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If an atom has more electrons than protons, then it has an overall negative charge, and is called a negative ion (or anion). Conversely, if it has more protons than electrons, it has a positive charge, and is called a positive ion (or cation). The electrons of an atom are attracted to the protons in an atomic nucleus by the electromagnetic force.
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]
The neutron–proton ratio (N/Z ratio or nuclear ratio) of an atomic nucleus is the ratio of its number of neutrons to its number of protons.Among stable nuclei and naturally occurring nuclei, this ratio generally increases with increasing atomic number. [1]
The adoption of the term "nucleus" to atomic theory, however, was not immediate. In 1916, for example, Gilbert N. Lewis stated, in his famous article The Atom and the Molecule, that "the atom is composed of the kernel and an outer atom or shell." [12] Similarly, the term kern meaning kernel is used for nucleus in German and Dutch.
Diagram of a helium atom, showing the electron probability density as shades of gray. The atomic radius of a chemical element is a measure of the size of its atom, usually the mean or typical distance from the center of the nucleus to the outermost isolated electron. Since the boundary is not a well-defined physical entity, there are various ...
Alternately, the atomic mass of a carbon-12 atom may be expressed in any other mass units: for example, the atomic mass of a carbon-12 atom is 1.992 646 882 70 (62) × 10 −26 kg. As is the case for the related atomic mass when expressed in daltons , the relative isotopic mass numbers of nuclides other than carbon-12 are not whole numbers, but ...
The alpha particle is absorbed by the nitrogen atom. After capture of the alpha particle, a hydrogen nucleus is ejected, creating a net result of 2 charged particles (a proton and a positively charged oxygen) which make 2 tracks in the cloud chamber. Heavy oxygen (17 O), not carbon or fluorine, is the product.
The number of nucleons in a nucleus defines the atom's mass number (nucleon number). Until the 1960s, nucleons were thought to be elementary particles , not made up of smaller parts. Now they are understood as composite particles , made of three quarks bound together by the strong interaction .