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Re: IONS/metals EUREKA



Do you know about the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab 1998 research headed
by Charles Harris? They used a femtosecond laser with a new high-res
spectroscopy technique to study electron behavior on surfaces and
interfaces. Among other things, they documented electrons trapping
themselves in "energy wells" on the metallic surface. If you aren't
familiar with this research, you might want to check it out to see if
their experimental findings apply to the problem you are exploring.

For starters, an overview of the research "Electrons at the Interface" is
at <http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Research-Review/Highlights/
1998/v3/MSD_electrons.html>.

Best wishes,

Larry

PS - the Berkeley server will give you the cold shoulder unless you enter
all the upper/lower case in the URL perfectly.

------------------------------------------------------------
Larry Cartwright
Physics, Physical Science, Internet Teacher
Charlotte High School, 378 State Street, Charlotte MI 48813
<physics@scnc.cps..k12.mi.us> or <science@scnc.cps.k12.mi.us>
------------------------------------------------------------

On Mon, 5 Oct 1998, Ludwik Kowalski wrote:

A piece of metal (inside) is a neutral mixture of
positive ions and negative electrons. But the neutrality
does not apply to a region which is very close to the
outer surface. In a metallic layer close to the surface
electrons are being pushed toward the inside by
electrons which are outside. This creates a layer which
is positively charged and which attracts outside
electrons.
...[snip]...
An electric surface tension? Mutual repulsion between
electrons exposes them to positive charges. The surface
tension analogy is quite obvious. A little bit like static
friction forces, more you pull larger the opposing force,
up to a limit. Is this an acceptable model for an
introductory physics course? It explains things in terms
of what students already know rather than in terms of
what some of them may possibly learn in the future.