Atom

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Atom (disambiguation). The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons (except in the case of hydrogen-1, which is the only stable nuclide with no neutrons). The electrons of an atom are bound to the nucleus by the electromagnetic force. Likewise, a group of atoms can remain bound to each other by chemical bonds based on the same force, forming a molecule. An atom containing an equal number of protons and electrons is electrically neutral, otherwise it is positively or negatively charged and is known as an ion. An atom is classified according to the number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus: the number of protons determines the chemical element, and the number of neutrons determines the isotope of the element.[1]

Helium atom

Chemical atoms, which in science now carry the simple name of "atom," are minuscule objects with diameters of a few tenths of a Classification nanometer and tiny masses proportional to the Smallest recognized division of a chemical volume implied by these dimensions. Atoms element can only be observed individually using special instruments such as the scanning Properties tunneling microscope. Over 99.94% of an Mass range: 1.671027 to 4.521025 kg atom's mass is concentrated in the nucleus,[note 1] with protons and neutrons having roughly Electric zero (neutral), or ion charge equal mass. Each element has at least one charge: isotope with an unstable nucleus that can Diameter 62 pm (He) to 520 pm (Cs) undergo radioactive decay. This can result in a range: (data page) transmutation that changes the number of Electrons and a compact protons or neutrons in a nucleus.[2] Electrons Components: nucleus of protons and that are bound to atoms possess a set of stable neutrons energy levels, or orbitals, and can undergo transitions between them by absorbing or emitting photons that match the energy differences

An illustration of the helium atom, depicting the nucleus (pink) and the electron cloud distribution (black). The nucleus (upper right) in helium-4 is in reality spherically symmetric and closely resembles the electron cloud, although for more complicated nuclei this is not always the case. The black bar is one angstrom (1010 m or 100 pm).

between the levels. The electrons determine the chemical properties of an element, and strongly influence an atom's magnetic properties. The principles of quantum mechanics have been successfully used to model the observed properties of the atom.