Chemical Sciences | Introducing Atoms

Last Updated:  October 25 2021   Introduction Atoms make up all of the substances in the universe both in the tangible and intangible worlds.  As a Psion, it is important to have a firm understanding of the concepts of atoms. …

Last Updated:  October 25 2021

Introduction

Atoms make up all of the substances in the universe both in the tangible and intangible worlds.  As a Psion, it is important to have a firm understanding of the concepts of atoms.  And in this article we will discuss atoms, their properties and characteristics.  With this understanding a person will then be able to use the information to create their own inner and outer worlds based upon truth and not the Hollywood pseudo-science that people are trying to sell to those unaware of the laws of science, but upon the bedrock of “truth”.  The knowledge of atoms is the very foundation of creation.  Its understanding hits the very core of all there is.

When you want to look at a “theory of everything”, you must first draw back the veils of matter and peer into heart and core of the system of nature and life.  It is the vibrations of the atoms, and their inner constituents of subatomic particles, the electrons, neutrons, and protons, that are the blueprints and templates of everything that we see in life.  Let us start with the atom and see how it structures the world.  In later articles we will go deeper into the atom to see what they  can reveal about the of material and and non material universe that is the inner space.   We will begin the discussion by looking at fractals, which from a precursory view seems unrelated, but as we grow our understanding of the nature of the atom, we will grow our understanding of how fractals fit into our world, through atoms.  We will not explain precisely the importance of fractals in this article but will allude to and leave the subject for the course.

So, let us get started…

What are Fractals?

In mathematics, a fractal is a subset of Euclidean space with a numeric value dimension for a specific quantitative variable that strictly exceeds its topological dimension. (They are never ending patterns that repeat) Fractals appear the same at different scales, defined by a never-ending pattern that is self-same. Therefore they are seen as infinitely complex patterns. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop that is driven by recursion. Recursion is a process whereby the list of a algorithm is defined by the members of the list and therefore is included in the pattern. This creates a visual image of dynamic systems and is the face of Chaos tamed by Brownian movement which has a defined underlying value.

What are Atoms?

As we mentioned in the Introduction, atoms make up everything that is seen in the visible and invisible world of time and space.  They are considered the smallest complete unit of an element.  And their purpose is used to build structures.   For example, hydrogen, the chemical formula H, is found in water as H20 on earth.  This water is what forms the basis of life by combining with Carbon creating organic matter.  Hydrogen is also found in all organic matter such as proteins and DNA.  Without the building capacity of the hydrogen we would not have living things.

Hydrogen is also found on the sun in our solar system, and through fusion it bonds and forms all of the natural elements on the Period Table of Elements.    Other atoms are also very important for building the universe.   There are approximately 120 different types of atoms found in the 120 elements.  Elements are the simplest substance of a basic chemical.  There are approximately 92 are found in nature .  It is thought that there are approximately 10^80 atoms in the Universe and when they combine they form everything in the visible and invisible worlds.

What is the Composition of Atoms?

Our modern view is that atoms contain mostly empty space, with three types of subatomic particles, which are made up of smaller subatomic particles, called quarks and leptons.  Quarks,  leptons and other bosons, are important subatomic particles which will not be the topic of this article’s discussion but will be addressed in the future at some later time.   The subatomic particles that we will look at that are the core of the atomic structure.  These are electrons,  protons, and neutrons.  These are found in specific discrete regions within the atom.  There are two main regions, the outer region, and the nucleus.

The outer regions contain one or more discrete energy levels, called orbitals, whose numbers are dependent upon the size of the atom.  The larger the atom the more orbitals it contains.  There are eight main “shells,” of the orbitals and they are referred to by the principal quantum numbers.  Those have the values of n, and the range of n = [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8].  Each of these shells are the levels of the atomic orbitals.  The orbital energy levels are actually place-holders that vary in energy potential and hold electrons.  When filled, the electron exhibit specific properties.  In addition to the range of the shells the shells are referred to as: the s shell, the p shell, the d shell, and the f shell.  These terms classify the shell levels as sharp, principal, diffuse, and fundamental.  We will talk more about these called “spectral descriptives” in another article as well as the principle quantum numbers.  These are very important concepts to understand the nature and characteristics of atoms and their chemical properties.  Those properties including electron affinity, electronegativity, ionization energy and many others.  As this is an introduction, we will leave the shells and orbitals for now to look at the general characteristics of an atom.  Before we do, we will just say that the orbital region of the atom is always negatively charged.  This is because they are filled with electrons.  Electrons always contains one negative charge unit and therefore all orbitals are negative.  They are very light and due to their size and weight they move very fast through their orbitals.

The nucleus is the second region within the atom.  It contains the proton and the neutron.  Unlike the orbitals with their negative electrons, the nucleus is a positively charged area. The proton is the source of the positive field and express a +1 charge.  The neutron is not a charged particle.  It is considered neutral in change.  Both the proton and the neutron carry weigh within the nucleus and weigh 1 AMU (Atomic Mass Unit) each.  This is a resting mass of 1.67262 × 10−27 kg.

The proton is very important as its number identifies the type of atom and its element.  Therefore, an atom with three protons is always a lithium atom. There is no lithium atom that contains more than three protons.  The neutron is important as a stabilizer of for the nucleus.  Its number is typically the same as the number of protons in what is called a neutral atom.  When there are more or less neutrons than there are protons, the atom is called an isotope.   Carbon is an excellent example of an atom that has isotopes.  There are 15 isotopes that are from  8C to 22C, of which 12C and 13C are stable.  Stable means that the nucleus of the isotope does not undergo spontaneous nuclear decay or it has a very long half life.  Unstable isotopes means that the nucleus emits radiation until the atom becomes stable.  This may mean that the atom may change into another atom.

Existence always desires to be stable and organic and inorganic organisms always reduce or gain to become more stable.

The Dynamic Between the Atomic Nucleus and the Electrons

Life is always about the dynamic interplay between that which is the same (or similar) and that which is different.  The two regions of the atom have a dynamic interplay which cause the atoms to bond into molecules.  This action is defined by the properties and characteristics of the creations, which abide to the laws of nature.  It is important that everyone learns the inner workings of the atom and therefore life so that they know and understand how things interact constructively and deconstructively with one another.  The interplay between objects represent forces which interplay and are electromagnetic, gravitational, and chemical.

We’ve mentioned that electrons are negative and thus are attracted to the positive nucleus where they lose energy and are found in a lower energy level.  This creates levels of stability for the atom.  It is also possible for stability when electrons are gained and then move away from the proton and neutron, where they move to a higher energy shell.

There is so much more that we can say about the nature of the atom, but time will not allow us to delve much deeper.  We, then will conclude with fractals and the atoms.

Getting Back to Fractals

So, now that we have a general understanding of atoms and their subatomic particles the electron, proton, and neutron, we will now go back to fractals.  Earlier, we mentioned that fractals are found in Euclidean space and have a numeric value dimension with a specific quantitative variable is entailed of never ending patterns that repeat to form a topological dimension representation of some concept in nature.  They are a energetic and symbolic representation of something thing in life.  They are built to communicate a message to something that will then perform a function in the ecology in life.  The atoms and their particles represent the building in multiple dimensions or levels the devices that communicate information to other parts of the system.

This is the key to all states of being, and it is irrelevant that the organism is aware and conscious of their role.  Their being is needed for the system to run efficiently, until they have served their purpose.  At that point, the atoms decompose into their base constituents, and move to the correct plane of existence.

Thank you for reading!

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