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Leptonic atoms, named using -onium, are exotic atoms constituted by the bound state of a lepton and an antilepton. Examples of such atoms include positronium (e − e +), muonium (e − μ +), and "true muonium" (μ − μ +). Of these positronium and muonium have been experimentally observed, while "true muonium" remains only theoretical.
Atoms lack a well-defined outer boundary, so their dimensions are usually described in terms of an atomic radius. This is a measure of the distance out to which the electron cloud extends from the nucleus. [69] This assumes the atom to exhibit a spherical shape, which is only obeyed for atoms in vacuum or free space.
Atomic energy or energy of atoms is energy carried by atoms.The term originated in 1903 when Ernest Rutherford began to speak of the possibility of atomic energy. [1] H. G. Wells popularized the phrase "splitting the atom", [citation needed] before discovery of the atomic nuc
In a string-net liquid, atoms have apparently unstable arrangement, like a liquid, but are still consistent in overall pattern, like a solid. When in a normal solid state, the atoms of matter align themselves in a grid pattern, so that the spin of any electron is the opposite of the spin of all electrons touching it.
Atomic physics primarily considers atoms in isolation. Atomic models will consist of a single nucleus that may be surrounded by one or more bound electrons. It is not concerned with the formation of molecules (although much of the physics is identical), nor does it examine atoms in a solid state as condensed matter .
Atoms of one element can be transformed into atoms of a different element in nuclear reactions, which change an atom's atomic number. Historically, the term "chemical element" meant a substance that cannot be broken down into constituent substances by chemical reactions, and for most practical purposes this definition still has validity.
Spontaneous emission is the process in which a quantum mechanical system (such as a molecule, an atom or a subatomic particle) transits from an excited energy state to a lower energy state (e.g., its ground state) and emits a quantized amount of energy in the form of a photon.
The term transmutation dates back to alchemy.Alchemists pursued the philosopher's stone, capable of chrysopoeia – the transformation of base metals into gold. [3] While alchemists often understood chrysopoeia as a metaphor for a mystical or religious process, some practitioners adopted a literal interpretation and tried to make gold through physical experimentation.