A report on Atom

Atoms and molecules as depicted in John Dalton's A New System of Chemical Philosophy vol. 1 (1808)

The Geiger–Marsden experiment:
Left: Expected results: alpha particles passing through the plum pudding model of the atom with negligible deflection.
Right: Observed results: a small portion of the particles were deflected by the concentrated positive charge of the nucleus.

The Bohr model of the atom, with an electron making instantaneous "quantum leaps" from one orbit to another with gain or loss of energy. This model of electrons in orbits is obsolete.

The binding energy needed for a nucleon to escape the nucleus, for various isotopes

A potential well, showing, according to classical mechanics, the minimum energy V(x) needed to reach each position x. Classically, a particle with energy E is constrained to a range of positions between x1 and x2.

3D views of some hydrogen-like atomic orbitals showing probability density and phase (g orbitals and higher are not shown)

This diagram shows the half-life (T½) of various isotopes with Z protons and N neutrons.

These electron's energy levels (not to scale) are sufficient for ground states of atoms up to cadmium (5s2 4d10) inclusively. Do not forget that even the top of the diagram is lower than an unbound electron state.

An example of absorption lines in a spectrum

Graphic illustrating the formation of a Bose–Einstein condensate

Scanning tunneling microscope image showing the individual atoms making up this gold (100) surface. The surface atoms deviate from the bulk crystal structure and arrange in columns several atoms wide with pits between them (See surface reconstruction).

Periodic table showing the origin of each element. Elements from carbon up to sulfur may be made in small stars by the alpha process. Elements beyond iron are made in large stars with slow neutron capture (s-process). Elements heavier than iron may be made in neutron star mergers or supernovae after the r-process.

Smallest unit of ordinary matter that forms a chemical element.

- Atom

115 related topics with Alpha

Chemical element

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$Estimated distribution of dark matter and dark energy in the universe. Only the fraction of the mass and energy in the universe labeled "atoms" is composed of chemical elements.$

Periodic table showing the cosmogenic origin of each element in the Big Bang, or in large or small stars. Small stars can produce certain elements up to sulfur, by the alpha process. Supernovae are needed to produce "heavy" elements (those beyond iron and nickel) rapidly by neutron buildup, in the r-process. Certain large stars slowly produce other elements heavier than iron, in the s-process; these may then be blown into space in the off-gassing of planetary nebulae

Abundances of the chemical elements in the Solar System. Hydrogen and helium are most common, from the Big Bang. The next three elements (Li, Be, B) are rare because they are poorly synthesized in the Big Bang and also in stars. The two general trends in the remaining stellar-produced elements are: (1) an alternation of abundance in elements as they have even or odd atomic numbers (the Oddo-Harkins rule), and (2) a general decrease in abundance as elements become heavier. Iron is especially common because it represents the minimum energy nuclide that can be made by fusion of helium in supernovae.

Mendeleev's 1869 periodic table: An experiment on a system of elements. Based on their atomic weights and chemical similarities.

A chemical element is a species of atoms that have a given number of protons in their nuclei, including the pure substance consisting only of that species.

Electron

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Subatomic particle whose electric charge is negative one elementary charge.

A beam of electrons deflected in a circle by a magnetic field

The Bohr model of the atom, showing states of an electron with energy quantized by the number n. An electron dropping to a lower orbit emits a photon equal to the energy difference between the orbits.

In quantum mechanics, the behavior of an electron in an atom is described by an orbital, which is a probability distribution rather than an orbit. In the figure, the shading indicates the relative probability to "find" the electron, having the energy corresponding to the given quantum numbers, at that point.

Standard Model of elementary particles. The electron (symbol e) is on the left.

Example of an antisymmetric wave function for a quantum state of two identical fermions in a 1-dimensional box. If the particles swap position, the wave function inverts its sign.

A schematic depiction of virtual electron–positron pairs appearing at random near an electron (at lower left)

A particle with charge q (at left) is moving with velocity v through a magnetic field B that is oriented toward the viewer. For an electron, q is negative so it follows a curved trajectory toward the top.

Here, Bremsstrahlung is produced by an electron e deflected by the electric field of an atomic nucleus. The energy change E2 − E1 determines the frequency f of the emitted photon.

Probability densities for the first few hydrogen atom orbitals, seen in cross-section. The energy level of a bound electron determines the orbital it occupies, and the color reflects the probability of finding the electron at a given position.

A lightning discharge consists primarily of a flow of electrons. The electric potential needed for lightning can be generated by a triboelectric effect.

Lorentz factor as a function of velocity. It starts at value 1 and goes to infinity as v approaches c.

Pair production of an electron and positron, caused by the close approach of a photon with an atomic nucleus. The lightning symbol represents an exchange of a virtual photon, thus an electric force acts. The angle between the particles is very small.

An extended air shower generated by an energetic cosmic ray striking the Earth's atmosphere

Aurorae are mostly caused by energetic electrons precipitating into the atmosphere.

During a NASA wind tunnel test, a model of the Space Shuttle is targeted by a beam of electrons, simulating the effect of ionizing gases during re-entry.

The Coulomb force interaction between the positive protons within atomic nuclei and the negative electrons without, allows the composition of the two known as atoms.

Proton

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Stable subatomic particle, symbol, H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1e elementary charge.

Ernest Rutherford at the first Solvay Conference, 1911

Proton detected in an isopropanol cloud chamber

Protium, the most common isotope of hydrogen, consists of one proton and one electron (it has no neutrons). The term "hydrogen ion" implies that that H-atom has lost its one electron, causing only a proton to remain. Thus, in chemistry, the terms "proton" and "hydrogen ion" (for the protium isotope) are used synonymously

One or more protons are present in the nucleus of every atom.

Hydrogen

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Chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1.

Depiction of a hydrogen atom with size of central proton shown, and the atomic diameter shown as about twice the Bohr model radius (image not to scale)

Hydrogen gas is colorless and transparent, here contained in a glass ampoule.

Phase diagram of hydrogen. The temperature and pressure scales are logarithmic, so one unit corresponds to a 10x change. The left edge corresponds to 105 Pa, which is about atmospheric pressure.

Hydrogen emission spectrum lines in the visible range. These are the four visible lines of the Balmer series

NGC 604, a giant region of ionized hydrogen in the Triangulum Galaxy

For the most common isotope of hydrogen (symbol 1H) each atom has one proton, one electron, and no neutrons.

Quantum mechanics

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Position space probability density of a Gaussian wave packet moving in one dimension in free space.

1-dimensional potential energy box (or infinite potential well)

Some trajectories of a harmonic oscillator (i.e. a ball attached to a spring) in classical mechanics (A-B) and quantum mechanics (C-H). In quantum mechanics, the position of the ball is represented by a wave (called the wave function), with the real part shown in blue and the imaginary part shown in red. Some of the trajectories (such as C, D, E, and F) are standing waves (or "stationary states"). Each standing-wave frequency is proportional to a possible energy level of the oscillator. This "energy quantization" does not occur in classical physics, where the oscillator can have any energy.

Schematic of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer.

Max Planck is considered the father of the quantum theory.

The 1927 Solvay Conference in Brussels was the fifth world physics conference.

Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles.

Neutron

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Subatomic particle, symbol or, which has a neutral charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton.

Nuclear fission caused by absorption of a neutron by uranium-235. The heavy nuclide fragments into lighter components and additional neutrons.

Models depicting the nucleus and electron energy levels in hydrogen, helium, lithium, and neon atoms. In reality, the diameter of the nucleus is about 100,000 times smaller than the diameter of the atom.

A schematic of the nucleus of an atom indicating radiation, the emission of a fast electron from the nucleus (the accompanying antineutrino is omitted). In the Rutherford model for the nucleus, red spheres were protons with positive charge and blue spheres were protons tightly bound to an electron with no net charge.
The inset shows beta decay of a free neutron as it is understood today; an electron and antineutrino are created in this process.

The Feynman diagram for beta decay of a neutron into a proton, electron, and electron antineutrino via an intermediate heavy W boson

The leading-order Feynman diagram for decay of a proton into a neutron, positron, and electron neutrino via an intermediate boson.

Institut Laue–Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France – a major neutron research facility.

Cold neutron source providing neutrons at about the temperature of liquid hydrogen

The fusion reaction rate increases rapidly with temperature until it maximizes and then gradually drops off. The D–T rate peaks at a lower temperature (about 70 keV, or 800 million kelvins) and at a higher value than other reactions commonly considered for fusion energy.

Transmutation flow in light water reactor, which is a thermal-spectrum reactor

Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms.

A model of the atomic nucleus showing it as a compact bundle of the two types of nucleons: protons (red) and neutrons (blue). In this diagram, protons and neutrons look like little balls stuck together, but an actual nucleus (as understood by modern nuclear physics) cannot be explained like this, but only by using quantum mechanics. In a nucleus that occupies a certain energy level (for example, the ground state), each nucleon can be said to occupy a range of locations.

The atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford based on the 1909 Geiger–Marsden gold foil experiment.

An oil painting of a chemist (Ana Kansky, painted by Henrika Šantel in 1932)

Chemistry

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Scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter.

Laboratory, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Cologne in Germany.

Solutions of substances in reagent bottles, including ammonium hydroxide and nitric acid, illuminated in different colors

A diagram of an atom based on the Bohr model

Standard form of the periodic table of chemical elements. The colors represent different categories of elements

Carbon dioxide (CO2), an example of a chemical compound

A ball-and-stick representation of the caffeine molecule (C8H10N4O2).

A 2-D structural formula of a benzene molecule (C6H6)

Diagram showing relationships among the phases and the terms used to describe phase changes.

An animation of the process of ionic bonding between sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl) to form sodium chloride, or common table salt. Ionic bonding involves one atom taking valence electrons from another (as opposed to sharing, which occurs in covalent bonding)

In the methane molecule (CH4), the carbon atom shares a pair of valence electrons with each of the four hydrogen atoms. Thus, the octet rule is satisfied for C-atom (it has eight electrons in its valence shell) and the duet rule is satisfied for the H-atoms (they have two electrons in their valence shells).

During chemical reactions, bonds between atoms break and form, resulting in different substances with different properties. In a blast furnace, iron oxide, a compound, reacts with carbon monoxide to form iron, one of the chemical elements, and carbon dioxide.

The crystal lattice structure of potassium chloride (KCl), a salt which is formed due to the attraction of K+ cations and Cl− anions. Note how the overall charge of the ionic compound is zero.

Hydrogen bromide exists in the gas phase as a diatomic molecule

Democritus' atomist philosophy was later adopted by Epicurus (341–270 BCE).

15th-century artistic impression of Jābir ibn Hayyān (Geber), a Perso-Arab alchemist and pioneer in organic chemistry.

Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier is considered the "Father of Modern Chemistry".

In his periodic table, Dmitri Mendeleev predicted the existence of 7 new elements, and placed all 60 elements known at the time in their correct places.

Top: Expected results: alpha particles passing through the plum pudding model of the atom undisturbed.
Bottom: Observed results: a small portion of the particles were deflected, indicating a small, concentrated charge.

It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds composed of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, properties, behavior and the changes they undergo during a reaction with other substances.

Molecule

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A scanning tunneling microscopy image of pentacene molecules, which consist of linear chains of five carbon rings.

AFM image of 1,5,9-trioxo-13-azatriangulene and its chemical structure.

A covalent bond forming H2 (right) where two hydrogen atoms share the two electrons

Sodium and fluorine undergoing a redox reaction to form sodium fluoride. Sodium loses its outer electron to give it a stable electron configuration, and this electron enters the fluorine atom exothermically.

3D (left and center) and 2D (right) representations of the terpenoid molecule atisane

Structure and STM image of a "cyanostar" dendrimer molecule.

Hydrogen can be removed from individual H2TPP molecules by applying excess voltage to the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM, a); this removal alters the current-voltage (I-V) curves of TPP molecules, measured using the same STM tip, from diode like (red curve in b) to resistor like (green curve). Image (c) shows a row of TPP, H2TPP and TPP molecules. While scanning image (d), excess voltage was applied to H2TPP at the black dot, which instantly removed hydrogen, as shown in the bottom part of (d) and in the rescan image (e). Such manipulations can be used in single-molecule electronics.

A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion.

Chemical bond

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Crystal structure of sodium chloride (NaCl) with sodium cations in and chloride anions in . The yellow stipples represent the electrostatic force between the ions of opposite charge.

Non-polar covalent bonds in methane (CH4). The Lewis structure shows electrons shared between C and H atoms.

A chemical bond is a lasting attraction between atoms, ions or molecules that enables the formation of chemical compounds.