Electromagnetism Simulator

Instructions

New: Alpha Particle Edition! DESCRIPTION: Throw a proton, a helium nucleus, and two electrons into a sealed-off chamber, and you'll find that the helium is bent on getting those two electrons. And having twice as many protons as the hydrogen nucleus, it gets what it wants. OVERVIEW: This is a simulator of electromagnetism. There is a proton, two electrons, and an alpha particle (a helium nucleus). They interact by exchanging a particle called a virtual photon. When emitted and absorbed, it gives particles momentum in certain directions. And this is the electromagnetic "force" that is felt. The proton has a +1 charge and can usually only keep a single electron around itself, as another electron is repelled by the -1 electron. This means that it is easier to lose the electron and just be a proton than to fill up its outer (and only) electron shell. Helium is a different matter. Its nucleus has a 2+ charge and it wants two of those -1 electrons like crazy. In fact, it and the other noble gases already have their shells filled, and if somehow the electrons were removed, they would probably snatch them off anything nearby. It's nearly impossible to remove their electrons. In this simulator the particles have been set up so that you see the alpha particle pulling the two electrons towards itself, able to pull the electrons directly off the proton. Pretty cool, huh? It becomes a sort of massive tug-o'-war because the proton tries to regain its electron, but the pull of the α particle is too strong. Eventually (because in this project everything is extremely slowed down), the alpha particle will grab those electrons and they're there to stay. :) By the way, you might notice that the proton has moved over a long period of time. That's because even though it moves pretty slowly, it's naturally moving, and the electrons pull on it, and the alpha particle pushes on it. But how does electromagnetism work? Well, there is actually a fourth particle in action - the photon. You can press z or x to toggle seeing or not seeing these photons (This will not affect the interactions, don't worry). The photons are colour coded - purple photons come from the purple electron, pale yellow photons come from the yellow-orange electron, and orange photons come from the proton. All three particles will produce lots and lots of virtual photons. These carry energy and momentum. When they collide with a real particle (such as one of the three mentioned above), they get absorbed and their momentum is transferred to the particle that absorbed them. In the case of a proton and electron, the electron can absorb a photon, which gives them momentum, causing them to move towards the proton. The protons move towards the electrons, too, but the effects are less noticeable.