Science 101 (and sometimes 201)

**MSFixR** · 07-09-2008, 09:45 AM

The Atom

The atom is one of the most fundamental particles in ordinary matter. A chemical element is determined entirely by the type of atom it contains, which in turn is determined by the number of protons, electrons and neutrons that constitute the atom. An atom consists of a dense nucleus, consisting of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons, bound together by the strong nuclear force. Surrounding the nucleus at a distance some 10 000 times the nuclear diameter, are the negatively charged electrons, constrained by their electrostatic attraction to the nucleus. When the number of protons in the nucleus equals the number of electrons, the atom is electrically neutral; otherwise it is an ion and has a net positive or negative charge. An atom is classified according to its number of protons and neutrons: the number of protons determines the chemical element and the number of neutrons determines the isotope of that element.

An illustration of the helium atom, depicting the nucleus (pink) and the electron cloud distribution (black). The nucleus (upper right) is in reality spherically symmetric, although for more complicated nuclei this is not always the case. The black bar is one ångström, equal to 0.0000000001 meters or 100,000 fm.

The concept of an atom as an indivisible component of matter was first proposed by early Indian and Greek philosophers. In the 17th and 18th centuries, chemists provided a physical basis for this idea by showing that certain substances could not be further broken down by chemical methods. During the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, physicists discovered subatomic components and structure inside the atom, thereby demonstrating that the 'atom' was not indivisible. The principles of quantum mechanics were used to successfully model the atom.

Relative to everyday experience, atoms are minuscule objects with proportionately tiny masses that can only be observed individually using special instruments such as the scanning tunneling microscope. More than 99.9% of an atom's mass is concentrated in the nucleus, with protons and neutrons having about equal mass. In atoms with too many or too few neutrons relative to the number of protons, the nucleus is unstable and subject to radioactive decay. The electrons surrounding the nucleus occupy a set of stable energy levels, or orbitals, and they can transition between these states by the absorption or emission of photons that match the energy differences between the levels. The electrons determine the chemical properties of an element, and strongly influence an atom's magnetic properties

To learn more, see Wikipedia

**Plastic Flute** · 07-09-2008, 01:33 PM

what does nuclear diameter mean? can nuclear be measured?

**MSFixR** · 07-09-2008, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plastic Flute

what does nuclear diameter mean? can nuclear be measured?

Dang nabbit, somebody is actually reading this stuff. Now I guess I'm going to have to read it myself so I can answer questions.

Nuclear diameter means the diameter of the combined proton and neutron mass that comprises the nucleus. Protons and neutrons are not solid balls like billard balls and they occupy "orbitals", i.e., energy levels, so the diameter of an atomic nucleus is kind of a fuzzy dimension. The gist of the sentence is to illustrate that the nucleus is compact and that the "cloud" of electrons bound to the nucleus by electrostatic forces is very large. As an example which might be easier to relate to, the mean diameter of the earth is 12,742 KM. The mean distance between the sun and earth is 149,600,000 KM. So the ratio of the earth diameter to distance to sun is 11,741, about the same as the atom.

**Jocasta** · 07-09-2008, 02:19 PM

I'm not asking anything because Professor Science Boy gets pissy if your questions aren't the sort he likes.

**MSFixR** · 07-09-2008, 02:22 PM

Ok, go and ask your question.

Jim Halpert · 07-09-2008, 03:14 PM

Question: Theoretical Physics, Gravitons, Tachyons, Parallel Universes, Dr. Michio Kaku.
What are your takes on each?

Bonus Question: should I bother buying his latest book? "Physics of the Impossible"

**MSFixR** · 07-10-2008, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Halpert

Question: Theoretical Physics, Gravitons, Tachyons, Parallel Universes, Dr. Michio Kaku.
What are your takes on each?

Bonus Question: should I bother buying his latest book? "Physics of the Impossible"

Allow me to introduce you to a valuable resource, Jim Halpert. It is an online, user contributed encyclopedia called Wikipedia. You will find a wealth of information there just a mouse click or two away.

**Bill5461** · 07-10-2008, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSFixR

Dang nabbit, somebody is actually reading this stuff.

I started reading it..then remembered there was a sticky breast poll at the top of the page

**Jocasta** · 07-10-2008, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill5461

I started reading it..then remembered there was a sticky breast poll at the top of the page

That's what we love about Bill, he's honest.

**MSFixR** · 07-10-2008, 08:04 AM

Yea, when it a choice between sex or knowledge, its really no contest.

**andrew r** · 07-10-2008, 03:16 PM

For the average man, no there isn't MSFixR.

So is there a name given to the 'space' between the protons and neutrons with in an atom then? And if so, is it after the person(s) who discovered it?

**Jocasta** · 07-10-2008, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrew r

So is there a name given to the 'space' between the protons and neutrons with in an atom then? And if so, is it after the person(s) who discovered it?

Is it Fixr's Void?

**Plastic Flute** · 07-10-2008, 05:55 PM

If you guys do not stay on topic. I am going to have to close this thread.

**MSFixR** · 07-10-2008, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrew r

For the average man, no there isn't MSFixR.

So is there a name given to the 'space' between the protons and neutrons with in an atom then? And if so, is it after the person(s) who discovered it?

None that I know of.

Jim Halpert · 07-11-2008, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSFixR

Allow me to introduce you to a valuable resource, Jim Halpert. It is an online, user contributed encyclopedia called Wikipedia. You will find a wealth of information there just a mouse click or two away.

Thanks for the link that I'm pretty well aware of, and use almost everyday. However, and you can verify this from my first post, I was asking for your intake or personal thoughts on them. Unless I've missed the parts in wikipedia where you already entered in your opinions.

But I appreciate your sarcastic reply. Very thoughtful of you.

Captain Beefheart · 07-11-2008, 12:54 AM

If he really wanted to school you he'd answer that if you'll look at Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle you'll see that we are so uncertain about the principles of things, that your question is unanswerable!

Anyways whatever happened to that billion dollar european hadron collider. There are so many things that could be discovered through these high energy collisions, how the universe is formed, how certain elements are made, how to harness new forms of energy, high speed space travel, how gravity ties in with 'the theory of everything'. Not to mention pissing the Judeo-Chistrian apple of knowledge cultural sentiment which is very valuable in my book.

**MSFixR** · 07-11-2008, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Halpert

Thanks for the link that I'm pretty well aware of, and use almost everyday. However, and you can verify this from my first post, I was asking for your intake or personal thoughts on them. Unless I've missed the parts in wikipedia where you already entered in your opinions.

But I appreciate your sarcastic reply. Very thoughtful of you.

Any time.

**andrew r** · 07-11-2008, 03:24 PM

I like these deep converations on FH. Right next to the 'Best Breasts' thread.

**Plastic Flute** · 07-11-2008, 03:45 PM

Not me.
It would be 10 x better if it was right next to a hot guy crotch thread. real talk

07-09-2008, 09:45 AM	#1 (permalink)
MSFixR Science Boy Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dante's Inferno, Circle 4 Posts: 9,514 My Profile	Science 101 (and sometimes 201) The Atom The atom is one of the most fundamental particles in ordinary matter. A chemical element is determined entirely by the type of atom it contains, which in turn is determined by the number of protons, electrons and neutrons that constitute the atom. An atom consists of a dense nucleus, consisting of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons, bound together by the strong nuclear force. Surrounding the nucleus at a distance some 10 000 times the nuclear diameter, are the negatively charged electrons, constrained by their electrostatic attraction to the nucleus. When the number of protons in the nucleus equals the number of electrons, the atom is electrically neutral; otherwise it is an ion and has a net positive or negative charge. An atom is classified according to its number of protons and neutrons: the number of protons determines the chemical element and the number of neutrons determines the isotope of that element. An illustration of the helium atom, depicting the nucleus (pink) and the electron cloud distribution (black). The nucleus (upper right) is in reality spherically symmetric, although for more complicated nuclei this is not always the case. The black bar is one ångström, equal to 0.0000000001 meters or 100,000 fm. The concept of an atom as an indivisible component of matter was first proposed by early Indian and Greek philosophers. In the 17th and 18th centuries, chemists provided a physical basis for this idea by showing that certain substances could not be further broken down by chemical methods. During the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, physicists discovered subatomic components and structure inside the atom, thereby demonstrating that the 'atom' was not indivisible. The principles of quantum mechanics were used to successfully model the atom. Relative to everyday experience, atoms are minuscule objects with proportionately tiny masses that can only be observed individually using special instruments such as the scanning tunneling microscope. More than 99.9% of an atom's mass is concentrated in the nucleus, with protons and neutrons having about equal mass. In atoms with too many or too few neutrons relative to the number of protons, the nucleus is unstable and subject to radioactive decay. The electrons surrounding the nucleus occupy a set of stable energy levels, or orbitals, and they can transition between these states by the absorption or emission of photons that match the energy differences between the levels. The electrons determine the chemical properties of an element, and strongly influence an atom's magnetic properties To learn more, see Wikipedia

07-09-2008, 01:33 PM	#2 (permalink)
Plastic Flute ICHiBAN HoOT Join Date: May 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 13,792 My Profile	what does nuclear diameter mean? can nuclear be measured?

07-09-2008, 02:19 PM	#4 (permalink)
Jocasta Love Charlie Babbitt Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Shaftesbury Avenue Posts: 18,565 My Profile	I'm not asking anything because Professor Science Boy gets pissy if your questions aren't the sort he likes.

07-09-2008, 02:22 PM	#5 (permalink)
MSFixR Science Boy Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dante's Inferno, Circle 4 Posts: 9,514 My Profile	Ok, go and ask your question.

07-09-2008, 03:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
Jim Halpert Asistnt. Regional Manager Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Scranton, PA Posts: 246 My Profile	Question: Theoretical Physics, Gravitons, Tachyons, Parallel Universes, Dr. Michio Kaku. What are your takes on each? Bonus Question: should I bother buying his latest book? "Physics of the Impossible"

07-10-2008, 08:04 AM	#10 (permalink)
MSFixR Science Boy Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dante's Inferno, Circle 4 Posts: 9,514 My Profile	Yea, when it a choice between sex or knowledge, its really no contest.

07-10-2008, 03:16 PM	#11 (permalink)
andrew r Moderator Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: England Posts: 31,470 My Profile	For the average man, no there isn't MSFixR. So is there a name given to the 'space' between the protons and neutrons with in an atom then? And if so, is it after the person(s) who discovered it?

07-10-2008, 05:55 PM	#13 (permalink)
Plastic Flute ICHiBAN HoOT Join Date: May 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 13,792 My Profile	If you guys do not stay on topic. I am going to have to close this thread.

07-11-2008, 12:54 AM	#16 (permalink)
Captain Beefheart Mu nótahu Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: In a West End town, a dead end world Posts: 4,070 My Profile	If he really wanted to school you he'd answer that if you'll look at Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle you'll see that we are so uncertain about the principles of things, that your question is unanswerable! Anyways whatever happened to that billion dollar european hadron collider. There are so many things that could be discovered through these high energy collisions, how the universe is formed, how certain elements are made, how to harness new forms of energy, high speed space travel, how gravity ties in with 'the theory of everything'. Not to mention pissing the Judeo-Chistrian apple of knowledge cultural sentiment which is very valuable in my book.

07-11-2008, 03:24 PM	#18 (permalink)
andrew r Moderator Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: England Posts: 31,470 My Profile	I like these deep converations on FH. Right next to the 'Best Breasts' thread.

07-11-2008, 03:45 PM	#19 (permalink)
Plastic Flute ICHiBAN HoOT Join Date: May 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 13,792 My Profile	Not me. It would be 10 x better if it was right next to a hot guy crotch thread. real talk