● |
The atom is composed of the
core and the atomic shell. |
● |
The atomic core itself
consists of two different elementary particles:
protons and neutrons. These are called nucleons. |
● |
Protons are positively
charged elementary particles. |
● |
Neutrons are non-charged
elementary particles, they are electrically neutral. |
● |
In the atomic shell the so
called electrons move around the core. |
● |
Electrons are negatively
charged elementary particles. |
● |
The numbers of the charges
of proton and electron are exactly the same, but with a different
polarity. Therefore they neutralize each other. |
● |
The entire atom is
electrically neutral to the outside. |
● |
To give you an example of the
size correlations: if the atomic core were as big as a can of beans the
shell would be as large as a football stadium. |