Why are electrons and protons attracted to each other?

Question

It's weird, we're always taught that positive and negative attract, protons and electrons attract, but nobody ever says why they attract. Similarly, why are objects attracted gravitationally?

Answer 1

Honestly, if you can figure that out, there will probably several million dollars of prize money out there for you.

Gravitational attraction is a bit easier (but not much). I'll see if I can remember some info for you. Let's try to draw an analogy.

Think of space as a big mattress, and a planet, or star, or other body as a bowling ball. If you put the bowling ball on a mattress, what happens? The mattress sinks down, and creates an indention. You can also see that as you get far away from the bowling ball, the slope of the mattress is less, indicating less of an attraction. This follows the Law of Gravitation well.

Ok, so now that you understand that, lets think about this. You have a bowling ball on the mattress, creating an indention. Now, lets say you have another bowling ball, and a golf ball. If you place the golf ball on the slope of the mattress, what happens? The golf ball follows the curve of the mattress, and rolls down to the bowling ball. If you roll the gold ball along the edge of the slope, it will eventually get to the other side of the indention, and it won't roll down toward the bowling ball. This is representative of the escape velocity of the gravitational attraction of the bowling ball. But, if you go too slow, it gets caught in the indention, and rolls down.

Now, place the other bowling ball on the mattress, near the first bowling ball. If you place it too close, they will collide with each other. If you place the 2nd ball closer to the edge of the indention, it creates its own little indention around it, adding to the first indention, causing it to become deeper. This shows that if you have two larger masses, then the attraction will be greater.

That's about as good as I can do. If anyone out there has any major problems with this explanation, please let me know. I would be interested to know where it deviated from the truth. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

And what would happen if protons and electrons repelled each other? The nucleus ceases to be. What does that mean? Stand, bend over, place your lips on your glutes and kiss them goodbye. You 'bout to fry.

Answer 3

Because what we call "positive charge" is a source of the electromagnetic field, spitting out photons that get sucked in by a "negative charge" of that electromagnetic field.
Although you can easily get philosophical about things seeking to neutralize, or balance out, but that does not explain why they do so. We can only explain what we observe.

For gravitation, anything with mass attracts anything else with mass via force of gravity. Gravity is something like 10 to the 39th power times weaker than the electromagnetic force, yet a black hole can stop light from going anywhere from the power of gravity. Yet light can't do anything (that we've figured out) to gravity.

Answer 4

"Why" is a philosophical question that science can't answer, it can only describe whats happening. It can say that like charges repel and opposites attract because thats what the reality is, but as to why it happens...nobody really knows.

Answer 5

Creator God made them that way... to help living-bodies make their lives better & easier.
Consider life, without such attraction or gravity-force!
How do you forget the attraction between a male & a female !
What will happen if they are not attracted !....... We won't be here !

Answer 6

yaar this s simply as proton and eletron have opposite charages so the attract each other...thanku

Answer 7

Cause they're so darn good looking.

Actually, if you figure that out, I see a Nobel prize in your future.

Answer 8

i will figure it out....inshAllah