Answer to Question #2488 in Atomic and Nuclear Physics for PIYUSH MALVIYA

Question

Q:
what happens when an accelerated charged particle strikes a neutral particle?

Answer 1

It will ionize the particle.
Ionization is the physical process of converting an atom or molecule into an ion by adding or removing charged particles such as electrons or other ions. If an electron has enought energy in will strike out the outer electrons. This is often confused with dissociation.

The process works slightly differently depending on whether an ion with a positive or a negative electric charge is being produced. A positively charged ion is produced when an electron bonded to an atom (or molecule) absorbs the proper amount of energy to escape from the electric potential barrier that originally confined it, thus breaking the bond and freeing it to move. The amount of energy required is called the ionization energy. A negatively charged ion is produced when a free electron collides with an atom and is subsequently caught inside the electric potential barrier, releasing any excess energy.