June 25, 2006
A scale model of the hydrogen atom This guy has put together a scaled image showing how much space an electron and proton take up within the hydrogen atom, and how much empty space there is. I'm guessing that they're doing this by taking their E&M cross sections, dividing by pi and taking a square root to get a radius, 'cause I'm a little unsure on how else to make any sense of an "electron radius", but still, interesting to think about
I thought an electron was a point particle.
That's the other thing--fundamentally, it is, unless, I guess, you're inclined to believe that it's a string of a certain vibrational mode (not that I am).
The page is kinda cool, but I'm confused as to the science behind it.
Valatan, seems you're not alone.
We are all phantoms.
there is a supposed "classical radius of the electron," found by assuming the electron to be a sphere and that the rest mass energy is equal to the potential electrostatic energy of the surface charge (c.f., Haken and Wolf, Vol. 1, pg 67-68). This radius turns out to be a few femtometers.
The explanation continues to say that this "radius" has been measured in xray scattering experiments and was found to be of the same OOM as the calculation hinted at above.
Now that's the kind of comment I'd expect from someone so close to her PhD. Very well done. Was that researched or did it springforth from memory (either way impressive)?
for a CS guy a pixel is a point particle too.
actually, the question, "What is the classical radius of the electron?" is a decently common (and scary!) question at final defenses for people graduating from the place I worked at last year. As soon as I heard it, I pissed myself and then went and looked it up. There, they do not choose who is on their questioning committee and questions can come from all over the map.
Another awesome one/couplet: How does a solar panel work? What band gap is ideal (read: most efficient) for the semiconductors used? (the answer to the second part is easier, I think)
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of course, I now realize that any cross section would make the electron larger than the proton. Any ideas where this ratio comes from?
posted by Valatan at 01:21AM CST on June 25