Ordinary matter, composed of electrons and nuclei, is held together by Coulomb forces. These forces are potentially catastrophic for two reasons: the short range attraction could lead too a collapse while the long range repulsion and attraction could lead to an explosion or too strong interaction between macroscopic objects. The fact that neither of these things happens and that matter is essentially inert is a consequence of subtle properties of quantum mechanics and electrostatics outlined here.
Ordinary matter, composed of electrons and nuclei, is held together by Coulomb forces. These forces are potentially catastrophic for two reasons: the short range attraction could lead too a collapse while the long range repulsion and attraction could lead to an explosion or too strong interaction between macroscopic objects. The fact that neither of these things happens and that matter is essentially inert is a consequence of subtle properties of quantum mechanics and electrostatics outlined here.
The interior of an atom is an ultrahigh vacuum environment free of medium resistance and energy dissipation. The longterm stable motion of extranuclear electrons relies fundamentally on a continuous, realtime, and synchronous dynamic equilibrium among three interactions: the Coulomb electrostatic attraction from the atomic nucleus, the Lorentz magnetic force generated by the highspeed motion of electrons, and the inertia of electrons themselves. This paper rigorously proves that due to rest mass and inertia, the electron trajectory is neither an ideal perfect circle nor a fixed planar ellipse in celestial mechanics. Planets in the solar system, driven only by universal gravitation and inertia, are confined to motion in a fixed plane and cannot achieve threedimensional spatial deflection. In contrast, electrons are subject to a Lorentz magnetic force perpendicular to the radial Coulomb force, which continuously alters the orbital inclination and direction of motion, enabling 360° omnidirectional spatial orbital motion without a fixed plane or fixed inclination. The macroscopically observed electron cloud is not a random probability distribution, but a longterm trajectory coverage effect of deterministic continuous electron motion. Energy level changes of electrons appear as continuously smooth orbital adjustments, with no instantaneous quantum jumps or teleportation. If, as assumed by traditional quantum mechanics, electrons exhibited discontinuous transitions, probability superposition, or wavefunction collapse, electron motion would be forcibly interrupted, the Lorentz magnetic force would vanish immediately, the threeforce equilibrium would be completely destroyed, and the atom would collapse rapidly, making stable matter impossible. This paper returns to the unified logic of classical mechanics and electromagnetism, restores the continuous, deterministic, and predictable physical nature of microscopic particles, and provides core theoretical support for constructing a unified physical framework connecting macroscopic and microscopic worlds.
The hydrogen atom is the Rosetta stone of the early twentieth century atomic physics. The attempt to decipher its structure and properties led to the development of quantum mechanics and the unraveling of many of the mysteries of atomic, molecular, and solid state physics, and a good deal of chemistry and modern biology. Unlike the various one-dimensional model problems that we have been studying in the previous chapters, the hydrogen atom is a real physical system in three dimensions. It consists of an electron moving in a spherically symmetric potential well due to the Coulomb attraction of the positively charged nucleus. In three dimensions, the electron is not constrained to move linearly. It can execute orbital motions and, thus, has angular momentum. Not only is the total energy of the electron in the atom quantized, its angular momentum also has interesting and unexpected quantized properties that cannot possibly be understood on the basis of classical mechanics and electrodynamics. They are, however, the natural and necessary consequences of the basic postulates of quantum mechanics, as will be shown in this chapter. According to classical mechanics and electrodynamics, it is not possible to have a stable structure consisting of a small positively charged nucleus at the center of an electrically neutral atom with an electron sitting in its vicinity. For the electron not to be attracted into the positive charge, it must be orbiting around the nucleus so that the centrifugal force will counter the Coulomb attraction of the nucleus and maintain a constant electron orbit.
Introduction I give in this chapter the quantum-mechanical description of an atom. I look in some detail at the hydrogen atom, which is the simplest atom we have, with just one proton and one electron. From the picture that emerges, we shall be able to see how to describe all other atoms. Before continuing, I need to explain what I mean when I say that the proton and electron have equal and opposite electric charges. It is because of these charges that the atom is stable, and does not spontaneously break up into the two separate particles. Electric charge and potential energy If I take a ball in my hand and then let go, it drops to the floor. This is because of the gravitational interaction between the ball and the earth. The ball had gravitational potential energy when I held it, and when I release it, this energy is progressively converted to kinetic energy as it falls. Gravitation makes two bodies move towards each other, and not away from each other: the gravitational force is always attractive. As a result of many experiments done over the years, we find that there is another kind of force in nature, somewhat analogous to, but in one aspect different from, gravitation. I take two idealized examples, and use them to show the features of this force. First I consider two electrons that I imagine to be pinned down a distance r apart.
An atom consists of a nucleus, containing protons and neutrons, with various electrons swarming around the outskirts. The electrons are held in the vicinity of the nucleus as they are negatively charged and hence attracted by the positively charged protons. Although atoms are complicated objects, there are certain situations where they can be treated as simple lumps of matter. Their internal structure has no relevance to the details of what is happening. This sort of situation is exemplified by experiments in which atoms are deliberately smashed into one another at comparatively low energy and as such provide an ideal start in a study of the quantum physics of identical particles. When we are dealing with atoms, there is something more to being ‘identical’ than we can appreciate with larger-scale objects. Atoms of the same type are really identical, measurably identical if you like, which can make a considerable difference in some physically important situations.