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Answer by Buck Thorn for Why is electron gain generally exothermic?
When two oppositely charged particles are brought closer together under a Coulombic potential, the potential energy of the pair decreases. However, conservation of energy requires that this potential...
View ArticleAnswer by Gaurang Tandon for Why is electron gain generally exothermic?
Looking at the comment thread above, I believe a bit more elaboration can help, so here it isWhy is electron gain generally exothermic?Think of a unit positive sphere and a unit negative sphere. When...
View ArticleAnswer by ssavec for Why is electron gain generally exothermic?
The energy of an electron in a vacuum is zero. If it can attach (however weakly), the energy is gained and the process is therefore exothermic. It is not an atom that releases energy, it is the whole...
View ArticleWhy is electron gain generally exothermic?
I understand that we need to supply energy to counter the nuclear attraction when we remove electrons, and that is the reason why ionization energy is endothermic. However, why does an atom release...
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