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atom

atom

170 3.5
The smallest part of an element with a central core and electrons around it
  • noun
  • /ˈætəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : átomo
  • An atom is the fundamental building block of matter, consisting of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.
  • electrons per atom
  • atoms and molecules
  • hydrogen atom

If that space is expanding, why isn't the atom also expanding?

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Examples

  • Of course, they say every atom in our bodies was once part of a star.

  • It's because while gold feels solid, its atoms are mostly empty space.

  • But what happens at the single atom level, nobody knows until now.

  • Sure enough, you fire the atoms through one at a time.

  • Remember the free electron moving from one atom to the other in the description above?

    Academic text (2008)
  • It actually happens for every atom in you or in me.

  • By exciting the atoms, we're able to create a fluid moment of chemical transition.

  • That's the case when I have N atoms in the chain.

  • But they're ultimately, you know, made of atoms just like the body is.

  • When electrons move among atoms, the basics are present for electrical conduction or current.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

atomy
vsatom
  • Archaic
9.9

A very small part of matter like a tiny particle

is the precise scientific unit with nucleus and surrounding electrons

Compounds

16 3.0

A very powerful weapon that splits atoms to cause a huge explosion

carbon atom
  • Specialized
4 3.0

An atom with six protons and six electrons that is the main part of many molecules in living things

hydrogen atom
  • Specialized
3 3.2

A very simple atom that has one proton and one electron

atom smasher
  • Informal
2 6.0

A large machine scientists use to make tiny particles move very fast and hit each other

gram atom
  • Archaic
7.5

An amount of an element that weighs in grams the same as its atomic weight

Rutherford atom
  • Archaic
9.3

A model where an atom's positive charge and mass are in a tiny central nucleus and electrons orbit it

How Small

quark
  • Specialized
14 9.9
electron
  • Specialized
100 3.7
proton
  • Specialized
63 4.5
atom
  • Specialized
170 3.5
molecule
  • Specialized
209 3.4

Surface Forms

atom singular
atoms plural

Etymology

Atom comes from the Greek parts a- 'not' and tomos 'cut', so it originally meant 'uncuttable'. Early thinkers used it for the tiniest piece of matter, and that is why scientists call the smallest unit of an element an atom.