Atoms Definition and 880 Threads

I believe I am correct in saying that atoms and particles have waves that can be both predicted and observed (if not please tell me) but, is there a mathematical explanation for the cause of these waves?

Hi, my studies of quantum mechanics aren't too deep (I'm still in high school), but out of pure curiosity, I would like to see the mathematical derivations for the theoretical values for the decay rate /half-life of positronium (either for orthopositronium or parapositronium if they are...

A long time ago, when I did my degree I was taught that Neutrons have a half life of (about 10 minutes?). I also remember that the elementry particle equation was: N <-> P+e. Now, a proton plus an electron could look a lot like a hydrogen atom and I also remember that the electron in a...

When sunlight hits an object, for instance a metal plate, the plate will get hotter, now as i understand, heat is caused by atoms vibrating, so the photons hitting the metal plate must have caused the atoms in it to vibrate, my question is, how do massless? photons transfer energy to the...

A proton is traveling with a speed of (6.550+/- 0.010)e5 m/s. With what maximum accuracy can its position be ascertained. I know that p=mv and x=p/h but what do I do with the +/- 0.010, that is the part that confuses me. How many electrons can be in the n=6, l=4 subshell. I know that l...

umm i got some silly question to ask , i just couldn't find a good answer by my self. 1. is my body made up with atoms, ? i don't really think so, so what's my body made of? i mean my flesh. 2. wats is a piece of material such as wood or gold, made of, ? i mean when u cut down to...

This question is probably pretty silly looking at the complicated discussions going on here, but I'll ask none the less. Why don't Atoms spontaneously collapse? If there is a proton and there is an electron, shouldn't they attract each other and form a neutron? In trying to understand why...

The question is: A hydrogen atom absorbs a photon and makes a transition from a 3d level to a 4f level. What is the wavelength of the absorbed photon ? As i know 3d is n = 3, 4f is n = 4 and wavelength = hc/delta E so the deltaE is E4 - E3 or E3 - E4 ?? thanks..

I know there are trillions of cells in an adult human body but how many atoms are in each cell?

Hey all, I'm a Theoretical Physics undergrad and so far I've only done one course in QM. Mainly playing with the TISE pushing wavefunctions around. Anyway after some trolling on here I've gotten to wondering, in a hydrogen atom why doesn't the electron just collapse into the nucleus? The...

I am a completely ignorant to Physics in general so bear with me. I was reading something recently and the author stated "an electron can jump instantaneously from one atom orbital to another without moving across the space between them" Is this true? Is it taken completely out of context or...

What an atom looks like I opened this thread to bring up a subject seldom discussed because no one expects anymore to see speculations about what atoms may “look like” -- ever since the uncertainty principle demonstrated that we’ll never be able to see an atom in detail. That shouldn’t have...

I was watching some advert (so it was probably talking plop) but they said that they used 'activated carbon' to remove smells. What is activating something? is it ionising or is it just rubbish? Can you activate anything?

Also posted in skepticism forum: Hey everyone, Currently reading a new book by Bill Bryson, "A short history of nearly everything". Well, despite the title, clearly even a short history would be a very, very big book, still the read is quite addicting, and there are many scientific...

Hey everyone, Currently reading a new book by Bill Bryson, "A short history of nearly everything". Well, despite the title, clearly even a short history would be a very, very big book, still the read is quite addicting, and there are many scientific areas to which I was quite unfamiliar...

If density is the mass-volume relationship, what occupies the voids between the areas of two atoms, since total area of an atom is never completely contacting it's neighbors... empty space? [?]

I'm playing with a theory I have at the moment and wondered if anyone could help with giving me some good examples of chemical/molecular bonding in which the partners' an atom will acquire are unpredictable. For example if I had 1g of Hydrogen atoms, 8g of oxygen atoms and 3g of carbon would...

[SOLVED] Evidence that Atoms Have Bizzare Wisdom The old two slit experiment has replicable evidence of bizarre particle wisdom.

Can scientists see either atoms or molecules? If not, what is the smallest object/entity we can see?

Gas is N2O4. fill in the chart. I've got all but atoms. how do I get the # of atoms? why wouldn't it be the same as molecules: 1 mol/22.4L * 6.02x10^23 molecules/1 mol * 5.02L = 1.35x10^23 molecules molecules of are: 1.35x10^23 why couldn't I just replace the word 'molecules' with atoms...

Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar. One says, "I've lost my electron." The other says, "Are you sure?" The first replies, "Yes, I'm positive..."

Why do atoms want a full outer shell

dear reader, what is happening to the atoms and electrons when one object is rubbed on another? -benzun

Greetings. I am having problems understanding some things about shells. Actually, i am not even sure of if i am talking about shells (i am not sure this is the term in English, but i think it is). I have been taught that a shell is a place of space round the nuclei with a highest probability...

Does someone can explain that? The transition frequency v of atoms exposed to the lattice electric field of E is described as, hv = hv^(0)-(1/4) alpha(e,w)E^2-(1/64) gama(e,w)E^4 where v^(0) is the transition frequency between the unperturbed atomic states, alpha(e,w) and gama(e,w) are...

I've heard many times that one of the major faults of the classical model of an atom is that it would collapse. In other words, the electrons wouldn't stay orbiting the nucleus for very long before they hit into it. Although I've heard this many times, I don't think I've ever heard the...

Physics...nature of emission of radiation from atoms Hi everyone i am a Yr 11 student studying physics and i recently got an assignment that consists of a question that i cannot find thouroughly on the internet...hopeing people of this forum can help me... my question is...

Can anyone explain to me just how we can 'look' at an atom and its, um, components? And how the process of 'looking' changes the object we're looking at?

A laser is a device that uses light flashes to excite the atoms so you get electrons with energy levels about 2 or 3 levels above the ground state. They emit photons, which vibrate at a particular frequency, they get reflected off the half silvered mirror, to excite electrons and make them emit...

Or is it Nebulae...anyways What is the density in atoms per unit volume of most nebulas? I am just looking for a rough estimate to help me picture it.. And what would it look like if u were inside one..would u even see anything?