Tagged Questions
32
votes
3answers
1k views
Can the solar system really fit in a thimble?
Almost every time somebody talks about atoms, at some point they mention something like this:
If we remove the spaces between the atoms and atomic components, we can fit the solar system in a ...
3
votes
4answers
250 views
How can the nucleus of an atom be in an excited state?
An example of the nucleus of an atom being in an excited state is the Hoyle State, which was a theory devised by the Astronomer Fred Hoyle to help describe the vast quantities of carbon-12 present in ...
0
votes
1answer
223 views
Why isn't Hydrogen's electron pulled into the nucleus? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why do electrons occupy the space around nuclei, and not collide with them?
Why don’t electrons crash into the nuclei they “orbit”?
From what I learned in chemistry, ...
4
votes
3answers
133 views
How do we know that internal conversion creates no intermediate photon?
I've read, from several sources, that in internal conversion -- an excited electron transferring its energy to another electron which is then emitted -- no intermediate gamma radiation is produced.
...
18
votes
3answers
3k views
Why don't electrons crash into the nuclei they “orbit”?
I'm having trouble understanding the simple "planetary" model of the atom that I'm being taught in my basic chemistry course.
In particular,
I can't see how a negatively charged electron can stay ...
2
votes
2answers
470 views
What happens if we put together a proton and an antineutron?
A hydrogen nucleus consists of a single proton.
A 2-hydrogen (deuterium) nucleus consists of a proton and a neutron.
A tritium nucleus consists of a proton and two neutrons.
This makes me wonder how ...
0
votes
2answers
127 views
Synthesizing elements (Nuclear Physics/Alchemy?)
Based on my limited knowledge of nuclear physics, it seems that one day it may/will be possible to synthesize whatever elements we may need, given enough energy. Is this accurate?
Is there a table ...
2
votes
2answers
283 views
Electrical neutrality of atoms
How is it that atoms with equal numbers of protons and electrons are described as "electrically neutral" when the proton is 1,800 times more massive than the electron?
14
votes
1answer
467 views
Turned to steel in the great magnetic field
This is obviously a "fun" question, but I'm sure it still has valid physics in it, so bear with me.
How great of a magnetic field would you need to transmute other elements into iron/nickel, if ...
