For Use with Chapter 4
The Structure of the Atom

Splitting Electrons?
Posted November 1st, 2001

Science is the process of developing and challenging theories of how the world works. You know from your study of Chapter 4 that the atom is composed of subatomic particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons. Since the dawn of this discovery, it has been widely believed that electrons, due to their size and inherent characteristics, cannot be split. But Humphrey Maris, a physicist working at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, challenges that belief.

A Theory Challenged

Using the knowledge and understanding of the electron and previous experiments done by scientists at the University of Minnesota and at Bell Labs, Maris began to formulate a thought that the electron may be divisible. The quantum mechanical model of the atom states that electrons are considered to be waves. According to the quantum theory, everything that is known about an electron is defined by its wave function. One of the facts defined by the wave function is an electron’s probable position at any given time. An electron’s wave function can also be considered to have a particular shape, depending on its energy state. Maris’ theory of a divisible electron stems from these basic facts.

For an electron in its lowest energy state, the wave function is spherical. The shape changes to something of a "dumb-bell" shape when the electron is excited to the next energy level. Maris’ idea is that, under suitable conditions, this dumb-bell shape could be made to stretch and elongate and eventually pinch in half, essentially splitting the electron. The notion of a split electron has set off a wave of research and experimentation that could change the face of chemistry.

Testing the Theory

In order for an electron wave function to divide as Maris proposes, a suitable environment must be used. Liquid helium offers a perfect medium because electrons can exist independently in liquid helium. Coincidentally, liquid helium is also a medium with which Maris is expertly familiar.

Maris believed the way to test his theory task would be to create a helium bubble that would encapsulate an electron wave function, then excite the wave function (in the bubble) into the dumb-bell shape and continue building the energy level until the force was sufficient to elongate and pinch the neck of the bubble. In theory, the split helium bubble containing half of the encapsulated wave function would contain half of the electron wave function, and by definition, half of the electron. Hence, the splitting of an electron. In his description of his theory and work, Maris dubs these electron fragments "electrinos".

As part of his research, Maris reviewed previous similar work. He found some papers in the literature that described similar experimentation but that also reported some inexplicable results. For example, one report of work done in the early 1990s described an increase in current when in fact no increase should have been detected. Maris explains this phenomenon with his theory, proposing that the increased charge resulted from bubbles splitting and the smaller bubbles moving faster, thereby increasing the current. Maris further supports his theory by using it to explain some incoherent results obtained by University of Michigan researchers in 1971. These scientists set up a "race" of electron bubbles that they proposed should travel through the liquid helium and arrive at the finish line at the same time. In fact, the bubbles arrived in groups at different times. Maris’ theory explains this as the result of the electron bubbles having split by the energy of generation into electrinos that then arrived at different times by virtue of their fragmented charges.

New Horizons

Although Maris’ theory is just that right now, many scientists are admitting that his electrino theory may hold water. If so, the possibilities that spring from Maris’ ideas may represent a new era of chemistry and physics. Maris’ theory greatly affects what scientists have developed as the quantum theory, and the possibility of reactions involving electron fragments opens doors to a new branch of chemistry. If nothing else, Maris has challenged the establishment and caused a lot of novel thinking.

Activity

Make a model using readily available materials such as balloons and craft dough or other materials that can be stretched and manipulated to demonstrate Dr. Maris’ theory of electron splitting.

References

http://www.sciencenews.org/20000930/note3.asp

http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2000-01/00-009.html

http://www.globaltechnoscan.com/18thOct-24thOct/electhalf.htm

http://www.wkap.nl/journalhome.htm/0022-2291