The specific energies of hydrogen are special cases.ftr said:For example the electron in hydrogen has specific energies and not general relations that the articles seem to claim.
mfb said:What is unclear?
Ok thanks. But I am still not clear, do you mean potential or kinetic, and how is the binding energy calculated from them.mfb said:They can't have enough energy to fall apart.
mfb said:How to calculate the binding energy of a specific system depends on that system.
The only thing that's unique about it is that we've decided to call it "binding energy".ftr said:I guess my question is again what makes this binding energy unique as opposed to any other interaction energy that may arise.
A bound state in physics is a state in which a particle or system is confined to a specific region of space due to the presence of a potential energy barrier. This means that the particle or system is unable to escape from this region and is therefore considered "bound". Examples of bound states include electrons in an atom or molecules in a chemical bond.
The criteria for a particle to be in a bound state is that its total energy must be less than the potential energy barrier that it is confined to. This means that the particle's kinetic energy is not enough to overcome the potential energy barrier and escape from the bound region.
In order to determine if a system is in a bound state, we must first analyze the potential energy barrier that the system is confined to. We then calculate the total energy of the system and compare it to the potential energy barrier. If the total energy is less than the potential energy barrier, then the system is considered to be in a bound state.
Yes, a bound state can exist in an infinite potential well. In this case, the particle or system is confined to a finite region of space due to the infinite potential barriers at the edges of the well. The particle or system is still considered to be in a bound state as long as its total energy is less than the potential energy barrier.
Bound states and energy levels are closely related. In a bound state, the energy of the particle or system is quantized, meaning it can only take on certain discrete values. These energy levels correspond to the potential energy barrier that the particle or system is confined to. As the energy levels increase, the particle or system is able to move further away from the potential energy barrier, but it is still considered to be in a bound state.