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Exercises · 2.34

Q.Calculate the energy required for the process He+(g)→He2+(g)+e−He^+(g) \rightarrow He^{2+}(g) + e^-. The ionization energy for the H atom in the ground state is 2.18×10−18 J atom−12.18 \times 10^{-18}\ J\ atom^{-1}.

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The energy required to remove the single electron from He+He^+ is found by scaling the hydrogen ground-state ionization energy by Z2=4Z^2 = 4, giving 8.72×10−18 J atom−18.72 \times 10^{-18}\ \text{J atom}^{-1}.

The key insight here is that He+He^+ is a hydrogen-like ion — it has only one electron orbiting a nucleus with atomic number Z=2Z = 2. The physics of a single electron bound to a nucleus is identical for any hydrogen-like species, differing only in the nuclear charge.

For the hydrogen atom (Z=1Z=1), the ionization energy from the ground state (n=1n=1) is 2.18×10−18 J2.18 \times 10^{-18}\ \text{J}. This is the energy needed to completely remove the electron from the proton's influence.

For any hydrogen-like ion, the energy of an electron in the nnth orbit is given by:

En=−Z2n2×(2.18×10−18 J)E_n = - \frac{Z^2}{n^2} \times (2.18 \times 10^{-18}\ \text{J})

The negative sign means the electron is bound. To ionize (remove the electron to n=∞n = \infty, where E∞=0E_\infty = 0), we need to supply energy equal to the magnitude of this binding energy.

Let's work through it step by step.

  1. Identify the system. He+He^+ has one electron and a nucleus with Z=2Z = 2. It is exactly like a hydrogen atom but with double the nuclear charge.

  2. Recall the scaling law. In the Bohr model (and in full quantum mechanics), the ground-state energy of a hydrogen-like atom scales as Z2Z^2. For hydrogen (Z=1Z=1), the ground-state energy is −2.18×10−18 J-2.18 \times 10^{-18}\ \text{J}. For He+He^+ (Z=2Z=2), the ground-state energy becomes:

E1(He+)=−(2)2×(2.18×10−18)=−4×2.18×10−18 JE_1(He^+) = - (2)^2 \times (2.18 \times 10^{-18}) = -4 \times 2.18 \times 10^{-18}\ \text{J}

  1. Calculate the binding energy.

E1(He+)=−8.72×10−18 JE_1(He^+) = -8.72 \times 10^{-18}\ \text{J}

This is the energy of the electron when it is bound to the He2+He^{2+} nucleus in the n=1n=1 orbit. …

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