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Is it theoretically possible for atoms to converge?

Sorry if the title isn't detailed enough, I couldn't find the exact words.

First off, I am operating under the belief that things don't fall through one another because the negatively charged electrons in atoms repel each other. I could be wrong.

We all know that if you push hard enough on two regular magnets, you can make two poles of the same type touch each other- like two negatives.

Now assume we have two atoms with only one electron shell- let's say helium atoms. The reason two iron magnets can't push through each other, even though they are touching, is because behind the magnet is more layers of magnet. But behind our electron shell is, largely, nothing- and in fact, a positively-charged nucleus, which would grab the electrons.

So given all this, is it theoretically possible for two atoms to in fact travel through each other, or would the magnetism cause them to fuse?

6 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    At the nuclear level, it's not electro-magnetism, it's the strong and weak forces you're dealing with. If two atoms "converged" or merged together, I think what you're describing is nuclear fusion. If you can figure out how to sustain a fusion reaction, you will win the Nobel Prize and never have to work another day in your life. Good luck!

    Also, another possibility is plasma. If you create enough pressure and temperature, you can denude atoms of their electrons. You end up with a sort of atomic soup called plasma, with nuclei and electrons all wandering about without coherent atomic structure. Wild, huh?

  • 1 decade ago

    A Bose-Einstein condensate might be regarded as such.

    When Rubidium atoms, for example are contained in a magnetic field and cooled down to 100 billionths of a degree above absolute zero, the ensemble of atoms collapses into a condensate that can be described by a single wave function.

    Source(s): try googling Bose -Einstein condensate. It was predicted to exist over 70 years ago, but just created in the labs a few years ago. Neat stuff!
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Aren't they in a superposition before you observe them? What is possible before their wave function is collapsed?

    A magnet is a macro object and you can really see what is happening to them when you push them together. I would think there must be some reality where this is possible. Quantum physics never fails to work out these problems. Calculate, calculate, calculate.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    You can get EVERYTHING to merge... at least for a short time. It's just a question of how much energy you put into it. In case of atoms and nuclei you will need a particle accelerator to achieve your goal.

    Physicists do it every day. See e.g. work at CERN, Fermilab and SLAC.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I think in that case you'd have what they call "splitting the atom". Creating two or more elements. I don't see that it's possible to pass through one without that happening.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    In acceleration laboratories, when nuclei are crashed together hard enough they just fly apart, creating new particles in the process.

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