Why does the amount of protons in an element wildly change its properties? For example: why is two protons a gas, but suddenly three protons is a metallic solid?
In: 109
The protons determine the electric charge of the nucleus, and that determines how many electrons are needed to make a neutral atom.
Due to quantum mechanical effects, there are different energy “shells” that electrons can fill. Shells with higher energy are farther from the nucleus, and so the lowest energy state the atom can be in involves filling the shells from inside to out, and the outermost shell determines the place in the periodic table, and the main properties of the element.
When the outermost shell is full, adding another electron or sharing it with another element is a big step up in energy, since the next available shell is much higher energy. So elements with full outer shells don’t form bonds with other elements very well. They are the noble gasses. Two electrons is a full shell.
Three protons, and therefore three electrons has one electron occupying the outermost shell. This arrangement is highly reactive, since it doesn’t take very much energy to strip away or share the outermost electron.
It has to do with the electrons those protons attract.
Electrons can only fit into specific stable arrangements around the nucleus. This can be thought of as giving the son a shape.
If the shape is another and round the atoms act as a gas. This is the Nobel gasses (helium argon etc).
Let’s look at hydrogen. It has one proton, and one electron. This electron gives the hydrogen a neutral charge, and shouldn’t attract anything else.
But the atom has size, and the electron can’t be all around it. So nearby electrons can occasionally “see” the proton when paired electron is on the other side.
This creates a lopsided “shape” and essentially a hole in the layer. A spot for any atoms with a “protruding” electron to snap into.
Is another hydrogen comes by and snaps it’s electric in we now have two electrons whizzing around. This did a better job of shielding the nucleus. And for two electrons, there isn’t room in the “shape” of the orbit they make for a third. So H2 doesn’t bond further, and kicks around as a gas stove it’s a small self contained system
And helium starts this way. It’s two electrons are attracted to it’s two protons, and fully shield the nucleus.
Lithium had 3 protons, and attracts a third electron that doesnt fit into the orbital shape. So now there is a smooth layer with a bump on it… A bump that attracts or is attracted to other atoms.
So stable gasses tend to have these complete smooth out layers made by plugging in other atoms to fill the holes. Solids tend to have many holes or protrusions that catch and latch, and of it can make a repeating pattern it’s when more likely to settle into solids.
The protons determine the electric charge of the nucleus, and that determines how many electrons are needed to make a neutral atom.
Due to quantum mechanical effects, there are different energy “shells” that electrons can fill. Shells with higher energy are farther from the nucleus, and so the lowest energy state the atom can be in involves filling the shells from inside to out, and the outermost shell determines the place in the periodic table, and the main properties of the element.
When the outermost shell is full, adding another electron or sharing it with another element is a big step up in energy, since the next available shell is much higher energy. So elements with full outer shells don’t form bonds with other elements very well. They are the noble gasses. Two electrons is a full shell.
Three protons, and therefore three electrons has one electron occupying the outermost shell. This arrangement is highly reactive, since it doesn’t take very much energy to strip away or share the outermost electron.
It has to do with the electrons those protons attract.
Electrons can only fit into specific stable arrangements around the nucleus. This can be thought of as giving the son a shape.
If the shape is another and round the atoms act as a gas. This is the Nobel gasses (helium argon etc).
Let’s look at hydrogen. It has one proton, and one electron. This electron gives the hydrogen a neutral charge, and shouldn’t attract anything else.
But the atom has size, and the electron can’t be all around it. So nearby electrons can occasionally “see” the proton when paired electron is on the other side.
This creates a lopsided “shape” and essentially a hole in the layer. A spot for any atoms with a “protruding” electron to snap into.
Is another hydrogen comes by and snaps it’s electric in we now have two electrons whizzing around. This did a better job of shielding the nucleus. And for two electrons, there isn’t room in the “shape” of the orbit they make for a third. So H2 doesn’t bond further, and kicks around as a gas stove it’s a small self contained system
And helium starts this way. It’s two electrons are attracted to it’s two protons, and fully shield the nucleus.
Lithium had 3 protons, and attracts a third electron that doesnt fit into the orbital shape. So now there is a smooth layer with a bump on it… A bump that attracts or is attracted to other atoms.
So stable gasses tend to have these complete smooth out layers made by plugging in other atoms to fill the holes. Solids tend to have many holes or protrusions that catch and latch, and of it can make a repeating pattern it’s when more likely to settle into solids.
It has to do with the electrons those protons attract.
Electrons can only fit into specific stable arrangements around the nucleus. This can be thought of as giving the son a shape.
If the shape is another and round the atoms act as a gas. This is the Nobel gasses (helium argon etc).
Let’s look at hydrogen. It has one proton, and one electron. This electron gives the hydrogen a neutral charge, and shouldn’t attract anything else.
But the atom has size, and the electron can’t be all around it. So nearby electrons can occasionally “see” the proton when paired electron is on the other side.
This creates a lopsided “shape” and essentially a hole in the layer. A spot for any atoms with a “protruding” electron to snap into.
Is another hydrogen comes by and snaps it’s electric in we now have two electrons whizzing around. This did a better job of shielding the nucleus. And for two electrons, there isn’t room in the “shape” of the orbit they make for a third. So H2 doesn’t bond further, and kicks around as a gas stove it’s a small self contained system
And helium starts this way. It’s two electrons are attracted to it’s two protons, and fully shield the nucleus.
Lithium had 3 protons, and attracts a third electron that doesnt fit into the orbital shape. So now there is a smooth layer with a bump on it… A bump that attracts or is attracted to other atoms.
So stable gasses tend to have these complete smooth out layers made by plugging in other atoms to fill the holes. Solids tend to have many holes or protrusions that catch and latch, and of it can make a repeating pattern it’s when more likely to settle into solids.
Isn’t 3 Protons Lithium, a gas?
Isn’t 3 Protons Lithium, a gas?
Isn’t 3 Protons Lithium, a gas?
(Note: for this explanation I’m going to personify atoms and molecules, which is obviously inaccurate, but makes for an easier to understand explanation)
For non-ELI5 reasons, there are certain numbers of electrons that atoms like to have: 0, 2, 10, 18, 36, 54, 86, 118…. Also, opposite charges attract and same charges repel. These two facts are very powerful for understanding some of the “why”s of chemistry.
Helium with its 2 protons and 2 electrons has both a happy number of electrons, and is electrically neutral, so it really feels no need to chemically interact with anything. In fact, it would rather not interact with anything. All it wants to do is be free and bounce around. This libertarian attitude makes it a gas.
Lithium has 3 protons and 3 electrons. It’s really close to having a nice happy 2 electrons, so it really wants to get rid of its third electron. If one, lone lithium atom tried to throw its electron off, it would just come back because the atom would become positively charged so it would attract the electron back to it. But in a whole hunk of lithium it can instead toss the electron to one of its neighbors. But that lithium doesn’t want the electron either so you get this game of hot-potato on a massive scale with all these extra electrons. If one of the lithium atoms tries to get clever and leave the game when it has a happy number of electrons, its positive charge will make its neighbors hold on to their electrons more, and their negative charge will pull the positively charged cheater back in. But if something else gets close, the lithium will try to react with it to break this unhappy game.
Another good example of all of this is table salt! Sodium has one more than a happy number of electrons and chlorine has one too few. On their own, they’re both really dangerous because they really want to react with something to get to a happy number, but if that “something” is *you* they’ll be wreaking havoc on your molecules. But, if you combine them with each other, the sodium tosses its spare electron to the chlorine so they can both have a happy number. Then, those positive sodium atoms and negative chlorine atoms nestle up nice and close in an alternating 3-D grid since they’re attracting each other, but not themselves. This makes a solid with a regular pattern (AKA, a crystal) where each of the atoms is happy, so it’s safe for humans to touch. But that 3-D grid isn’t like, TIED together, so lots of things – for example water – can pull the sodiums and chlorines apart without changing their number of electrons. This is why salt dissolves in water.
(Note: for this explanation I’m going to personify atoms and molecules, which is obviously inaccurate, but makes for an easier to understand explanation)
For non-ELI5 reasons, there are certain numbers of electrons that atoms like to have: 0, 2, 10, 18, 36, 54, 86, 118…. Also, opposite charges attract and same charges repel. These two facts are very powerful for understanding some of the “why”s of chemistry.
Helium with its 2 protons and 2 electrons has both a happy number of electrons, and is electrically neutral, so it really feels no need to chemically interact with anything. In fact, it would rather not interact with anything. All it wants to do is be free and bounce around. This libertarian attitude makes it a gas.
Lithium has 3 protons and 3 electrons. It’s really close to having a nice happy 2 electrons, so it really wants to get rid of its third electron. If one, lone lithium atom tried to throw its electron off, it would just come back because the atom would become positively charged so it would attract the electron back to it. But in a whole hunk of lithium it can instead toss the electron to one of its neighbors. But that lithium doesn’t want the electron either so you get this game of hot-potato on a massive scale with all these extra electrons. If one of the lithium atoms tries to get clever and leave the game when it has a happy number of electrons, its positive charge will make its neighbors hold on to their electrons more, and their negative charge will pull the positively charged cheater back in. But if something else gets close, the lithium will try to react with it to break this unhappy game.
Another good example of all of this is table salt! Sodium has one more than a happy number of electrons and chlorine has one too few. On their own, they’re both really dangerous because they really want to react with something to get to a happy number, but if that “something” is *you* they’ll be wreaking havoc on your molecules. But, if you combine them with each other, the sodium tosses its spare electron to the chlorine so they can both have a happy number. Then, those positive sodium atoms and negative chlorine atoms nestle up nice and close in an alternating 3-D grid since they’re attracting each other, but not themselves. This makes a solid with a regular pattern (AKA, a crystal) where each of the atoms is happy, so it’s safe for humans to touch. But that 3-D grid isn’t like, TIED together, so lots of things – for example water – can pull the sodiums and chlorines apart without changing their number of electrons. This is why salt dissolves in water.
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