What will happen when a electron is kept near a proton ?

DARTH VADER wrote:
What will happen when a electron is kept near a proton ?

Depends on what you mean by "near" and whether the proton
and electron have kinetic energy relative to each other.

Two things that might happen:

- the electron is bound and you get atomic hydrogen.

- the electron is captured, combining with the proton to create
a neutron.

I'm not sure what the conditions for that second thing are. It's
something that happens in radioactive atoms, but not perhaps
with free protons and electrons.

- Randy

"DARTH VADER" wrote in message
oups.com...

What will happen when a electron is kept near a proton ?


[electron] + [proton] = [hydrogen atom] + 13.6 eV

that happens naturally, without application of external
force. If they are "kept near" via application of external
force (high energy scattering), you'll eventually get

[electron] + [proton] = [neutron] + [neutrino]

The nearly massless neutrino moves away at near the
speed of light. A free neutron isn't stable, and after about
10 minutes:

[neutron] = [proton] + [electron] + [anti-neutrino]

[Old Man]