While most people know the basic elements (such as hydrogen, carbon, and magnesium), some may not be too familiar with some of the rarer elements. Some rare elements have very cool properties that make them a valuable asset.
For example, niobium has a special property in that it maintains its shape despite external forces. This quality is what makes it useful in production of materials such as steel.
With the increasing use of advanced technology and the demand for new materials increasing, there is a growing market for rare elements. Some of these elements are so rare that only companies or governments have them, making them highly valuable.
Unfortunately, there is no easy way to produce your own element unless you are a scientist or have access to one.
Examples of atomic numbers
The atomic number is the number of protons in an atom. Different elements have different numbers of protons, which determine what element it is.
For example, every atom of gold has 79 protons, which makes it gold. Any atom that has less protons than this is not gold, and any that have more are also not gold.
Every time a new element is discovered, its atomic number is determined by looking at the atoms it has and whether or not they have certain properties.
If you have ever wondered why we only have a limited amount of elements here on Earth, it is because all of the elements have specific atomic numbers and none are able to crossover into another one.
None of the elements can be divided into smaller units that have all of the properties of the element.
Examples of isotopes
Isotopes are atoms of the same element that contain different numbers of neutrons. These atoms are called isotopes and are labeled with primes, for example, hydrogen-1 and hydrogen-2.
Some isotopes are stable and do not decay into other elements. Other isotopes are radioactive, meaning they will eventually decay into another element. Radioactive isotopes can be harmful if someone is exposed to them.
Isotopes play an important role in our daily lives. For example, doctors use a radioactive form of iodine to check for cancer in your thyroid gland. This test is used to determine whether or not further testing or treatment is necessary.
Furthermore, platinum rings are buffed with copper oxide rings to create a colorful ring. The copper in the ring comes from an isotope of copper that has sixty-seven protons in its atom nucleus.
What is an atom?
Atoms are the smallest unit of each chemical element. All atoms consist of a nucleus, made up of protons and neutrons, and electrons that orbit around the nucleus.
Protons are positively charged particles that makeup the nucleus. Neutrons are particles with no charge, but a large mass. These two particles combine to make the atom more stable.
Atoms can be defined as a pure elementary particle containing nuclear matter, i.e., dense matter consisting only of atomic nuclei and no separate atomic corpuses—for example, hydrogen atoms rather than hydrogen molecules. This is what makes them different from molecules, which have separate molecular corpuses.
Atoms are very small; they have a diameter of about one hundred thousandth (10−8) of a millimeter (mm). One mm is about the length of 10 sheets of paper stacked together.
What is an isotope?
An isotope is the chemical equivalent of a sibling. Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have different mass numbers.
Mass numbers are determined by how many protons and neutrons an atom has. Protons have a fixed mass, and so does each neutron, which makes its contribution to the total atom mass.
Atoms with the same number of protons in their nucleus but different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes. For example, every kind of hydrogen has one proton in its nucleus, but some hydrogen atoms have two, three, or four neutrons in addition to the proton. These are isotopes of hydrogen.
Isotopes can be radioactive or non-radioactive. Radioactive isotopes will eventually decay into another element. This can happen quickly or take a long time depending on the isotope.
How are atoms and isotopes different?
Atoms are the building blocks of all matter. All substances, whether they are a solid, liquid, or gas, are made up of atoms. Atoms are comprised of three primary parts:
Proton: A proton is the nucleus of the atom, which contains one unit of positive charge.
Neutron: A neutron is a subatomic particle that has no charge. Neutrons help determine an atom’s atomic number, which is its classification.
Electron: An electron is a negatively charged particle that orbits the atom’s nucleus. The number of electrons in an atom determines its chemical property—how many chemical reactions it will undergo. Electrons also determine what element the atom is.
There are two ways an atom can be defined: by its atomic number and by its chemical property. An isotope is a variation of an element that contains the same number of protons in its nucleus but a different number of neutrons.
Why is this important?
This is an important concept to understand as it underlies a lot of chemistry. As mentioned before, atoms are the smallest unit of each element that have all of the properties of that element.
Atoms can be chemically combined with other atoms to form compounds. Compounds can be separated into its constituent atoms. This is how chemical separation occurs, and it is an important field of study in chemistry.
So, how do we know if something is an atom or a molecule? If it can be separated into atoms, then it’s a molecule!
This may seem like a very simple and obvious concept, but there are many cases where this needs to be clarified and enforced. Case in point: drug therapy. Many drugs cannot be broken down into smaller units, so they are not molecules; however, they may still be targeting molecules within cells (i.e. protein receptors).
Atomic theory
Atoms are the smallest unit of an element that has all of the properties of that element. For example, a hydrogen atom is a hydrogen atom; it does not need anything else to be a hydrogen atom.
Atoms are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons and neutrons are called atomic nuclei, and electrons are called valence electrons. All three of these components have their own properties that affect the atom as a whole.
Protons have a positive charge, while electrons have a negative charge. When an electron moves around the atom, it creates a magnetic field. Neutrons do not have either a positive or negative charge; they are considered neutral.
When looking at different atoms, their masses and numbers of protons, neutrons, and electrons vary. This makes some atoms harder to break down than others.
Pioneers in atomic theory
While most people think of atoms as the smallest unit of an element, that is not the case. Atoms are actually the nucleus of an element surrounded by electrons.
Atoms are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons and neutrons make up the nucleus while electrons orbit around it.
The number of protons in an atom determines what element it is. For example, if an atom has five protons, then it is a nitrogen atom. If it has ninety-nine protons, then it is uranium.
In order for something to be classified as an atom, it must have all of the properties of the element itself. An example would be carbon dioxide (CO2). While CO2 can be described as an atom, it does not have all of the properties of an atom because it is a molecule.
