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Mathilda
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Homework Statement
How can an onium exist? Since it is a particle with its own antiparticle, how can it even exist? Shouldn't the particle and the anti-particle annihilate each other?
I've not been able to find any evidence for stable onium. But since it's an particle withit's own anti-particle it shouldn't be able to exist at all.gneill said:What does your research on the topic suggest? Have you found evidence of a stable onium?
I understand that have very short lifetimes. But how are they able to assemble at all? Or is -onium just an expression for the state just before a particle and it's antiparticle annihilate each other?gneill said:I think you'll find that all -oniums have very short half lives. The charged pions in particular have a mean lifetime of about 26 nanoseconds, while the neutral pion's (##\pi^0##) is really short at about 8 x 10-17 seconds.
So you might think of them as particles that are assembled and then live very briefly.
Well, where/how are -oniums found? Maybe do a bit of research on their discoveries?Mathilda said:I understand that have very short lifetimes. But how are they able to assemble at all? Or is -onium just an expression for the state just before a particle and it's antiparticle annihilate each other?
Onium is a term used to describe a class of chemical species that contain a positively charged atom or molecule (cation) associated with one or more negatively charged atoms or molecules (anions). Onium compounds can exist due to the presence of strong attractive forces between the cation and anion, which are strong enough to overcome the repulsive forces between the positive and negative charges.
The most common types of Onium compounds include ammonium (NH4+), phosphonium (PH4+), and sulfonium (S(CH3)3+). These compounds can also have multiple anions, such as hydronium (H3O+) and hydroxonium (H3O2+).
Onium compounds are typically formed through reactions between a cation and an anion, such as acid-base reactions or proton transfer reactions. These compounds can also be synthesized in the laboratory through various methods, including ion exchange reactions and electrochemical processes.
Onium compounds are typically highly polar and have strong ionic bonds. They are also often soluble in polar solvents and have high melting and boiling points. These compounds also tend to be strong acids, meaning they readily donate protons to other compounds.
Onium compounds have a variety of applications in different fields. For example, ammonium compounds are commonly used in fertilizers, while sulfonium compounds are used as catalysts in organic chemistry reactions. Onium compounds also have applications in medicine, as they can act as anti-microbial agents and can be used in drug synthesis.