jordan

Split your page into 2 sections: For a bonus point:
 * 1) History of the Atom (5pts)
 * Find out the important scientists who contributed to our current knowledge of the atom.
 * Find out the important experiments that were used to make breakthrough discoveries.
 * Include years of each discovery/experiment so we can get an idea of how long this process has taken.
 * 1) Atomic Structure (5pts)
 * What are the different parts of the atom?
 * What are the different particles that make up the atom?
 * Where are they located?
 * What makes atoms of different elements different?
 * 1) Add a comment to someone's page through the discussion tab.
 * 2) Add a picture to your page.

The **atom** is a basic unit of [|matter] that consists of a dense, central [|nucleus] surrounded by a [|cloud] of [|negatively charged] [|electrons]. The [|atomic nucleus] contains a mix of positively charged [|protons] and electrically neutral [|neutrons] (except in the case of [|hydrogen-1], which is the only stable [|nuclide] with no neutrons). The electrons of an atom are bound to the nucleus by the [|electromagnetic force]. Likewise, a group of atoms can remain bound to each other, forming a [|molecule]. An atom containing an equal number of protons and electrons is electrically neutral, otherwise it has a positive or negative charge and is an [|ion]. An atom is classified according to the number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus: the [|number of protons] determines the [|chemical element], and the [|number of neutrons] determines the [|isotope] of the element.[|[][|1][|]]

The name atom comes from the [|Greek] "ἄτομος"—//átomos// (from α-, "un-" + τέμνω - //temno//, "to cut"[|[][|2][|]]), which means uncuttable, or indivisible, something that cannot be divided further.[|[][|3][|]] The concept of an atom as an indivisible component of matter was first proposed by early [|Indian] and [|Greek] philosophers. In the 17th and 18th centuries, [|chemists] provided a physical basis for this idea by showing that certain substances could not be further broken down by chemical methods. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, [|physicists] discovered subatomic components and structure inside the atom, thereby demonstrating that the 'atom' was divisible. The principles of [|quantum mechanics] were used to successfully [|model] the atom.[|[][|4][|]][|[][|5][|]] Atoms are minuscule objects with proportionately tiny masses. Atoms can only be observed individually using special instruments such as the [|scanning tunneling microscope]. Over 99.9% of an atom's mass is concentrated in the nucleus,[|[][|note 1][|]] with protons and neutrons having roughly equal mass. Each element has at least one isotope with unstable nuclei that can undergo [|radioactive decay]. This can result in a [|transmutation] that changes the number of protons or neutrons in a nucleus.[|[][|6][|]] Electrons that are bound to atoms possess a set of stable [|energy levels], or [|orbitals], and can undergo transitions between them by absorbing or emitting [|photons] that match the energy differences between the levels. The electrons determine the chemical properties of an element, and strongly influence an atom's [|magnetic] properties.