Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: rocking_1987 on 02/08/2012 04:22:03

Title: why the atom is in the state as it is now?
Post by: rocking_1987 on 02/08/2012 04:22:03

Hi,

I have one weird questions in my mind. We all know that atom have neutron and proton in its core and electron moves around them.

Why cant it be vice versa for proton and electron? I mean why cant we have electron in the core and proton to move around them? What kind of difference can it make in the property of the elements?

what kind of forces can or cant make it possible?

Title: Re: why the atom is in the state as it is now?
Post by: CliffordK on 02/08/2012 20:03:08

You can.
Haven't you watched Star Trek?

All "normal" matter in our universe has large positive particles (& neutrons) in the nucleus, and small electrons orbiting the nucleus. 

You can also have Antimatter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter) (which is often mentioned in Star Trek).  But, it is REAL.

• With antimatter, the equivalent to an electron is the positron which is small, but with a positive charge.  These normally occur with certain kinds of nuclear decay, as well as electric discharges such as lightening.
• The equivalent to a proton is the antiproton (which has a negative charge).  These can be created in particle accelerators

Antimatter is very difficult to contain because it annihilates normal matter it comes into contact with, giving off a substantial amount of energy.

As far as elements, only Anti-Hydrogen, anti-Helium-3, and anti-Helium-4 have been synthesized. 

It is believed that antimatter behaves much like normal matter, but it has only been synthesized in very small quantities, and preserved for brief periods, so testing is still ongoing.

It is believed that all matter in the universe is made up of "normal" matter.  If a nearby antimatter star did, in fact, exist, then it could be a significant power source for space travel.  However, capturing and transporting antimatter would still be very difficult.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Title: Re: why the atom is in the state as it is now?
Post by: evan_au on 05/08/2012 11:53:16

The common thing about atoms and anti-atoms is that a light electron [or anti-electron/positron] circles a much more massive proton [or anti-proton].

The proton weighs about 1836 times more than the electron. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-to-electron_mass_ratio

This is like the situation in our solar system, where the massive Sun sits in the middle of a cloud of much lighter planets. The location of the sun doesn't move much, but the planets travel widely.

There is a "different" kind of atom such as you describe, where a negative electron is replaced by a negatively charged muon, which weighs 207 times as much as the electron. This pulls the two nuclei of a hydrogen molecule so close together that hydrogen fusion can occur at moderate temperatures - but the muons take too much energy to produce. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muon-catalyzed_fusion

Another kind of weird "atom" is where a negatively charged electron and a positively charged anti-electron orbit each other. But the two quickly annihilate each other. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positronium