131k views
4 votes
What field force keeps electrons in orbit around the nucleus?

User Smack
by
7.7k points

1 Answer

4 votes

Final answer:

The electromagnetic force is the field force that keeps electrons in orbit around the nucleus, due to the attraction between negatively charged electrons and positively charged protons.

Step-by-step explanation:

The field force that keeps electrons in orbit around the nucleus is the electromagnetic force. This force is due to the attraction between the negatively charged electrons and the positively charged protons in the nucleus. The electromagnetic forces are responsible for the structure of the electron shells of an atom and the interaction between the electrons and the nucleus. While the strong nuclear force holds the nucleus together against the electrostatic repulsion between protons, it is the electromagnetic force that maintains the stable orbit of electrons, dictating their arrangement around the nucleus. Furthermore, a field can be thought of as a property of space that is detectable by the forces it exerts, as is the case with the gravitational, electromagnetic, strong nuclear, and weak nuclear fields. It is this electromagnetic field that is fundamental in determining the structure of atoms and molecules. Particles with opposite electric charges attract each other, which is the basic principle explaining why negatively charged electrons are attracted to the positive nucleus, held in orbit by this central attractive force. This is the primary reason why the nucleus does not fly apart despite the repulsive forces between positively charged protons.

User Charles Hendry
by
8.3k points