Main article: Proton therapy
Although protons have affinity for oppositely-charged electrons, free protons must lose sufficient velocity (& kinetic energy) in order to become closely associated & bound to electrons, since this is a comparatively low-energy interaction. High energy protons, in traversing ordinary matter, lose energy by collisions with atomic nuclei, & by ionization of atoms (removing electrons) until they are slowed sufficiently to be captured by the electron cloud in a standard atom.
However, in such an association with an electron, the character of the bound proton is not changed, & it remains a proton. The attraction of low-energy free protons to any electrons present in normal matter (such as the electrons in normal atoms) causes free protons to cease & to form a brand spanking new chemical bond with an atom. Such a bond happens at any sufficiently "cold" temperature (i.e., comparable to temperatures at the surface of the Sun) & with any type of atom. Thus, in interaction with any type of normal (non-plasma) matter, low-velocity free protons are interested in electrons in any atom or molecule with which they come in contact, causing the proton & molecule to merge. Such molecules are then said to be "protonated", & chemically they often, as a result, become so-called Bronsted acids.
Although protons have affinity for oppositely-charged electrons, free protons must lose sufficient velocity (& kinetic energy) in order to become closely associated & bound to electrons, since this is a comparatively low-energy interaction. High energy protons, in traversing ordinary matter, lose energy by collisions with atomic nuclei, & by ionization of atoms (removing electrons) until they are slowed sufficiently to be captured by the electron cloud in a standard atom.
However, in such an association with an electron, the character of the bound proton is not changed, & it remains a proton. The attraction of low-energy free protons to any electrons present in normal matter (such as the electrons in normal atoms) causes free protons to cease & to form a brand spanking new chemical bond with an atom. Such a bond happens at any sufficiently "cold" temperature (i.e., comparable to temperatures at the surface of the Sun) & with any type of atom. Thus, in interaction with any type of normal (non-plasma) matter, low-velocity free protons are interested in electrons in any atom or molecule with which they come in contact, causing the proton & molecule to merge. Such molecules are then said to be "protonated", & chemically they often, as a result, become so-called Bronsted acids.
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