Protons are tiny particles just a femtometer across, but without them, atoms wouldn't exist. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Life would be very different without metals. No cars, no electrical goods, no saucepans, and only the lamest of hippie jewellery. Like all atoms and elements, the properties of metals come down to the ...

Atoms are the fundamental components of matter, made up of three subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. The structure of atoms determines the properties and behavior of different ...

Atoms are made up of a nucleus, protons and electrons. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Atoms are the basic units of matter.

For example, the atomic number of chlorine is 17. Every chlorine atom has 17 protons and 17 electrons. It has 17 positive charges and 17 negative charges, meaning that it is neutral overall. Atoms of ...

When building an atom, pay close attention to the particles' electrical charges. Protons have a charge of +1. Electrons have a charge of -1. Neutrons are neutral, as its name implies. A stable atom ...

If you hit an atom’s nucleus hard enough, it will fall apart. But exactly how it falls apart tells us something about the internal structure of the nucleus and perhaps about the interior of neutron ...

In most stars, hydrogen is turning into helium, and the process starts with two protons coming together to form helium-2. This usually splits back apart very quickly, but sometimes one of the protons ...

Since the discovery of radioactivity in the 19th century, humanity has been forced to reckon with an uncomfortable but sobering truth: much of the matter we find today will eventually decay away. This ...