Why can electron positions be pinpointed




















So, you can calculate the direction of an electron, and you can measure it, just not with infinite accuracy. You are asking a question that is related to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle.

This principle states that, if you know one thing about an electron, you can't know another thing. So, you can know the position of an electron, but then you can't know its momentum - how fast it is going and how heavy it is.

Or, you can know the momentum, but then you can't know the position. I think this is a principle of real experiments.

I'm reading about it in Wikipedia, here:. You can think about it like this: If you're using a method to measure Exactly where the electron is, the measurement is interacting with the electron in some way, and so you can't know the exact momentum of the electron. Light is fast, so the delay is nothing. You see it moving across the room, and your brain has the ability to predict where it will be at a given moment. This is kind of the basis for how we play catch with a baseball A baseball is not an electron - it is much smaller.

And since it is so small, you can't "see" it with visible light. You can only "see" it with gnarly light, like gamma rays. Gamma rays are really high energy short wavelength - that is how the "see" an electron. The gamma ray bounces off the electron and then can be deflected toward an instrument.

You've just figured out the position of your electron. But here is the problem:. Lets pretend that electron is still the baseball.

BUT, the light you use to see it with is a basketball thrown at it. So - here is how you see - you throw a basketball at something, the basketball hits it and bounces to you and hits you in the head Well, when the baseball that is flying toward you gets hit with a basketball, the baseball DOES NOT continue on the path it was on, but rather goes flying off in some unknown direction since the basketballs imparts a lot of energy into the baseballs and changes its momentum.

The farther an electron is from the nucleus, the greater its energy. Usually towards the edge of the cell, although since there is a jelly-like substance called cytoplasm in cells the location can never be exactly pinpointed. Your question appears incomplete. His position on what exactly His position on gay marriage?

His position on fixing the economy? His physical position, i. What exactly are you asking. A proton and an electron have exactly opposite charges. There is exactly ONE type of electron. All electrons are identical. Note that the antiparticle of the electron is the anti-electron - also known as the positron. Every single electron in our Universe has exactly the same charge as every other electron.

If that were not the case, then certain chemical processes would not occur. When the object is missing an electron. This is because of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. It is a part of quantum mechanics. It has to do with an electron having properties of both a particle and and wave. If you only imagine an electron to be a particle, this can be somewhat explained by the process of measuring the position or velocity of the electron.

If the data is measured with light, then when a photon hits the electron, it changes the electrons speed and position. We may be able to find one, but in the process, the other will be changed. Absolute zero; in the case of a Hydrogen atom, when the electron and proton are touching. Log in. Atoms and Atomic Structure. Study now. See Answer. Best Answer. Study guides. Stu's Guide 4 cards. Test- Nicole. Proton number of hydrogen. Chemistry 20 cards.



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