answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

Without going into the detailed mathematical proof (cos it's unnecessary), the energies of electrons can only have certain specific values. If you imagine a staircase, the steps are set at certain specific heights. There are no in between steps between steps. Let these steps represent different energy levels, with the energy increasing in value as you move up from one step to the next. Well, a comparable situation exists in an atom. There are certain discrete "steps" or energy levels in an atom, and an electron can only exist at one of these levels. It cannot exist anywhere in between any of the levels. So, an electron can only have certain amounts of energy. If you stimulated an electron with some extra energy, such as an electrical charge, the electron would only be able to absorb a certain amount, or quantity, of this extra energy, and this quantity would correspond to the difference in energy between one energy level and another (although these energy levels need not be adjacent - "steps" can be missed out when the elctron jumps levels). On the atomic scale, these quantities of energy are given the name "quanta." In friendlier terms, they are called packets of energy. These packages can only come in certain defined sizes.

User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago

Without going into the detailed mathematical proof (cos it's unnecessary), the energies of electrons can only have certain specific values. If you imagine a staircase, the steps are set at certain specific heights. There are no in between steps between steps. Let these steps represent different energy levels, with the energy increasing in value as you move up from one step to the next. Well, a comparable situation exists in an atom. There are certain discrete "steps" or energy levels in an atom, and an electron can only exist at one of these levels. It cannot exist anywhere in between any of the levels. So, an electron can only have certain amounts of energy. If you stimulated an electron with some extra energy, such as an electrical charge, the electron would only be able to absorb a certain amount, or quantity, of this extra energy, and this quantity would correspond to the difference in energy between one energy level and another (although these energy levels need not be adjacent - "steps" can be missed out when the elctron jumps levels). On the atomic scale, these quantities of energy are given the name "quanta." In friendlier terms, they are called packets of energy. These packages can only come in certain defined sizes.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago

Without going into the detailed mathematical proof (cos it's unnecessary), the energies of electrons can only have certain specific values. If you imagine a staircase, the steps are set at certain specific heights. There are no in between steps between steps. Let these steps represent different energy levels, with the energy increasing in value as you move up from one step to the next. Well, a comparable situation exists in an atom. There are certain discrete "steps" or energy levels in an atom, and an electron can only exist at one of these levels. It cannot exist anywhere in between any of the levels. So, an electron can only have certain amounts of energy. If you stimulated an electron with some extra energy, such as an electrical charge, the electron would only be able to absorb a certain amount, or quantity, of this extra energy, and this quantity would correspond to the difference in energy between one energy level and another (although these energy levels need not be adjacent - "steps" can be missed out when the elctron jumps levels). On the atomic scale, these quantities of energy are given the name "quanta." In friendlier terms, they are called packets of energy. These packages can only come in certain defined sizes.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago

It means that energy can't have just any old number. It can only have certain numbers

that are spaced by a constant amount, but nothing in between those. When energy moves

from one place to another, it has to move in those quantities, and it can't move in fractions

of them.

An example that may help:

Money is quantized. The price of something for sale can't be just any old number.

It can only have numbers that are 1 penny apart, but nothing in between pennies.

You can talk about prices that are between pennies, but once you transfer money

from one person to another, it can only move in multiples of pennies, not in fractions

of them.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

6y ago

It means that it is at a certain energy level, and there are no in between values. So, it can be 1, 2, 3, 4, etc, but cannot be 2.3 or 3.5, etc. The electrons have certain energies and they are like packets, and they don't exist in fractions of packets.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

Electric charge comes in multiples of an electron , 1.6E-19 Coulombs.

This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What is meant by saying electric charge is quantized?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Physics

What is meant by quantization in physics?

When a quantity is "quantized," it means that the quantity exists in discrete indivisible units. For example, the magnitude of electric charge is quantized, and the quantum of electric charge is the charge of the electron e. There is no known free particle with a charge of 1/2 e or 9.1254e, only particles with charges of 1e, 2e, 5e, 99e, 423425e, etc.There are numerous other quantities that can be quantized including angular momentum, energy, and even electrical conductance.


What is meant by charge is quantitized?

In physics, when a quantity is "quantized," it means that it can be broken down into indivisible units.Imagine a tower built out of Legos. If you break down that tower, you will find it's made out of 2×4 blocks, which cannot be broken down any further. We say that the tower is quantized, and the quantum unit of the tower is a 2×4 block.Charge is quantized because all charges are made up of a "building block" of charge. The quantum unit of charge is 1.602 × 10^-19 Coulombs, or 1 e, the charge of an electron/proton.In nuclear physics, electrons and protons are made up of quarks which have charges of -1/3 e or +2/3 e, so they are truly (at this point), the quantum of charge.


What is meant by electrostatic shielding?

electrostatic shielding is the method of protecting a certain region of space or any sensitive instrument from the influence of the external field produced by an electric charge


What is the substance of electric charge?

As far as we know there isn't one. Electric charge is an intrinsic part of certain subatomic particles. We don't know why, nor do we know why they have the characteristic magnitude they do ... it's just how the universe is. Up quarks (which have a charge 2/3 as large as the charge on an electron, but of opposite polarity) and down quarks (which have a charge 1/3 as large as the charge on an electron, and of the same polarity) combine in such a way that protons wind up having the same charge as electrons but opposite polarity. We don't know why this should be so, but it's very convenient.If you meant the gauge particle ... the gauge particle for the electromagnetic force is the photon (which is not, itself, charged).There is no specific substance for electric charge. Lots of subatomic particles - but not all of them - have the property of electric charge, which may be positive or negative (or neutral). In practice, electric charge is often carried by electrons, but it may also be carried by positive or negative ions, by positive holes, etc.


What is meant by electric resistance of a conductor?

svcvcc

Related questions

What is meant by saying charging is quantized?

Electric charge comes in multiples of an electron , 1.6E-19 Coulombs.


What is meant by quantization in physics?

When a quantity is "quantized," it means that the quantity exists in discrete indivisible units. For example, the magnitude of electric charge is quantized, and the quantum of electric charge is the charge of the electron e. There is no known free particle with a charge of 1/2 e or 9.1254e, only particles with charges of 1e, 2e, 5e, 99e, 423425e, etc.There are numerous other quantities that can be quantized including angular momentum, energy, and even electrical conductance.


What is meant by charge is quantitized?

In physics, when a quantity is "quantized," it means that it can be broken down into indivisible units.Imagine a tower built out of Legos. If you break down that tower, you will find it's made out of 2×4 blocks, which cannot be broken down any further. We say that the tower is quantized, and the quantum unit of the tower is a 2×4 block.Charge is quantized because all charges are made up of a "building block" of charge. The quantum unit of charge is 1.602 × 10^-19 Coulombs, or 1 e, the charge of an electron/proton.In nuclear physics, electrons and protons are made up of quarks which have charges of -1/3 e or +2/3 e, so they are truly (at this point), the quantum of charge.


What is meant by a conserved electric charge?

One particle can turn into another particle or several other particles (particles decay, for example, much like radioactive nuclei) but electric charge is neither created nor destroyed, so no matter what happens to subatomic particles, the end result will have exactly the same amount of electric charge as there was originally. This principle is officially known as conservation of electric charge.


What is meant by electric field between the plates?

ELECTRIC FIELD The electric of a charge is the region of space surrounding in which a point charge can experience its influence in the form of a force The regon around any charged body in which coloumb's force is experienced by some other charged body is called "electric field" of the first body.


What is meant by proton number?

a particle of matter with a positive electric charge


What is meant by electrostatic shielding?

electrostatic shielding is the method of protecting a certain region of space or any sensitive instrument from the influence of the external field produced by an electric charge


What is mean polar?

What is meant by polarity? Answer An electric charge has a polarity of either positive or negative. Also a voltage has a polarity, in that it could be positive or negative, with respect to some other voltage, such as the one at the other end of a battery or electric circuit.


What is the substance of electric charge?

As far as we know there isn't one. Electric charge is an intrinsic part of certain subatomic particles. We don't know why, nor do we know why they have the characteristic magnitude they do ... it's just how the universe is. Up quarks (which have a charge 2/3 as large as the charge on an electron, but of opposite polarity) and down quarks (which have a charge 1/3 as large as the charge on an electron, and of the same polarity) combine in such a way that protons wind up having the same charge as electrons but opposite polarity. We don't know why this should be so, but it's very convenient.If you meant the gauge particle ... the gauge particle for the electromagnetic force is the photon (which is not, itself, charged).There is no specific substance for electric charge. Lots of subatomic particles - but not all of them - have the property of electric charge, which may be positive or negative (or neutral). In practice, electric charge is often carried by electrons, but it may also be carried by positive or negative ions, by positive holes, etc.


What is the Past and future verb of meant?

The past opposite of meant would be meant as in if you were saying " 5 years ago I meant to go to Africa.". And the future would be mean to as if in saying " I'll say I mean to do that."


What is meant by saying he is mean?

he is not nice


What is meant by electric resistance of a conductor?

svcvcc