Why do radicals contain charge?

Why do radicals contain charge? Radicals act as a charged atom and are highly unstable. So, to be a stable it wants to gain or lose the electrons. So, they contain charge.

What happens when the number of protons and electrons are the same?

Explanation: If the number of protons is the same as the number of electrons, the particle will have no charge.

Why do electrons and protons have the same charge?

The fundamental property is that an atom is neutral, i.e. no charge. For this to happen, the positive charge of the protons must be equal to or counterbalanced by the negative charge of the electrons.

Do radicals carry a charge?

A radical (often, but unnecessarily called a free radical) is an atom or group of atoms that have one or more unpaired electrons. Radicals can have positive, negative or neutral charge.

Are free radicals positively charged?

Free radicals may have positive, negative, or zero charge. With some exceptions, the unpaired electrons cause radicals to be highly chemically reactive.

How does the charge of an electron differ from the charge of a proton?

Protons have a positive charge. Electrons have a negative charge. The charge on the proton and electron are exactly the same size but opposite.

Why was the electron assigned the negative charge?

Once we determined that the electrons were the particles that moved in an electric current, they were assigned a negative charge based on Franklin’s description of electricity. Both positive and negative charges create electric fields which surround particles and exert force.

When the proton number and electron number are unequal?

is an ion When the proton number and electron number are unequal, the atom or molecule has a net positive (cation) or negative charge (anion). 11 The number of electrons will equal the number of protons in an electrically neutral atom.

Why do protons charge?

A proton has positive charge of 1, that is, equal but opposite to the charge of an electron. The charge is believed to be from the charge of the quarks that make up the nucleons (protons and neutrons).

Why are radicals not charged?

A radical has an unpaired electron, but does not have a net charge because the number of protons equals the number of electrons.

Are radicals always neutral?

Although free radicals contain unpaired electrons, they may be electrically neutral. Because of their odd electrons, free radicals are usually highly reactive. Certain free radicals are stabilized by their peculiar structures; they exist for appreciable lengths of time, given the right conditions.