So, chemical elements are distinguished from each other by the number of protons inside their atoms.
But why did these differences come about in the first place? What made chemical elements keep their inherent properties throughout time?
I’m really trying to get behind this natural phenomenon, since any physical change we see in the world is explained by the ability of atoms to attach and detach.
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The chemical properties come from how the electrons in an atom interact with each other and other electrons.
We say that’s a result of how many protons it has because it’s very hard to change that number, but much easier to change the number of electrons.
If you have a hydrogen atom, we can predict how it will interact with other atoms under given conditions. If we add a neutron, it becomes deuterium, or hydrogen-2, but chemically it behaves exactly like hydrogen, but with more mass. It will still make all the same bonds as a normal hydrogen atom.
If we look at all the places an electron can be (its energy states) in a hydrogen atom, they are all exactly the same as a deuterium atom, but if we look at a helium atom, there are 2 protons, so any electrons are going to be held twice as tightly to their atom, so all of the energy states are now different. If we take a neutron away from the helium (making helium-3) all of these energy states stay the same.
Even if we strip the as atom of some of its electrons, or give it some more (make it an ion) those energy states are still in place. An electron can fill those spots even if one isn’t there.
The nucleus basically dictates how the electrons move, but since neutrons have no charge, they can’t have that impact, so that duty falls solely on the protons.
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