When the excess electrons move to equalise themselves in a negatively charged conductor, can it result in positively charged atoms?

Question

i am a beginner in physics and am currently studying electrical engineering. I was wondering when the excess electrons move to equalize themselves, can it result in some atoms being positively charged due to the spacing between the electrons causing the majority of the electrons to be outside the atoms.
An example would be the picture below whereby the force F1 has the same magnitude as F2 and thus the middle electron is in an equilibrium. However, in its equilibrium position it has been pushed out of its atom thus resulting in the atom being positively charged in a conductor that is negatively charged.

Theonea · Answer

When atoms come together to form a solid (like the metal) all of the electrons and nuclei would in principle have to be considered together. However, in solid state physics we mostly assume that the lower lying electrons remain closely bound to their respective nuclei. The valence electrons and in this case the excess electrons however, move freely in the underlying potential of the lattice. This means that we don't assign them to specific atoms anymore. You will find that there are different charge densities, i.e. locations with a more positive charge and locations with a more net negative charge.

Answered by Theonea on January 26, 2021

When the excess electrons move to equalise themselves in a negatively charged conductor, can it result in positively charged atoms?

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