Answer the following question: Ken is a scientist who studies atomic systems. He is currently responsible for studying two systems that they are referring to as Omega and Alpha. These two systems are essential to the research that is being done to potentially allow humans to travel to Mars in a reasonable amount of time. Little is known about these systems currently, but scientists have observed that Omega has been steadily gaining more potential energy. Alpha has been rapidly losing potential energy. Ken is hoping to discern why this is happening and try to utilize his findings to further space exploration. Given the paragraph above, please answer correctly the following question: Which system is more stable? Hint: As the atoms first begin to interact, the attractive force is stronger than the repulsive force and so the potential energy of the system decreases, as seen in the diagram. Remember that the lower potential energy increases the stability of the system. As the two hydrogen atoms move closer and closer together, the potential energy continues to decrease. Eventually, a position is reached where the potential energy is at its lowest possible point. If the hydrogen atoms move any closer together, a third interaction begins to dominate and that is the repulsive force between the two positively-charged nuclei. This repulsive force is very strong as can be seen by the sharp rise in energy at the far left of the diagram.
Answer:
Alpha