Static Electricity and the Strong Force
Most recent answer: 11/03/2016
Q:
When you rub two objects electrons move from atom to atom this is called static electricity. But why do electrons leave the atom if the electrons are held together by the strong force that gets stronger farther the partical is from the atom what force is strong enough to break that conection just by rubing?
- Lord Awesome (age 20)
10314
- Lord Awesome (age 20)
10314
A:
The electrons are not held in by the strong (quantum chromodynamic, QCD) force. They are held in by ordinary electrical forces. These get weaker as the particles get farther apart, unlike the QCD force. The forces that hold the electrons in are very similar to those that push them off when you rub two surfaces, so some do get moved from one surface to the other.
Mike W.
(published on 11/03/2016)