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The atomic nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons (collectively called nucleons). In the Standard model of particle physics, nucleons are in the group called hadrons, the smallest known particles in the universe to have measurable size and shape. [1] Each is in turn composed of three quarks.
The heuristic explanation for why the squared charge radius of a neutron is negative, despite its overall neutral electric charge, is that this is the case because its negatively charged down quarks are, on average, located in the outer part of the neutron, while its positively charged up quark is, on average, located towards the center of the ...
The collection of negatively charged electrons orbiting the nucleus display an affinity for certain configurations and numbers of electrons that make their orbits stable. Which chemical element an atom represents is determined by the number of protons in the nucleus; the neutral atom will have an equal number of electrons orbiting that nucleus.
These baryons (protons, neutrons, hyperons, etc.) which comprise the nucleus are called nucleons. Each type of nucleus is called a "nuclide", and each nuclide is defined by the specific number of each type of nucleon. "Isotopes" are nuclides which have the same number of protons but differing numbers of neutrons.
In the 1911 Rutherford model, the atom consisted of a small positively charged massive nucleus surrounded by a much larger cloud of negatively charged electrons. In 1920, Ernest Rutherford suggested that the nucleus consisted of positive protons and neutrally charged particles, suggested to be a proton and an electron bound in some way. [46]
Protons have a positive electric charge and neutrons have no charge, so the nucleus is positively charged. The electrons are negatively charged, and this opposing charge is what binds them to the nucleus. If the numbers of protons and electrons are equal, as they normally are, then the atom is electrically neutral as a whole. If an atom has ...
A system of one or more electrons bound to a nucleus is called an atom. If the number of electrons is different from the nucleus's electrical charge, such an atom is called an ion. The wave-like behavior of a bound electron is described by a function called an atomic orbital. Each orbital has its own set of quantum numbers such as energy ...
The decaying nucleus is called the parent radionuclide (or parent radioisotope), and the process produces at least one daughter nuclide. Except for gamma decay or internal conversion from a nuclear excited state, the decay is a nuclear transmutation resulting in a daughter containing a different number of protons or neutrons (or both).