hi guys,

I have just started physics and i still don't understand 2 things about the construction of atoms:doh: !! I thought you could help. In a hydrogen atom, in the middle there is one proton (positive) and one neutron (neutral) and on the outside the is one electron (negative) who circles the core.

1. What are these protons, electrons and neutrons charged with?

2. What holds the electron in the special path around the core? Is it like the earth's gravity holding the moon in place with gravity?

Thanks for helping me!

P.S. You guys might think this is easy but I don't!!

1/ it is the quarks that make the protons and neutrons that are charged. charge is an intrinsic property of these particles like mass. electrons themselves have charge. it is again an intrinsic property.

 

2/ electrostatic charges. it works a bit like gravity but it is the electromagnetic force in this case. there are also some quantum mechanical effects at these scales which makes it more complicated. especially if you have anything above hydrogen.

In a hydrogen atom, in the middle there is one proton (positive) and one neutron (neutral) and on the outside the is one electron (negative) who circles the core.

 

No, there is no Neutron in Hydrogen.

unless it is deuterium. or tritium where it has 2 neutrons. both of those are still hydrogen.

D2 was never mentioned, only Hydrogen was, and One neutron and Not 2 was also said.

 

my point stands.

Deuterium is still an isotope of hydrogen, though (H-2) even though it has its own name.

 

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It should be noted that while the attraction is electrostatic, the "path" is not like a planetary orbit. Physics on that scale is ... weird.

1/ it is the quarks that make the protons and neutrons that are charged. charge is an intrinsic property of these particles like mass. electrons themselves have charge. it is again an intrinsic property.

 

2/ electrostatic charges. it works a bit like gravity but it is the electromagnetic force in this case. there are also some quantum mechanical effects at these scales which makes it more complicated. especially if you have anything above hydrogen.

 

 

What is a quark??

What is electromagnetic force made of?

 

Thanks

Quarks are subatomic particles that comprise hadrons (i.e. baryons and mesons). Plenty of terms there to look up in Google and Wiki, if you are so inclined.

 

The electromagnetic force is mediated by virtual photons. "What is it made of" is an ill-formed question.

I wonder if any of these 'particles' exist at all. I have wondered whether they may actually be the absence of something - a 'gap' or twist in the virtual field.

 

I'm sure I once heard someone at CERN saying that electrons have an infinitiely small radius (although their wavelength is measurable).

 

Maybe they are more like reflections than actual 'things'.

 

Does this make any sense? I'd be suprised if this thought is original...