Electronic configuration - secrets of the structure of the atom

In the autumn of 1910, Ernst Rutherford, lost in thought, painfully tried to understand the inner structure of the atom. His experiments on the scattering of alpha particles by various substances convincingly proved - inside the atom there is a certain, previously unexplored, massive body. In 1912, Rutherford would call it an atomic nucleus. In the head of the scientist thousands of questions swarmed. What is the charge of this unknown body? How many electrons are needed to ensure its weight?

In May 1911, Rutherford published an article on the structure of the atom, which is preceded by a very significant caveat that the stability of the atomic structure probably depends on the subtleties of the internal structure of the atom and the motion of charged particles, which are its important structural component. So the electronic configuration was born - the nuclear-electronic atomic model. This model was destined to play an invaluable role in nuclear physics.

The electronic configuration is the order of the distribution of electrons over atomic orbits. Thanks to Ernst Rutherford's inquiring mind and persistence, who managed to defend his idea, science was enriched with new knowledge, the importance of which can not be overestimated.

The electronic configuration of the atom is as follows. At the center of the entire structure is a nucleus consisting of a different number of neutrons and protons for each substance. What determines the positive charge of the nucleus. Around it along the corresponding concentric orbits move electrons - negatively charged elementary particles. These atomic orbits are also called shells. The outer orbit of an atom is called valence. And the number of electrons on it is valence.

Each electronic configuration of the elements is distinguished by the number of electrons contained in it. For example, the atom of the simplest substance in the universe - hydrogen - contains only one single electron, the oxygen atom is eight, and the electron configuration of iron has twenty-six electrons.

But the determining value in the electronic model of an atom is not at all the number of electrons, but what holds them together and makes the entire system function properly - the nucleus and its composition. It is the core that gives the substance its individual qualities and characteristics. Electrons sometimes leave the atomic model, and then the atom acquires a positive charge (thanks to the nuclear charge). In this case, the substance does not change its properties. But if you change the composition of the core, then it will be a completely different substance with different qualities. It is not easy to do this, but it is still possible.

Since the electronic configuration is impossible without its main structural element - the atomic nucleus, it should pay special attention. It is this central element of the atomic model that forms the individual properties and characteristics of any chemical substance. Protons, which, in fact, give the nucleus a positive charge, are 1840 times heavier than any electron. But the force of the charge of a proton is equal to that of any electron. In a state of balance, the number of protons in an atom is equal to the number of electrons. In this case, the nucleus is the carrier of the zero charge.

Another important particle of the atomic nucleus is called a neutron. It is this element that does not have a charge that made a chain nuclear reaction possible . So it is simply impossible to overestimate the value of a neutron.