One or more protons are present in the nucleus of every atom.
- ProtonThe nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons.
- Atom25 related topics with Alpha
Neutron
16 linksThe neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or, which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton.
Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms.
Electron
12 linksSubatomic particle whose electric charge is negative one elementary charge.
Subatomic particle whose electric charge is negative one elementary charge.
The electron's mass is approximately 1836 times smaller than that of the proton.
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.
Atomic nucleus
11 linksThe 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.
Hydrogen
8 linksChemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1.
Chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1.
For the most common isotope of hydrogen (symbol 1H) each atom has one proton, one electron, and no neutrons.
Subatomic particle
7 linksIn physical sciences, a subatomic particle is a particle that composes an atom.
According to the Standard Model of particle physics, a subatomic particle can be either a composite particle, which is composed of other particles (for example, a proton, neutron, or meson), or an elementary particle, which is not composed of other particles (for example, an electron, photon, or muon).
Chemical element
6 linksA 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.
Deuterium
7 linksOne of two stable isotopes of hydrogen (the other being protium, or hydrogen-1).
One of two stable isotopes of hydrogen (the other being protium, or hydrogen-1).
The nucleus of a deuterium atom, called a deuteron, contains one proton and one neutron, whereas the far more common protium has no neutrons in the nucleus.
Electric charge
5 linksPhysical property of matter that causes charged matter to experience a force when placed in an electromagnetic field.
Physical property of matter that causes charged matter to experience a force when placed in an electromagnetic field.
Electric charge can be positive or negative (commonly carried by protons and electrons respectively).
In ordinary matter, negative charge is carried by electrons, and positive charge is carried by the protons in the nuclei of atoms.
Hadron
6 linksComposite subatomic particle made of two or more quarks held together by the strong interaction.
Composite subatomic particle made of two or more quarks held together by the strong interaction.
Most of the mass of ordinary matter comes from two hadrons: the proton and the neutron, while most of the mass of the protons and neutrons is in turn due to the binding energy of their constituent quarks, due to the strong force.
Protons and neutrons (which make the majority of the mass of an atom) are examples of baryons; pions are an example of a meson.
Ernest Rutherford
5 linksNew Zealand physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics.
New Zealand physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics.
In 1911, although he could not prove that it was positive or negative, he theorized that atoms have their charge concentrated in a very small nucleus, and thereby pioneered the Rutherford model of the atom, through his discovery and interpretation of Rutherford scattering by the gold foil experiment of Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden.
As a result, he discovered the emission of a subatomic particle which, in 1919, he called the "hydrogen atom" but, in 1920, he more accurately named the proton.