Atoms are a bit like people: they usually prefer company to being alone. A lot of atoms prefer to join up with other atoms because they're more stable that way. So hydrogen atoms don't exist by themselves: instead, they pair up to make what is called a molecule of hydrogen. A molecu...
Free radicals areunstable atomsthat can damage the cells in the body. What makes them so unsteady? They’re oxygen-containing molecules that have an unpaired electron. That single electron allows them to interactfreelywith other molecules, which isn’t always a good thing. Where do they come f...
Atoms are the basis of all the elements in the universe, the building blocks of all visible matter, and the secret to nuclear power.
Neutrons are an important tool for research in medicine, materials, and other fields. Scientists produce neutrons at research reactors and particle accelerators. Researchers project these neutrons onto samples of materials. Some of the neutrons interact directly with atoms in the sample and “bounce” ...
that would otherwise push the protons apart, according to the rules of electricity. Some atomic nuclei are unstable because the binding force varies for different atoms based on the size of the nucleus. These atoms will then decay into other elements, such as carbon-14 decaying into nitrogen-...
Unstable atoms tend to become stable by changing the structure of their nucleus and emitting excess energy as radiation. The ability of an atomic nucleus to spontaneously decay with the emission of elementary particles, gamma rays, and/or nuclear fragments is called radioactivity, and the atom is...
Alpha, beta and gamma radiation are all real entities in the physics world and are worth avoiding when you can manage it. You probably know that different kinds of atoms can join together via the process of chemical bonding to create molecules. For example, two hydrogen atoms (H on the ...
effectively a list of all known types of atoms. However, the atom itself is not the smallest known particle, but instead each atom is made up of three individual parts: electrons, protons and neutrons. Furthermore, protons and neutrons themselves are made up of even smaller parts called ...
The r-process begins when the seed nuclei of iron are bombarded with these free neutrons, soaking them up. Stableatomsof iron, such as the isotope iron-56, have 26 protons and 30 neutrons. The excess of neutrons granted to iron by neutron capture makes the iron atoms unstable and radioact...
Suspension. Non-homogeneous systems, in which solids are dispersed in liquids, are called suspension. A suspension is a heterogeneous mixture in which the solute particles do not dissolve but remain suspended throughout the bulk of the medium. Particles