What Do Electrons Look Like in an Atom?
Inside an atom, electrons are arranged in layers called shells.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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© MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)A demonstration of the wave-particle duality of an electron.
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Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Geography and Map Division/Library of Congress, Washington D.C.Overview of the British Empire.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.What's inside an atom?
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© American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Learn about carbon and how it forms the basis of life.
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Transcript
If we could see an atom it might look something like this.
The fuzziness represents the paths of very fast-moving particles called "electrons."
Electrons orbit the central part of the atom, called the "nucleus."
An atom may have only one electron, or it may have many, but every different kind of atom has a different number of electrons in orbit around its nucleus.
Every atom of hydrogen has only one electron.
Every atom of uranium has ninety-two electrons.
Every atom of sulfur has sixteen.
Electrons are arranged in different layers, called "shells." We can see these shells more clearly if we flatten them out. Atoms with only a few electrons will use only a small number of shells. And those with many electrons have a lot of shells.
It is the arrangement of electrons around an atom that decides how and when the atom will take part in a chemical change.
An atom is most stable if its outer electron shell is full. For most atoms, eight electrons will fill this outer shell, but this isn't true for most single atoms.
To fill its outer shell an atom may get electrons from another atom, and, as a result, form what is called a "bond" with the other atom.
This is the key to chemical change.
The fuzziness represents the paths of very fast-moving particles called "electrons."
Electrons orbit the central part of the atom, called the "nucleus."
An atom may have only one electron, or it may have many, but every different kind of atom has a different number of electrons in orbit around its nucleus.
Every atom of hydrogen has only one electron.
Every atom of uranium has ninety-two electrons.
Every atom of sulfur has sixteen.
Electrons are arranged in different layers, called "shells." We can see these shells more clearly if we flatten them out. Atoms with only a few electrons will use only a small number of shells. And those with many electrons have a lot of shells.
It is the arrangement of electrons around an atom that decides how and when the atom will take part in a chemical change.
An atom is most stable if its outer electron shell is full. For most atoms, eight electrons will fill this outer shell, but this isn't true for most single atoms.
To fill its outer shell an atom may get electrons from another atom, and, as a result, form what is called a "bond" with the other atom.
This is the key to chemical change.
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