To learn about the vast universe we live in ,we must learn about the smallest particles in it -the atom. To put it simply an atom is the fundamental unit of matter. The internal structure of an atom is pretty much interesting. It consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by negatively charged electrons. These electrons
keep rotating around the nucleus at a fixed velocity.The electrons of a single atom rotate at different distances from the nucleus thus forming different orbits or shells.Hydrogen has only a single shell while carbon has two shells.
The number of electrons each shell can accommodate also varies.The number of electrons in a particular shell is given by the equation 2nsq(ie. 2*n*n)where n is the shell number.
The nucleus of an atom consist of positively charged protons and neutrons which has no charge.They are collectively called nucleons.The radius of a nucleus is approximately equal to![\scriptstyle 1.07 \sqrt[3]{A} \text{ fm}](http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/b/9/4/b945dd398743b9af9d401ac649aa2b86.png)
, where A is the total number of nucleons.
Generally an atom has equal number of protons and electrons,thus nullifying each others charges. The nucleons are bound together by a short-ranged attractive potential called the residual strong force. At distances smaller than 2.5 fm this force is much more powerful than the electrostatic force that causes positively charged protons to repel each other.
keep rotating around the nucleus at a fixed velocity.The electrons of a single atom rotate at different distances from the nucleus thus forming different orbits or shells.Hydrogen has only a single shell while carbon has two shells.
The number of electrons each shell can accommodate also varies.The number of electrons in a particular shell is given by the equation 2nsq(ie. 2*n*n)where n is the shell number.
The nucleus of an atom consist of positively charged protons and neutrons which has no charge.They are collectively called nucleons.The radius of a nucleus is approximately equal to
, where A is the total number of nucleons.Generally an atom has equal number of protons and electrons,thus nullifying each others charges. The nucleons are bound together by a short-ranged attractive potential called the residual strong force. At distances smaller than 2.5 fm this force is much more powerful than the electrostatic force that causes positively charged protons to repel each other.
Atoms of the same element have the same number of protons, called the atomic number. Within a single element, the number of neutrons may vary, determining the isotope of that element. The total number of protons and neutrons determine the nuclide. The number of neutrons relative to the protons determines the stability of the nucleus, with certain isotopes undergoing radioactive decay.
 |
| The structure of an atom |
No comments:
Post a Comment