Electron (Wikipedia)

The electron (
e
or
β
) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no known components or substructure. The electron’s mass is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton. Quantum mechanical properties of the electron include an intrinsic angular momentum (spin) of a half-integer value, expressed in units of the reduced Planck constant, ħ. Being fermions, no two electrons can occupy the same quantum state, per the Pauli exclusion principle. Like all elementary particles, electrons exhibit properties of both particles and waves: They can collide with other particles and can be diffracted like light. The wave properties of electrons are easier to observe with experiments than those of other particles like neutrons and protons because electrons have a lower mass and hence a longer de Broglie wavelength for a given energy.

Electrons play an essential role in numerous physical phenomena, such as electricity, magnetism, chemistry, and thermal conductivity; they also participate in gravitational, electromagnetic, and weak interactions. Since an electron has charge, it has a surrounding electric field; if that electron is moving relative to an observer, the observer will observe it to generate a magnetic field. Electromagnetic fields produced from other sources will affect the motion of an electron according to the Lorentz force law. Electrons radiate or absorb energy in the form of photons when they are accelerated.
Laboratory instruments are capable of trapping individual electrons as well as electron plasma by the use of electromagnetic fields. Special telescopes can detect electron plasma in outer space. Electrons are involved in many applications, such as tribology or frictional charging, electrolysis, electrochemistry, battery technologies, electronics, welding, cathode-ray tubes, photoelectricity, photovoltaic solar panels, electron microscopes, radiation therapy, lasers, gaseous ionization detectors, and particle accelerators.

Interactions involving electrons with other subatomic particles are of interest in fields such as chemistry and nuclear physics. The Coulomb force interaction between the positive protons within atomic nuclei and the negative electrons without allows the composition of the two known as atoms. Ionization or differences in the proportions of negative electrons versus positive nuclei changes the binding energy of an atomic system. The exchange or sharing of the electrons between two or more atoms is the main cause of chemical bonding. In 1838, British natural philosopher Richard Laming first hypothesized the concept of an indivisible quantity of electric charge to explain the chemical properties of atoms.[3] Irish physicist George Johnstone Stoney named this charge ‘electron’ in 1891, and J. J. Thomson and his team of British physicists identified it as a particle in 1897 during the cathode-ray tube experiment. Electrons can also participate in nuclear reactions, such as nucleosynthesis in stars, where they are known as beta particles. Electrons can be created through beta decay of radioactive isotopes and in high-energy collisions, for instance, when cosmic rays enter the atmosphere. The antiparticle of the electron is called the positron; it is identical to the electron, except that it carries electrical charge of the opposite sign. When an electron collides with a positron, both particles can be annihilated, producing gamma ray photons.

3 thoughts on “Electron (Wikipedia)

  1. shinichi Post author

    Electron

    Wikipedia

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron

    Atoms and molecules


    Hydrogen atomic orbitals at different energy levels. The more opaque areas are where one is most likely to find an electron at any given time.

    **


    Probability densities for the first few hydrogen atom orbitals, seen in cross-section. The energy level of a bound electron determines the orbital it occupies, and the color reflects the probability of finding the electron at a given position.

    **

    An electron can be bound to the nucleus of an atom by the attractive Coulomb force. A system of one or more electrons bound to a nucleus is called an atom. If the number of electrons is different from the nucleus’s electrical charge, such an atom is called an ion. The wave-like behavior of a bound electron is described by a function called an atomic orbital. Each orbital has its own set of quantum numbers such as energy, angular momentum and projection of angular momentum, and only a discrete set of these orbitals exist around the nucleus. According to the Pauli exclusion principle each orbital can be occupied by up to two electrons, which must differ in their spin quantum number.

    Electrons can transfer between different orbitals by the emission or absorption of photons with an energy that matches the difference in potential. Other methods of orbital transfer include collisions with particles, such as electrons, and the Auger effect. To escape the atom, the energy of the electron must be increased above its binding energy to the atom. This occurs, for example, with the photoelectric effect, where an incident photon exceeding the atom’s ionization energy is absorbed by the electron.

    The orbital angular momentum of electrons is quantized. Because the electron is charged, it produces an orbital magnetic moment that is proportional to the angular momentum. The net magnetic moment of an atom is equal to the vector sum of orbital and spin magnetic moments of all electrons and the nucleus. The magnetic moment of the nucleus is negligible compared with that of the electrons. The magnetic moments of the electrons that occupy the same orbital (so called, paired electrons) cancel each other out.

    The chemical bond between atoms occurs as a result of electromagnetic interactions, as described by the laws of quantum mechanics. The strongest bonds are formed by the sharing or transfer of electrons between atoms, allowing the formation of molecules. Within a molecule, electrons move under the influence of several nuclei, and occupy molecular orbitals; much as they can occupy atomic orbitals in isolated atoms. A fundamental factor in these molecular structures is the existence of electron pairs. These are electrons with opposed spins, allowing them to occupy the same molecular orbital without violating the Pauli exclusion principle (much like in atoms). Different molecular orbitals have different spatial distribution of the electron density. For instance, in bonded pairs (i.e. in the pairs that actually bind atoms together) electrons can be found with the maximal probability in a relatively small volume between the nuclei. By contrast, in non-bonded pairs electrons are distributed in a large volume around nuclei.

    Reply
  2. shinichi Post author

    なぜ電子が原子核のまわりを回転しているのでしょうか?

    answered by Higa Michinao

    Quora

    https://jp.quora.com/なぜ電子が原子核のまわりを回転しているのでしょ

    電子は、原子核の周りを回転しているのではなく、電子雲という状態で存在しています。

    電子雲の形や組み合わせは、原子によって異なり、いろんな形があります。上の図の赤や白、青、緑、黄色をしたものは、みな電子雲です。

    しかも、存在の仕方が、非常に奇妙な存在の仕方で、ミクロの世界と私たちが住んでいるマクロの世界では全く違うのです。

    電子雲の中で電子がどのように存在しているかというと、確率的に存在しているという言い方もできるし、1個の電子と言いながらも、一度に複数の場所に存在しているという言い方もできるのです。しかも、電子は粒子でありながら波でもあるのです。

    1個の電子が一度に複数の穴を通り抜けて進むことも観察されています。この辺が一般の人に量子力学の理解しにくいところです。

    Reply
  3. shinichi Post author

    (sk)

    電子は、何かの物質でできているのではなく、空間が「電子」として振動している状態を我々は電子として観測しているとか、アインシュタインの特殊相対性理論のE=mc^2が示すように、ある領域にエネルギーが局在していると質量のように観測できるような「状態」が素粒子だとか、電子は「空間の状態」なので区別がつかないだとか、そんなことを言われても「はい、そうですか」とは言えない。

    電子は、原子核の周りを回転しているのではなく、電子雲という状態で存在しているのだという。電子雲の存在の仕方は非常に奇妙だという。電子雲の中で電子がどのように存在しているかというと、確率的に存在しているという言い方もできるし、1個の電子と言いながらも、一度に複数の場所に存在しているという言い方もできる。しかも、電子は粒子でありながら波でもあるという。1個の電子が一度に複数の穴を通り抜けて進むことも観察されていると言われると、「そう、どうせ、私には理解できないよ」と思う。イメージできないものは、私には理解できない。

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *