Not really a point charge of course. I meant a highly localized charge such as that of a nucleus, by opposition to the widely spread-out charge of an electron (due to the quantum uncertainty of its position).
For most purposes, slow and massive nuclei can be treated as classical point charges, whereas fast moving lightweight electrons require quantum treatment and are best considered as charge density. What I find interesting in the case of an approaching nucleus's image charge is that the fast fuzzy induced surface electron "synthesizes" the slow highly localized _look and feel_ of a symmetrical "virtual negative nucleus" inside the cathode, coming to meet the nucleus at the time and place of impact. If an actual deuteron desorbs there at the same time... guess what can happen? ;-) Michel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harry Veeder" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <vortex-l@eskimo.com> Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2008 10:13 PM Subject: Re: [Vo]:HUP-spread-out electron "feels" (and thus Coulomb-screens?) like a point charge... > Even within classical physics the existence of a point charge is > problematic. > (as well as point masses.) Do you mean charge density at a point? > > Harry > > On 20/4/2008 6:49 AM, Michel Jullian wrote: > > (HUP = Heinsenberg's Uncertainty Principle). > > Back to my DIESECF (Desorbing vs Incident Excess Surface Electron Catalyzed > Fusion) speculation for a moment, forwarding a post I made to the CMNS group > today, in response to a sensible objection by X (names hidden). > > Michel > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Michel Jullian <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: X > Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2008 11:56 AM > Subject: CMNS: Re: Question to X (was Re: Apples and Oranges) > > Thanks for your reply X. > > Y made the same very sensible objection some time ago. My lame response at > the time was: "if screening occurs, it has to be at the negatively charged > cathode surface, there is no better place... something must escape us in the > physics". > > And then the other day I discovered the image charge concept. It does > provide a mechanism whereby the (induced) lightweight fast moving -e (single > electron charge) spread out all over the place, as illustrated by the minus > signs on the cathode surface in Feynman's figure below (Lectures on Physics > vol.2 p. 6-9)... > > > ..."conspires" to be perceived by the (inducing) +e charged incident > hydrogen ion ("+" ball on the right), and by the rest of the world on the > same side of the cathode, as a mirror image (and, as such, equally punctual > and slow moving) -e charge ("-" ball on the left) > > This tentatively suggests that there is no QM law preventing a properly > uncertainty-spread electron to _look like_ a classical point charge... does > this make any sense? > > Michel > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: X > To: "CMNS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 4:13 PM > Subject: CMNS: Re: Question to X (was Re: Apples and Oranges) > > ... >>> Do you think that Coulomb screening by the negative surface charge induced >>> by > an impinging deuteron (electrostatically equivalent to a mirror image -e > charge as discussed recently) can significantly improve its chances to fuse > with a simultaneously desorbing deuteron, wrt to chances when both are > inside or outside the cathode? >>> >> [snip] the screening electrons being very light will be >> spread out a lot through quantum uncertainty so it will not work very >> well > > > >
