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  4. Which one would move faster, an electron or a snail?
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Which one would move faster, an electron or a snail?

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Offline Nimmie (OP)

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Which one would move faster, an electron or a snail?
« on: 22/08/2017 14:12:28 »
If an electron and a snail were to race, what would be the outcome? Also what is the difference between speed of light and speed of electron?
« Last Edit: 22/08/2017 19:54:47 by chris »
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Offline chiralSPO

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Re: Which one would move faster, an electron or a snail?
« Reply #1 on: 22/08/2017 15:10:22 »
Electrons don't have a set speed, though most have enough energy to move significantly faster than a snail. Classically, kinetic energy and velocity of an electron are related by the equation:
Ek = ½ × me x v2
where Ek is kinetic energy in J, me is the mass of the electron (9.1×10–31 kg), and v is the velocity of the electron in m/s.

In many cases electrons are traveling fast enough that relativistic equations are required (electrons in a TEM can move at about 70% the speed of light.) If you are interested in these more complex equations, see more here: http://advanced-microscopy.utah.edu/education/electron-micro/
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Offline Bored chemist

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Re: Which one would move faster, an electron or a snail?
« Reply #2 on: 22/08/2017 18:48:06 »
It depends which "speed" you measure.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drift_velocity
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Offline David Cooper

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Re: Which one would move faster, an electron or a snail?
« Reply #3 on: 24/08/2017 21:47:45 »
If the electron is moving round a circuit in a wire (with electricity actively flowing through the circuit) the snail will sprint past it and could lap it many times before the electron completes its lap).
« Last Edit: 24/08/2017 21:49:56 by David Cooper »
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