King E

23 minutes ago, swansont said:

Both can happen. Electrons are subject to the electromagnetic interaction, so they can interact at a distance, and strip an electron off, as long as they possess sufficient energy to do so.

Low-energy electrons can also become bound to atoms, forming negative ions.

Can you please explain that?

Can someone walk me through in detail what happens when an atom is ionized by colliding with an electron?

I would prefer a solid example so I can understand it more concretely.

What I think:

• The electron collides with the atom giving it energy, but then goes away after that.

• This energy excites an electron inside the atom, which receives enough energy to leave the atom.

• The atom is ionized.

However, I also thought of another way:

• The electron collides with the atom and gets bound up in the atom.

• The atom is now ionized (negative ion, since extra electron)

Are any of these descriptions correct?

Why ionization energy of Nitrogen is more than that of oxygen?