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  4. What is the Charge Density of a Point Particle?
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What is the Charge Density of a Point Particle?

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Offline talanum1 (OP)

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What is the Charge Density of a Point Particle?
« on: 03/06/2021 12:55:17 »
We have ρ = e/Δv. Since for a point particle we make Δv infinitesimally small, doesn't this imply infinite charge density at the particle's position?
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Offline Kryptid

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Re: What is the Charge Density of a Point Particle?
« Reply #1 on: 03/06/2021 16:56:38 »
Yes. Ascribing any kind of density to a point will invoke infinities.
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Offline evan_au

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Re: What is the Charge Density of a Point Particle?
« Reply #2 on: 04/06/2021 09:21:48 »
Quote from: OP
What is the Charge Density of a Point Particle?
The electron is a point particle (as far as we know).
- But the electron has a wave function which effectively spreads the electron position over a finite volume.

For a water-soluble ion like OH-, the negative charge is spread around 2 atoms, so a non-zero volume.

For a water-soluble ion like H+, it is effectively a proton, which has an extremely small volume compared to a Hydrogen atom.
- This electric field is so high that it attracts and re-orients nearby water molecules, so effectively the positive charge is spread over many water molecules (eg 20 - 50 water molecules)
- So again the electric field is not infinite.
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