# The gravitational attraction between electron and proton in a hydrogen atom is weaker than the Coulomb attraction by a factor of about 10−40. An alternative way of looking at this fact is to estimate - Physics

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The gravitational attraction between electron and proton in a hydrogen atom is weaker than the Coulomb attraction by a factor of about 10−40. An alternative way of looking at this fact is to estimate the radius of the first Bohr orbit of a hydrogen atom if the electron and proton were bound by gravitational attraction. You will find the answer interesting.

#### Solution

Radius of the first Bohr orbit is given by the relation,

"r"_1 = (4pi in_0 ("h"/(2pi))^2)/("m"_"e" "e"^2) .................(1)

Where,

0 = Permittivity of free space

h = Planck’s constant = 6.63 × 10−34 Js

me = Mass of an electron = 9.1 × 10−31 kg

e = Charge of an electron = 1.9 × 10−19 C

mp = Mass of a proton = 1.67 × 10−27 kg

r = Distance between the electron and the proton

Coulomb attraction between an electron and a proton is given as:

"F"_"C" = "e"^2/(4piin_0 "r"^2) .............(2)

Gravitational force of attraction between an electron and a proton is given as:

"F"_"G" = ("Gm"_"p""m"_"e")/"r"^2 .........(3)

Where,

G = Gravitational constant = 6.67 × 10−11 N m2/kg2

If the electrostatic (Coulomb) force and the gravitational force between an electron and a proton are equal, then we can write:

∴ FG = FC

("Gm"_"p""m"_"e")/"r"^2 = "e"^2/(4piin_0 "r"^2)

∴ "e"^2/(4piin_0) = "Gm"_"p""m"_"e" ........(4)

Putting the value of equation (4) in equation (1), we get:

"r"_1 = ("h"/(2pi))^2/("Gm"_"p""m"_"e"^2)

= (((6.63 xx 10^(-34))/(2xx3.14))^2)/(6.67 xx 10^(-11) xx 1.67 xx 10^(-27) xx (9.1 xx 10^(-31))^2) ~~ 1.21 xx 10^(29)  "m"

It is known that the universe is 156 billion light years wide or 1.5 × 1027 m wide. Hence, we can conclude that the radius of the first Bohr orbit is much greater than the estimated size of the whole universe.

Concept: Bohr’s Model for Hydrogen Atom
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#### APPEARS IN

NCERT Physics Part 1 and 2 Class 12
Chapter 12 Atoms
Exercise | Q 12.12 | Page 436
NCERT Class 12 Physics Textbook
Chapter 12 Atoms
Exercise | Q 12 | Page 436

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