Are electrons attracted to each other?

Category: science chemistry
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But a proton and an electron attract each other. Another way of saying this is that the same or “like” charges repel one another and opposite charges attract one another. Since opposite charges attract each other, the negatively charged electrons are attracted to the positively charged protons.



Similarly, it is asked, how do electrons repel each other?

Electrons are in constant motion as they circle around the nucleus of that atom. These two electrons both have a negative charge so their lines of force are repelled. Like charges repel, unlike charges attract. Two electrons will tend to repel each other because both have a negative electrical charge.

Also Know, what is the attraction between electrons? Chemical bond refers to the forces holding atoms together to form molecules and solids. This force is of an electric nature, and the attraction between electrons of one atom to the nucleus of another atom contributes to what is known as chemical bonds.

Just so, why are protons and electrons attracted to each other?

Protons and electrons stick to each other as much as they can, but kinetic energy and quantum mechanics keep them from holding still. Protons and electrons are attracted to each other because the positive electric charge of the proton is attracted to the negative charge of the electron.

Can 2 like charges attract each other?

In contrast to the attractive force between two objects with opposite charges, two objects that are of like charge will repel each other. That is, a positively charged object will exert a repulsive force upon a second positively charged object.

38 Related Question Answers Found

Why are electrons negatively charged?

Electrons are the negatively charged particles of atom. Together, all of the electrons of an atom create a negative charge that balances the positive charge of the protons in the atomic nucleus. Electrons are extremely small compared to all of the other parts of the atom.

Do neutrons repel each other?

Neutrons don't repel each other unless you try to actually put them in the same place. Then, because although made up of smaller particles, each neutron acts like a solid object, they would of course resist being put in the same place at the same time.

Why positive and negative charge attract each other?

A positive charge and a negative charge attract each other so that when they will come close and meet they will neutralise each other (in case their magnitudes are same, otherwise magnitude of net charge will decrease) thus decreasing or vanishing the electric field strength hence minimizing the stored energy.

Why do protons not repel each other?

Protons do repel each other because of like charges and that repulsion is a form of electromagnetic force. Strong force binds the protons and neutrons compactly inside the nucleus. So in short a more powerful force is overcoming the effect of proton proton repulsion.

Why electron does not fall into nucleus?


An electron in an atom spreads out according to its energy. The states with more energy are more spread out. All electron states overlap with the nucleus, so the concept of an electron "falling into" or "entering" the nucleus does not really make sense. Electrons are always partially in the nucleus.

Why do atoms repel each other?

Oppositely charged particles attract each other, while like particles repel one another. Electrons are kept in the orbit around the nucleus by the electromagnetic force, because the nucleus in the center of the atom is positively charged and attracts the negatively charged electrons.

Why is the charge of an electron?

Charge of Electron. The charge of the electron is equivalent to the magnitude of the elementary charge (e) but bearing a negative sign. Although the proton is much more massive than the electron, it only has a charge of e. Hence, neutral atoms always bear the same number of protons and electrons.

How do you prove like charges repel each other?

Glass rod gets positively charged and ebonite rod gets negatively charged. 1) If both objects are charged positive, they'll repel each other. 2) If both objects are charged negative, they'll repel each other. 3) If one objects is charged positive and other is charged negative, they'll attract each other.

What is the space between electrons?

Originally Answered: What fills the space between the orbit of an atom's electrons and the nucleus? Many people who have answered, assert that an electron fills the gap between nucleus and some outer diameter; the so-called “electron cloud”.

Are protons and electrons the same?


Protons and neutrons are in the center (nucleus) of the atom. Proton—positive; electron—negative; neutron—no charge. The charge on the proton and electron are exactly the same size but opposite. The same number of protons and electrons exactly cancel one another in a neutral atom.

Why do electrons not fall into the nucleus Yahoo?

You can do this because the rubbing caused the balloon to accumulate a lot of electrons. In classical physics, electrons should fall into the nucleus even if they weren't attracted by the charge of the proton. Early models of atoms had electrons orbiting the nucleus the way a planet orbits a sun.

Why is proton positively charged?

A proton has positive charge of 1, that is, equal but opposite to the charge of an electron. The charge is believed to be from the charge of the quarks that make up the nucleons (protons and neutrons).

How do we know how many electrons an atom has?

The number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in an atom can be determined from a set of simple rules.
  • The number of protons in the nucleus of the atom is equal to the atomic number (Z).
  • The number of electrons in a neutral atom is equal to the number of protons.

What happens if an electron touches a proton?

So, when an electron approaches the proton, it begins to feel the repulsive force of the electrons of the proton and the electron will be scattered. But sometimes, the electron will join the proton's electrons in an orbit and thus become a neutron.

Why do neutrons have no charge?


A neutron has no net charge because the charge of the quarks that make up the neutron balance each other out.

How many neutrons are in the nucleus of an atom with the atomic number of 25?

What is the mass number of an atom with 3 protons, 4 neutrons, and 3 electrons? 17. How many neutrons are in the nucleus of an atom that has an atomic mass of 36 and an atomic number of 25? an element as well as it's location on the Periodic Table.

Can you attract two negative charges?

The protons are positively charged, the electrons are negatively charged, and the neutrons are neutral. Therefore, all things are made up of charges. Opposite charges attract each other (negative to positive). Like charges repel each other (positive to positive or negative to negative).