According to science, like charges repel each other and opposite charges attract each other. But if you observe the structure of an atom, neutrons(neutral), and protons(positive) bind tightly with each other, whereas the electrons(negative)float around them. Shouldn't protons and electrons bind together? How do the neutrons stay in place even if they are neutral?
A summary of the properties of Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons is the following, according to Sharon Bewick, Richard Parsons, Therese Forsythe, Shonna Robinson, Jean Dupon. Marisa Alviar-Agnew, and Henry Agnew :
- Electrons are a type of subatomic particle with a negative charge.
- Protons are a type of subatomic particle with a positive charge. Protons are bound together in an atom's nucleus as a result of the strong nuclear force.
- Neutrons are a type of subatomic particle with no charge (they are neutral). Like protons, neutrons are bound into the atom's nucleus as a result of the strong nuclear force.
- Protons and neutrons have approximately the same mass, but they are both much more massive than electrons (approximately 2,000 times as massive as an electron).
- The positive charge on a proton is equal in magnitude to the negative charge on an electron. As a result, a neutral atom must have an equal number of protons and electrons.
- The atomic mass unit (amu) is a unit of mass equal to one-twelfth the mass of a carbon-12 atom
A nice answer is available at,
https://sciencenotes.org/protons-stick-to-electrons/
Dear Birajita,
The reason is that while electrons are elementary charged particles, protons and neutrons are not. They are systems of elementary charged particles, just like the solar system is not a massive body, but a system of massive bodies.
Experiments carried out in the first years of operation of the Stanford Linear Accelerator, in 1966-1968 conclusively demonstrated that both the proton and the neutron are each systems of 3 charged elementary particles:
Breidenbach M. et al. (1969) Observed Behavior of Highly Inelastic Electron-Proton Scattering, Phys.Rev.Let.,Vol.23,No.16,935-939.
https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.23.935
So protons and neutrons bind together simply because they both are systems of charged elementary particles of the same electromagnetic nature as the electron.
Best Regards, André
The following link Mr Panda should answer your question:
http://www.ric.edu/faculty/ptiskus/atomic_force/
Thank you so very much for answering my question. I've pondered about this for quite some time now. I really appreciate that you all were able to give me high-quality answers.
Sir Jorge Morales Pedraza and all the others present here could you please recommend a famous and highly explanative book for middle schoolers on atoms. My preference is mainly between classes 6-8. This topic has left me mesmerized and I would really like to learn more.
Mr PANDA: here you are:
https://www.middleschoolchemistry.com/lessonplans/chapter4/lesson1
Middle school Chemistry --ACS-- open the link & u'll find the book's title!!
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