What type of force holds the electrons in there orbits?

Answer 1

It is the electromagnetic force, one of the four fundamental forces in nature, that holds electrons in orbit around an atomic nucleus. The electrons have a negative charge, and the protons in the nucleus have a positive charge. The opposite charges attract each other. The electromagnetic force also dictates how the electrons in orbits behave, too. Remember that electrons, because they have the same negative charge, don't like each other. They will form the electron cloud around an atomic nucleus, but they behave the way they do with respect to each other because of the electromagnetic force. Chemistry is a study in electromagnetics.

Answer 2

There are four known forces in the universe, three of which are involved, in varying degrees of strength, in holding the atom together, and one of which is involved only in nuclear decay.

Electromagnetic ForceThis force interacts only with charged particles, such as protons and electrons. Opposite charges attract (positive attracts negative), and like charges repel (positive repels positive, negative repels negative). The electromagnetic force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two charged particles, and therefore has an hypothetically infinite range.

The attractive nature of the electromagnetic force binds the negatively charged electrons in their orbital shells around the positively charged nucleus.

Strong ForceThe strong force interacts only with hadrons, so in the specific case of an atom, that means they only interact with nucleons (protons and neutrons). This force acts at extremely short ranges (less than 1 femtometer, or 10-15 m, or on quadrillionth of a meter). The strong force falls sharply to zero strength beyond that range. The strong force is 137 times stronger than the electromagnetic force, therefore it's able to bind the protons and neutrons together in the nucleus despite the repellent electromagnetic force felt between the protons. GravityGravity affects all particles regardless if they're charged, but interacts with them differently depending on whether or not they have mass. If the particles have mass, the force of gravity causes an attraction between them. Like the electromagnetic force, gravity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between particles, and therefore has a hypothetical infinite range. Unlike the electromagnetic force, gravity has no repellent component to it. Although every massive particle is effected by every other massive particle through gravity, it is the weakest of the four forces, and plays a very insignificant role in holding the atom together, at least according to our current theories. Weak ForceThe weak force interacts with only left-handed fermions and right-handed anti-fermions, ie. quarks and leptons, and is the force that governs flavor change. The main significance of this force on an atomic level is that it governs beta decay. It, however, plays no direct part in keeping atoms together, but it does help energetically stabilize nuclei through the beta decay method. The weak force has an even shorter range than the strong force. As its name implies, it is weaker than either the electromagnetic force or the strong force - it is 1 millionth the strength of the strong force.

Answer 3

In atoms I believe it's intermolecular forces that hold them in place. More specifically electromagnetic forces because the electron is negatively charged and the nucleus is positively charged due to the protons, therefore there is an electrostatic attraction between them (the force between the north end and south end of a magnet) drawing them to each other and causing an orbit

Answer 4

The nucleus is held together by a combination of both the strong and weak forces.

The electrons are held in their orbitals about the nucleus by the electromagnetic force.

That leaves only gravity, which does not participate in holding atoms together.

Answer 5

Electrons are held in the electron cloud of an atom because of the positive attraction coming from the nucleus of the atom which contains positively charged particles called protons. Electron Affinity also has to do with the process.

Answer 6

There are two types of Electric charge that hold an atom together: Positive and Negative.

If the two charges are opposites (e.g. Positive and Negative), then they will attract. Hence, like charges will repel and go separate ways.

Answer 7

The Electromagnetic force. Actually the force of attraction of the electrons' negative charge to the protons' positive charge.

Answer 8

Attraction between electrons and protons normally. It holds the electrons

Answer 9

IT is about protons. They hold electrons to the atom.

Answer 10

An equilibrium between centrifugal and centripetal forces maintain electrons on orbits.