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by warriorsoul on December 8th, 2006

warriorsoul

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How come the protons in the nucleus of an atom do not spin around like the electrons do?

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Answers. 6 helpful answers below.

  • by Quirkie on April 11th, 2007

    Quirkie

    Both electrons and protons spin. They both have their own intrinsic spin, and they also move in a similar way.
    The difference is that the force acting on protons acts over a very small range, so that protons move inside the nucleus, whereas electrons have more freedom.

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  • by vicki the verifier on April 11th, 2007

    vicki the verifier

    Cause they were naughty and now they are grounded! Joax.

    Electrons are free to spin around above the nucleus but the protons live in the nucleus itself. They're held in there by neutrons which stop them banging into each other.

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  • by vicki the verifier on April 11th, 2007

    vicki the verifier

    Cause they were naughty and now they are grounded! Joax.

    Electrons are free to spin around above the nucleus but the protons live in the nucleus itself. They're held in there by neutrons which stop them banging into each other.

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  • by ChrisDG on December 10th, 2006

    ChrisDG

    I think (though I am not sure) that the protons do still spin on their own axis (i.e. not around the nucleus like the elctrons do, rather they spin like a top) and that half in the universe spin one way and half the other. The basis of this is how MRI scanners work in hospitals. DOn't ask me how.

    I am not a nuclear physicist so I may have just got this completely wrong, I'm sure someone out there will correct or say I'm right.

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  • by H_mood on December 10th, 2006

    H_mood

    The interaction between electrons and the nucleus is the electric attraction (electrons negative, nucleus/protons positive). This give a nice so-called inverse-square-law, and the movement is almost like a planet around its sun (at least in the Bohr model, but Quantum mechanic found more details about electron orbits, ,e.g. the s-,p-,d-orbitals).
    Why Inverse square law: the attracting force becomes weaker with the square of the distance: F = a/r^2 , r being distance.

    The interaction between protons and neutrons, which form the nucleus, is governed by a very different force, the strong force. The potential is like a bag, very steep, and the particles bound by this potential are like a water droplet, quite densely packed. Once a neutron/proton escapes the potential, it is gone for good, "boiled off".

    It is this different charcter of the interaction that makes the huge difference between atomic physics (electrons around nuclei) and nuclear physics (protons, neutrons, pions in a bag)

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  • by science_geek on December 8th, 2006

    science_geek

    Because the mass of protons is vastly greater than the mass of electrons.

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