The question of what protons or neutrons are made up of has an apparently simple answer: quarks and gluons. However, when it comes to atoms’ third component, electrons, the answer is not as easy.

Given how much lighter electrons are than the particles of an atomic nucleus, it’s not so surprising they’re not made up of anything lighter.

Use what you know about electrons, protons, and charges to explain why this happens. When you rub the balloon on your hair or clothes it picks up extra electrons, giving the balloon a negative charge.

However, electrons move around very rapidly in physical and chemical processes, making them difficult to study. To investigate these processes, scientists use spectroscopy, ...

Explain to students that the two electrons in the bond between the hydrogen atom and the oxygen atom can be thought of as “belonging” to each atom. This gives each hydrogen atom two electrons in its ...

The 'attomicroscope' consists of two sections. The top converts is an ultraviolet pulse that release ultra fast electrons inside the microscope, while the bottom section uses another two lasers to ...

This article was originally published with the title “ What are Atoms, Electrons, and Ions? ” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 94 No. 13 (March 1906), p. 266 doi:10.1038 ...

Three scientists who experimentally probed the blurry realm of the electron have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in physics.Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier were honored for ...

Scientists used a synchronized attosecond X-ray pulse pair (pictured pink and green here) from an X-ray free electron laser to study the energetic response of electrons (gold) in liquid water on ...