Force between two atoms

[niin]

Originally Posted by Little Bang

Suppose we had a universe that contained only two atoms of hydrogen, separated by a few meters. Would there be a force between them that would cause them to come together and form diatomic hydrogen?

I think, that in a universe containing only two atoms, there would not be anything to separate the two atoms.
So the two atoms could never be separated to begin with.
I think, gravity would likely still be active, but it would not be observable.

[Little Bang]

Rade, an electron will not emit a photon unless something excites it to a higher energy level so in our hypothetical universe there would be no photons.

[Rade]

Originally Posted by Little Bang

Rade, an electron will not emit a photon unless something excites it to a higher energy level so in our hypothetical universe there would be no photons.

OK, then if there are no photons, then the two atoms will never attract each other and your OP question is answered--there is no "force" between two atoms in your hypothetical universe since there are no photons to mediate the attractive EM effect. Correct ?

[Little Bang]

Rade if you can't see that there is a force between them then I do not see any purpose in our discussion.

[Qfwfq]

Try to respect other member's points Little Bang.

How about virtual photons? BTW an electron doesn't have internal states, unless you count it changing to other types of lepton such as a muon.

[Bombadil]

What is the particle that is cursing the force between the atoms? It seem that you are suggesting that it is the photon.
Won’t the force between the atoms cause a lose of energy in the atoms if so where is this energy coming from and won’t it eventually stop or if not stop decrease constantly.