Atomic..where does the energy come from

[xelasnave]

I find it hard to imagine where say the electron in a hydrogen atom gets its energy to keep wizzing around and around... look at it this way... some 13.5 billion years ago H can into existence... how does such a little thing manage to keep running all these years... must have a great power pack.

I know atomic science probably has an answer but forgeting that... dont you think it is strange that atoms can keep running presumably with only the power/ energy they started with...

alex

[TrevorW]

Alex you do way too much thinking and not enough drinking

[DJDD]

not sure about that...
alex does these posts in spurts so maybe he has been lubricating his synapses in between times, getting them loose for some good discussion topics.

[AstralTraveller (David)]

There is no energy being used.

[xelasnave]

A couple of night ago..well look at the times of the posts... yes drunk as... only in an effort to kill off some brain cells and not think but I think it acted like a solvent and cleaned out some pathways...

Thinking is what I do best after drinking.
alex

[TrevorW]

Actually i think it's something to do with electromagnetic and gravitational forces

[KenGee (Kenith Gee)]

Alex, maybe it comes from the same place as the gravity pushing pressure.

[Nesti (Mark)]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

I find it hard to imagine where say the electron in a hydrogen atom gets its energy to keep wizzing around and around... look at it this way... some 13.5 billion years ago H can into existence... how does such a little thing manage to keep running all these years... must have a great power pack.

I know atomic science probably has an answer but forgeting that... dont you think it is strange that atoms can keep running presumably with only the power/ energy they started with...

alex

Well if you were a String Theorist, you could say that particles have enormous amounts of bound-up vibrational energy. Some of it is used in frequencies which allow for interaction, and some just sit there.

Since quantum mechanics clearly shows that any activity can only be done in discrete amounts of energy and time, then one could say that they are born with enough energy reserves to go the distance.

Of course a Big Crunch would return that which has been expired.

But somehow I don't think it works quite like that.

[Robh (Rob)]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

I find it hard to imagine where say the electron in a hydrogen atom gets its energy to keep wizzing around and around... look at it this way... some 13.5 billion years ago H can into existence... how does such a little thing manage to keep running all these years... must have a great power pack.

I know atomic science probably has an answer but forgeting that... dont you think it is strange that atoms can keep running presumably with only the power/ energy they started with...

alex

Alex,

Consider a car moving with constant velocity on a freeway. The car needs a continual feed of energy to overcome air resistance and other mechanical friction. Energy is continually lost from the system as heat.
Now, consider the motion of the planets around the Sun. They will orbit for perhaps billions of years as there is negligible resistance to motion. The total energy of the system dissipates very slowly. The system is not completely stable as the Sun will lose mass as it releases energy and the gravitational drag of the planets on each other will change their orbital properties. Eventually, the Sun will become a red giant and eat up the inner planets.
Now, consider an electron in orbit about a nucleus. This may be over-simplistic as I'm not a nuclear physicist, but the energy of the system is maintained. There is no resistance at the atomic level, the nucleus does not lose mass and neither does the electron. It remains in a stable, energy-preserving orbit.

Regards, Rob

[sjastro]

Originally Posted by AstralTraveller

There is no energy being used.

Precisely.