A simple model of a hydrogen atom pictures the electron and proton as point charges separated by a distance of 0.050 nm, and A very simple model of a hydrogen atom is sketched in Figure 18.3, which shows an electron traveling in a circular orbit around proton. (We'll discuss more realistic models of an atom in Chapter 29.) If the distance between the electron and the proton is r =5.0 ×10-11m, what is the electric potential energy of this atom?we calculated the associated electric potential energy. If the electron is initially at rest, how much work is required to "break apart" these two charges, that is, to separate them by a very large distance?
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Figure 18.3 A simplified model of an atom, with an electron in orbit around a proton.