Where does energy come in an electron?

2

2 Answers

John McCann Profile
John McCann answered

Simply put, height.

The energy shells of the electron; the further ( higher ) the electron is from it opposite charge, the proton, the higher the energy. This can be shown mathematically as the electron falls through its energy levels to ground state.

All atomic particles, ultimately, got their energies from the Big Bang and retain this still.

1 Person thanked the writer.
Anisha Pal
Anisha Pal commented
But how does this energy gets retained...... When an electron moves, it uses energy but still its energy is fixed why so...?
John McCann
John McCann commented
Do you know what energy is? In the case it is just the ability to do work. These particles are charged and the electron is in opposition to the proton in charge, they attract one another. That is why the further they are from the nucleus, the electrons, the more potential energy they have. They fall through the energy levels and convert that potential energy to kinetic energy and emit one photon in the process.

Then there is the Big Bang energy which they still retain in there atomic orbits.

Energy is never fixed but is transformed from one form to another.
Marta Catalano Profile
Marta Catalano answered

Hi Anisha,

First of all, it is important to realize that electrons do not circle around a nucleus as we often see in pictures or as we previously thought.


They do not circle at a definite path and don't have a set position but they exist in a sort of cloud. However, they keep on moving.


To do so, they need energy otherwise they would collapse. Common knowledge suggests us that to move we need to spend energy. However, the first law of Newtonian mechanics says:

"The velocity of a body remains constant unless the body is acted upon by an external force."

This means that there is no need to spend energy continuously unless there are external forces that are acting on a set body. The electrons found in a nucleus are in a quantized energy level and this can change only if there is some external interaction. This quantized energy is called quanta, introduced by Niels Bohr. This is a discrete energy states in which electrons can persist stably, meaning that there's a minimum state below which the electron cannot fall. The point that quantum mechanics makes on this, is that there is no energy coming in or out the nucleus-electron system unless there is an external interaction. In effect, we can only know what the electron is doing if we interact with it, that's why there is no set definition. So, if there is no interaction we can only guess its distribution and use probability to figure it out.

The conclusion is:  an electron has no need for a continuous source of energy to keep on moving as its movement is balanced by the stable energy level (quanta)  that it is found in the nucleus. Thus it keep on moving. This is what I got from my research anyway, hope this clarifies your doubts!

Answer Question

Anonymous