionization can alter it. Charge and energy are distinct physical concepts with no direct correlation. The discussion emphasizes that understanding the difference between charge and energy is crucial in atomic physics. Thus, the net charge of a hydrogen atom is invariant in both states.
jimmylegss
Messages
62
Reaction score
0
if in a hydrogen atom the electron is in a excited state, is the net charge the same vs ground state? what is the difference between charge and energy here?
thx
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The total charge of a hydrogen atom with one electron is zero: plus one from the nucleus, minus one from the electron. The state of the electron does not matter. To change the charge, you have to ionize the atom.

Charge and energy have nothing more in common than "those are two physical concepts".
 
Time reversal invariant Hamiltonians must satisfy ##[H,\Theta]=0## where ##\Theta## is time reversal operator. However, in some texts (for example see Many-body Quantum Theory in Condensed Matter Physics an introduction, HENRIK BRUUS and KARSTEN FLENSBERG, Corrected version: 14 January 2016, section 7.1.4) the time reversal invariant condition is introduced as ##H=H^*##. How these two conditions are identical?

Similar threads

  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
805
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
3K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
1K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
1K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
7K