Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
For an ordinary atom which contains protons, neutrons and electrons, the sum of the atomic number Z and the neutron number N gives the atom's atomic mass number A. Since protons and neutrons have approximately the same mass (and the mass of the electrons is negligible for many purposes) and the mass defect of the nucleon binding is always small ...
In astrophysics, the Eddington number, N Edd, is the number of protons in the observable universe. Eddington originally calculated it as about 1.57 × 10 79 ; current estimates make it approximately 10 80 [ 1 ] .
The total number of protons and neutrons determine the nuclide. The number of neutrons relative to the protons determines the stability of the nucleus, with certain isotopes undergoing radioactive decay. [44] The proton, the electron, and the neutron are classified as fermions.
For example, a neutral chlorine atom has 17 protons and 17 electrons, whereas a Cl − anion has 17 protons and 18 electrons for a total charge of −1. All atoms of a given element are not necessarily identical, however. The number of neutrons may vary to form different isotopes, and energy levels may differ, resulting in different nuclear ...
The electrons are placed into atomic orbitals that determine the atom's chemical properties. The number of neutrons in a nucleus usually has very little effect on an element's chemical properties; except for hydrogen (for which the kinetic isotope effect is significant). Thus, all carbon isotopes have nearly identical chemical properties ...
where A = Atomic mass number (the number of protons Z, plus the number of neutrons N) and r 0 = 1.25 fm = 1.25 × 10 −15 m. In this equation, the "constant" r 0 varies by 0.2 fm, depending on the nucleus in question, but this is less than 20% change from a constant. [20]
Protons and neutrons are not elementary particles; each is composed of three quarks. The chemical properties of an atom are mostly determined by the configuration of electrons that orbit the atom's heavy nucleus. The electron configuration is determined by the charge of the nucleus, which is determined by the number of protons, or atomic number.
The maximum number of electrons that can be placed in a subshell is given by 2(2 l + 1). This gives two electrons in an s subshell, six electrons in a p subshell, ten electrons in a d subshell and fourteen electrons in an f subshell.