If electrons and protons attract each other, how don’t they bump right into each other, instead the electrons spin around the core? At least when something pushes the electron inward?

Question

I’m guessing “sticking right to each other” doesn’t make much sense on the subatomic level but hoping someone can make things clearer.

In: Physics

Answer 1

First, electrons want to be close to the nucleus, for exactly the reason you stated: they attract each other. The closer they are the less energy they have, making the nearest orbital stable.

However, electrons are wave objects. They have a wavelength which is larger than the size of the nucleus. As such, the electron simply doesn’t fit in.

The bottom orbital is actually right on top of the nucleus. You could say that the electron is in the nucleus, only that its smeared location puts some of it outside of the nucleus.

To fit the electron in the nucleus you would have to decrease its wavelength. But that requires energy, lots and lots of energy. An electron doesn’t have it and no chemical reactions (between electrons) can provide enough. What’s worse, required energy is higher than the energy needed to kick the electron out of its orbital, which means that it will rather escape than stick.

Nuclear reactions do have enough energy though. In unstable isotopes it is actually possible for a proton to capture an electron. The two together become a neutron. The opposite is possible, too, in fact a neutron outside of an atomic nucleus decays into a proton and an electron in a few minutes on average.

Imagine a ball of cotton sugar as an electron. Imagine a small empty ball as a nucleus and they both attract. You can’t fit the cotton inside the ball until you squish it really hard, and that squishing requires lots and lots of energy. You have to beat it down with a bat. But, while you’re hammering at it, you’re more likely to shake off the candy entirely away from the ball rather than push it inside.