• Question: what is an atom?

    Asked by 454evoa29 to Anthea, Chloe, Kevin, Michel, Sean on 11 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Kevin Healy

      Kevin Healy answered on 11 Nov 2014:

      Atoms are the building blocks that make up the universe. They are tiny. So tiny you can fit 7.5 trillion atoms into the full stop at the end of this sentance. Atoms themselves are made up of a nucleus of protons and neutrons in the middle and electorns orbiting the outside. Depending on how many neutrons, protons and electorns are in the atom there are you get different elements. For example hydrogen has at least one proton and one electorn while Oxygen has at least 8 protons and electrons.
      All these differnt elements combine to form chemicals which in turn combine to form all the matter in the universe.

    • Photo: Anthea Lacchia

      Anthea Lacchia answered on 11 Nov 2014:

      Atoms are what elements are made of. Everything around us- you, me, your computer and your pet- is made of tiny tiny atoms. If we could zoom in really really far and look at an atom, we would see that in the centre of the atom there is a nucleus of protons and neutrons, and that there is an orbit of electrons that are around the nucleus. Atoms combine to form molecules, so, for example, there are two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom in each molecule of water.
      Atoms are so small they are measured in trillionths of a meter, so they can only be seen under huge microscopes!
      Even though the word atom literally means something indivisible, which means it can’t be divided or cut further, in 1932, Waterford-born Ernest Walton, did something remarkable: he split the atom. 🙂 Go Irish Scientists!

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