Because of the coronavirus, we are now having online classes. The break home is really nice, because there is so much more time to do work!

For the past week we were learning all about atoms, and really how inexplainably small they really are. We learned about the many Greek scientists that spent their lives on the study of atoms, like Democritus, who first stated the idea of the atom. He called his new thing Atomos, which in Greek, means “uncuttable”. However, he was wrong. Really wrong. Although he made some breakthrough discoveries, we now know that atoms are made of many different, even smaller objects.

Atoms are made of electrons, and have a nucleus, or center, made of protons and neutrons. The way the three objects relate are extremely complex. The electron has a negative charge, while the proton has a positive charge, and the neutron is neutral. Each proton attracts only one electron, and the amount of protons determines what type of atom  it is. For example, gold has 79 protons, while roentgenium has 111 protons.

The atoms are really interesting, and I look forward to learning more about them!