why do atoms not collapse on themselves. Doesnt this problem rule hidden variables as invalid as the heisenburg uncertainty is the solution to the problem because it says electrons exist in a probability cloud and is in many places at once, not at a single location. If hidden variables are right the electron has a well defined position orbiting the nucleus and where does the energy come from? Doesnt this mean if HV are right it would collapse in again. whats the answer?
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The fact that atoms exist does not rule out a hidden variable formulation (though for the record such formulations are ruled out by other experiments). For example the electron wavefunction of a hydrogen atom gives us the probability of finding the electron at any particular point. However the electron could still have a definite hidden position, which would of course be a function of time. As an analogy consider a rubber ball bouncing around at very high velocity in a closed box. We can define a function that gives us the probability of finding the tennis ball at any particular point in the box, but the tennis ball still has a well defined position. The point is that in the macroscopic case of the tennis ball there is a well defined position, but for the electron in the hydrogen atom the position is simply not defined until we interact with the atom in some way that localises the electron. The position we get is the position at which the electron interacts, not some hypothetical position where it was located immediately prior to the interaction. |
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Sometimes some atoms collapse. Take a positronium as an example. It collapses for sure. Other atoms can collapse if a neutrino hits them. There is a capture of electron and conversion of an electron, proton, and neutrino into a neutron. It happens rarely, so we see atoms as stable ones. |
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