Farah Moulydia

1306370650

The Atom
Atoms are basic building blocks of chemical structures. They consists a dense
nucleus (containing over 99% of the mass), generally composed of protons and
neutrons, which is surrounded by an electron cloud. Atoms are small, low weight,
neutral species, unless they have undergone addition or loss of electrons to produce
negatively or positively, respectively charged atoms known as ions.
Nucleus
The component of nucleus, protons and neutrons, collectively called nucleons, are
held together by the strong forces associated with gluons, an elementary particle.
Protons
With a mass of 1.6726 x 10-27 ignoring binding energy changes, protons have
dimensions of approximately 2.5 x 10-15 m and carry a positive charge equal in
magnitude to an electrone.
Neutrons
With comparable dimensions to protons, neutrons are marginally greater in mass at
1.6929 x 10-27 kg.
Electrons
The particle with the least mass (me = 9.11 x 10-31), the electron is negatively
charged and too small to be measured by current experimental methods.