- #1
DarkMattrHole
- 35
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- TL;DR Summary
- Is there a relationship between the two?
A single electron sitting in a void has an electric field that spreads out evenly in all directions as far as there is open empty space to allow it, is this roughly a correct statement?
Let's say we now introduce a singe proton into the void, 100 miles from the electron - it will also have an electric field, is that correct?, of the opposite sign.
Now the electric field of the electron will be distorted, as will that of the proton. It will be easier for the electron field to spread into the direction of the proton, and so it will, and all the electric field lines will edge towards the imaginary line between electron and proton, and edge away from the opposite direction and wrap around on a long arc towards the proton, correct? The electric field has been redirected and covers a bit less volume of space, as the strength of field is concentrated to a region in the vicinity around the electron and proton. From a distance of 1000 miles the electric field would look like an electric dipole. From a much greater distance no field would be detected as the field would appear locally neutralized.
The electron goes where the field lines tell it to go, and the field lines go mostly towards the proton (and vise versa) so the particles approach each other. When the particles unite and the electron is snug in an orbital the electric field will have 'collapsed' into a single place in space - the orbital.
Is the former description even close to accurate?
How does the collapse of the electric field - perhaps when an electron hits a proton on the back-wall of double split electron experiment - compare and contrast to the collapse of the probability wave in that experiment? How separate are these two things? I know that one is a physical field and the other is a calculation, so it's how closely the two things relate that I'm interested. If you got this far in my long winded question, thanks.
Let's say we now introduce a singe proton into the void, 100 miles from the electron - it will also have an electric field, is that correct?, of the opposite sign.
Now the electric field of the electron will be distorted, as will that of the proton. It will be easier for the electron field to spread into the direction of the proton, and so it will, and all the electric field lines will edge towards the imaginary line between electron and proton, and edge away from the opposite direction and wrap around on a long arc towards the proton, correct? The electric field has been redirected and covers a bit less volume of space, as the strength of field is concentrated to a region in the vicinity around the electron and proton. From a distance of 1000 miles the electric field would look like an electric dipole. From a much greater distance no field would be detected as the field would appear locally neutralized.
The electron goes where the field lines tell it to go, and the field lines go mostly towards the proton (and vise versa) so the particles approach each other. When the particles unite and the electron is snug in an orbital the electric field will have 'collapsed' into a single place in space - the orbital.
Is the former description even close to accurate?
How does the collapse of the electric field - perhaps when an electron hits a proton on the back-wall of double split electron experiment - compare and contrast to the collapse of the probability wave in that experiment? How separate are these two things? I know that one is a physical field and the other is a calculation, so it's how closely the two things relate that I'm interested. If you got this far in my long winded question, thanks.
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