Atoms & Nucleus

Ever wondered, if we keep breaking down something what will we get maybe smaller pieces of that same thing. What if we still keep breaking it down, at some point it becomes powder, well if you look closely you may realise it is still the same thing but it very smaller pieces. Now if we keep it breaking it down, eventually we would get atoms, but we wouldn’t be able to see it through naked eye, we need electron microscope. And since, we don’t have it right now so you just have to take my word for it.

This is the Rutherford model of atom. The big blob you see in the center is called as Nucleus, and the small circular blobs revolving around it are called Electrons.

If you understand them and their properties, you basically good portion of chemistry.

Nucleus: The Godfather

Keyword: nucleus

Long-term keyword: Nucleus: The Godfather

You watched any mafia movie ever, there is always a leader which generally is called the Godfather, in atom’s case that also holds true. Just like how smaller mafias revolve around the boss, and only boss has the final say in any matter. Similarly in atom’s case electrons are just small mafias, they have their leader called “Nucleus”. They would revolve around the nucleus, and only nucleus has all the weight (mass) of the atom, electron holds no weight.

Nucleus has a family similar to how the godfather has a family. And in that family some controls everyone while some don’t like controlling so they just stay silent. Similarly nucleus has two family members, i.e. protons and neutrons. Protons are the controlling ones, while neutrons don’t want to control anyone. These two have all the mass(weight), but only proton has all the power.

Electrons: The workers

Keyword: electrons

Long-term keyword: Electrons: The workers

Now let’s switch our focus to the workers moving around their boss, i.e. electrons. These are smaller mafias and do everything they can to make their boss stay happy. They would do all that is needed to keep their boss happy.

To keep their boss happy, they deal with other workers. But since they are also a part of the mafia, they also have some rules to follow and some ego to themselves. They don’t just deal with any worker, they make a deal in such a way that both of their bosses stay happy. Now first let’s understand why their boss stay unhappy.

What makes boss unhappy?

Keyword: valency

Long-term keyword: What makes boss unhappy?

The boss i.e. nucleus wants soldier/workers to safeguard their territory. So he calculated how many soldiers would he need to safeguard or run a territory easily, and he found that smaller territory closer to his home requires only 2 workers while territories far from his home requires more workers. As the distance increases the number of soldier increases. Territory closer to his home requires 2 soldiers, after that he needs 8 soldiers, and again for the next territory he needs 8 more soldiers and then he needs 18 soldiers and so on.

This way of putting their workers is known as atomic configuration.

Look at this image, we have the territory of Aluminium he only has 11 workers, he put 2 workers into the territory closest to his home, then he put 8 workers and lastly he put 3 workers. But he calculated that he needs 8 total soldiers their.

The number of workers one has is known as atomic number. So in this case the atomic number of aluminium is 11.

This is what makes him unhappy, so the workers do deals with other workers to make his boss happy. Now how can they make him happy, well simply add 5 more workers and put them their and for that they have to fight with other workers, so sometimes they also may lose these extra 3 workers. That also keeps the boss happy. Since all his territories are properly protected and functioning.

The deal: Chemical Reaction

Keyword: reaction

Long-term keyword: The deal: Chemical reaction

Now we know why the boss is grumpy, so now the workers can do something about it. They now have two options:

1. Fight: They can choose to fight with other bosses and take their workers and join them with them, but to fight they need an army, but they can’t use all of them since they are protecting other territories, so only the workers who need more workers can go to war.

2. Disown: Another easier option for them is to disown these extra workers, so they just need to find a boss who needs more workers and give those workers to them.

Now they have a choice to make: Fight or Disown. They make this decision simply by counting, they could either fight to gain 5 more workers or simply disown there own 3 workers. Which one is more easier? Yes, it’s easier to disown there 3 workers.

This is known as valency of an element. The amount of electrons they need or are willing to give or share is known as the valency of the element.

So in this case, the valency of Aluminium is 3.

Exercise

Now I hope, you get a good idea about valency and can find it yourself if I tell you the atomic number of the element. So for the exercise, I’d tell you some elements with their atomic number, your job is to find their valency.

You may find some elements, bit interesting don’t worry just go with your gut feeling. Good luck!

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• Atoms
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