Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The number of protons in the nucleus is the atomic number and it defines to which chemical element the atom belongs. The word atom is derived from the Greek word atomos, which means ‘uncuttable’ The ability of atoms to associate and dissociate is responsible for most of the physical changes observed in nature.
About Atom in brief
Atoms are extremely small, typically around 100picometers across. They are so small that accurately predicting their behavior using classical physics is not possible due to quantum effects. Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The number of protons in the nucleus is the atomic number and it defines to which chemical element the atom belongs. The basic idea that matter is made up of tiny indivisible particles is very old, appearing in many ancient cultures such as Greece and India. But modern atomic theory is not based on these old concepts. It is based on a pattern known as the \”law of multiple proportions\”. In chemical compounds which contain a particular chemical element, the content of that element in these compounds will differ by ratios of small whole numbers. This pattern suggested to Dalton that each chemical element combines with others by some basic and consistent unit of mass. For example, there are two types of tin oxide: one is a black powder that is 88. 1% tin and 11. 9% oxygen, and a red powder which is 70. 4% iron and 29. 6% oxygen. In these respective oxides, for every two atoms of iron, there is two or three atoms of oxygen. As a final example: nitrous oxide is 63. 3% nitrogen, 44. 05% oxygen and 55. 95% oxygen – for every 140g of nitrogen there is about 80g, 160g, and 320g of oxygen in these oxides respectively.
In the late 18th century a number of scientists found that they could better explain the behavior of gases by describing them as collections of sub-microscopic particles and modelling their behavior. Unlike classical physics, this method of describing gases and particles is known as sub- Microscopic theory. In this way, scientists can better predict their behavior by modelling their sub- microscopic behavior and using probability statistics and probability statistics. The word atom is derived from the Greek word atomos, which means ‘uncuttable’. The ability of atoms to associate and dissociate is responsible for most of the physical changes observed in nature. For more information on how atoms work, visit the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Theoretical Physics (CSP) website or the CSP website (http://www.csp.ac.uk/news/topics/atomic-talks/atom-tales-and-trends/atom.shtml). For more on the history of atomic theory, see: http:// www.cspan.org/topical-physiology/atom/article.html#topical.html. For the full article, visit: http:www.CSP.topical/article/ atom.html/article-towards-the-future-of-chemistry-in-science/ atom-targets/ atom/target.html?title=atom.
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This page is based on the article Atom published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
