The uncertain location of electrons - George Zaidan and Charles Morton
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0:07 - 0:10You probably know that all stuff
is made up of atoms -
0:10 - 0:11and that an atom
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0:11 - 0:15is a really, really, really,
really tiny particle. -
0:15 - 0:17Every atom has a core,
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0:17 - 0:18which is made up of at least one
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0:18 - 0:20positively charged particle
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0:20 - 0:21called a proton,
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0:21 - 0:22and in most cases,
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0:22 - 0:26some number of neutral
particles called neutrons. -
0:26 - 0:27That core is surrounded
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0:27 - 0:30by negatively charged
particles called electrons. -
0:31 - 0:33The identity of an atom is determined
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0:33 - 0:37only by the number
of protons in its nucleus. -
0:37 - 0:40Hydrogen is hydrogen because it
has just one proton, -
0:40 - 0:41carbon is carbon because it has six,
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0:41 - 0:43gold is gold because it has 79,
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0:43 - 0:45and so on.
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0:45 - 0:47Indulge me in a momentary tangent.
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0:47 - 0:49How do we know about atomic structure?
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0:50 - 0:53We can't see protons,
neutrons, or electrons. -
0:54 - 0:55So, we do a bunch of experiments
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0:55 - 0:58and develop a model
for what we think is there. -
0:58 - 1:00Then we do some more experiments
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1:00 - 1:02and see if they agree with the model.
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1:02 - 1:03If they do, great.
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1:03 - 1:06If they don't, it might
be time for a new model. -
1:06 - 1:08We've had lots of very
different models for atoms -
1:08 - 1:10since Democritus in 400 BC,
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1:11 - 1:12and there will almost certainly
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1:12 - 1:14be many more to come.
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1:14 - 1:15Okay, tangent over.
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1:15 - 1:18The cores of atoms tend to stick together,
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1:18 - 1:20but electrons are free to move,
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1:20 - 1:23and this is why chemists love electrons.
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1:23 - 1:24If we could marry them,
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1:24 - 1:26we probably would.
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1:26 - 1:27But electrons are weird.
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1:27 - 1:30They appear to behave either as particles,
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1:30 - 1:31like little baseballs,
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1:31 - 1:33or as waves, like water waves,
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1:33 - 1:36depending on the experiment
that we perform. -
1:37 - 1:39One of the weirdest things about electrons
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1:39 - 1:41is that we can't exactly
say where they are. -
1:41 - 1:43It's not that we don't have the equipment,
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1:43 - 1:44it's that this uncertainty
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1:44 - 1:46is part of our model of the electron.
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1:46 - 1:49So, we can't pinpoint them, fine.
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1:49 - 1:52But we can say
there's a certain probability -
1:52 - 1:54of finding an electron in a given space
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1:54 - 1:56around the nucleus.
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1:56 - 1:59And that means that we can
ask the following question: -
1:59 - 2:00If we drew a shape around the nucleus
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2:00 - 2:02such that we would be 95% sure
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2:02 - 2:05of finding a given electron
within that shape, -
2:06 - 2:07what would it look like?
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2:09 - 2:11Here are a few of these shapes.
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2:11 - 2:13Chemists call them orbitals,
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2:13 - 2:14and what each one looks like
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2:14 - 2:16depends on, among other things,
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2:16 - 2:18how much energy it has.
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2:18 - 2:19The more energy an orbital has,
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2:19 - 2:21the farther most of its density is
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2:21 - 2:22from the nucleus.
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2:22 - 2:25By they way, why did we pick 95%
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2:25 - 2:27and not 100%?
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2:27 - 2:28Well, that's another quirk
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2:28 - 2:30of our model of the electron.
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2:30 - 2:32Past a certain distance from the nucleus,
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2:32 - 2:34the probability of finding an electron
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2:34 - 2:36starts to decrease
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2:36 - 2:38more or less exponentially,
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2:38 - 2:40which means that while it
will approach zero, -
2:40 - 2:43it'll never actually hit zero.
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2:43 - 2:44So, in every atom,
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2:44 - 2:47there is some small,
but non-zero, probability -
2:47 - 2:51that for a very, very
short period of time, -
2:51 - 2:52one of its electrons
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2:52 - 2:55is at the other end of the known universe.
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2:56 - 2:59But mostly electrons stay
close to their nucleus -
2:59 - 3:01as clouds of negative charged density
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3:01 - 3:03that shift and move with time.
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3:03 - 3:04How electrons from one atom
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3:04 - 3:06interact with electrons from another
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3:06 - 3:09determines almost everything.
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3:09 - 3:11Atoms can give up their electrons,
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3:11 - 3:12surrendering them to other atoms,
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3:12 - 3:15or they can share electrons.
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3:15 - 3:17And the dynamics of this social network
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3:17 - 3:20are what make chemistry interesting.
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3:20 - 3:21From plain old rocks
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3:21 - 3:23to the beautiful complexity of life,
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3:23 - 3:24the nature of everything we see,
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3:24 - 3:26hear,
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3:26 - 3:28smell, taste, touch, and even feel
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3:28 - 3:31is determined at the atomic level.
- Title:
- The uncertain location of electrons - George Zaidan and Charles Morton
- Speaker:
- George Zaidan and Charles Morton
- Description:
-
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-uncertain-location-of-electrons-george-zaidan-and-charles-morton
The tiny atoms that make up our world are made up of even tinier protons, neutrons and electrons. Though the number of protons determine an atom's identity, it's the electrons -- specifically, their exact location outside the nucleus -- that particularly perplex scientists. George Zaidan and Charles Morton show how to make an educated guess of where those itty-bitty freewheeling electrons might be.
Lesson by George Zaidan and Charles Morton, animation by Karrot Animation.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 03:47
Krystian Aparta commented on English subtitles for The uncertain location of electrons | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for The uncertain location of electrons | ||
TED edited English subtitles for The uncertain location of electrons | ||
Jessica Ruby approved English subtitles for The uncertain location of electrons | ||
Jessica Ruby accepted English subtitles for The uncertain location of electrons | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The uncertain location of electrons | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The uncertain location of electrons | ||
Andrea McDonough edited English subtitles for The uncertain location of electrons |
Krystian Aparta
The English transcript was updated on 12/22/2015. A technical timing error was fixed.