The time for a proton to reach a certain velocity

[dirb]

Homework Statement

Find the time so the proton reaches 1 m/s

Relevant Equations

Coulomb's law

A nuclear reactor is built to fuse two hydrogen atoms that are already ionized to protons. However, the electric field of the protons are becoming a significant obstacle. If the reaction was to be defined as H²--> 2H⁺+2e^-, if the mass of a proton is m_p, the radius of a proton r the charge of an electron is e and the coulomb constant k. How fast should the two protons reach 1 m/s so that they touch? Assuming that the protons have a straight path

Can anybody give a hint on what concept I should use? I was thinking of energy and momentum which I am unsure of, though the most confusing part for me is the distance of the protons, should i use the diameter instead of the radius?

 

[sysprog]

I don't understand how the electric field can be both "a significant obstacle" and "negligible" $-$ can you please post the complete and exact original problem statement, along with your attempt at a solution?

 

[dirb]

I don't understand how the electric field can be both "a significant obstacle" and "negligible" $-$ can you please post the complete and exact original problem statement, along with your attempt at a solution?

Sorry, It was supposed to be "assuming the electric field doesn't change the proton's straight path."

 

[sysprog]

Sorry, It was supposed to be "assuming the electric field doesn't change the proton's straight path."

That seems to me to mean that we can treat the system as single-vector, which means that we can see the acceleration as the second derivative of position wrt time, without bothering with a tensor system, but I'd still like to see the original problem statement, and your attempt at a solution.

 

[haruspex]

Homework Statement:: Find the time so the proton reaches 1 m/s
Relevant Equations:: Coulomb's law

the distance of the protons, should i use the diameter instead of the radius?

Presumably you are taking the charges to be effectively points at the centres of the protons. So how close do those get?