Do electrons ever “fall” into the nucleus of an atom?
Could you please tell me if electrons ever ” fall ” into the nucleus of an atom? I have never read of this happening – not even in the depths of space where the temperature is so cold the electrons should be moving very slowly and hence should ” fall ” in. If the electron of a hydrogen atom were to ” fall ” into the nucleus then this would produce a proton. However, I seem to recall reading that an electron has to be fired into a proton using a particle accelerator in order for us to produce a neutron. When I was at school I was taught that electrons travel around the nucleus in a similar way to planets travelling around the sun. This doesn’t seem to be quite right. Thank you for the opportunity to ask this question.
