ATOM AND ITS FORCES

Basic Electrical Theory ATOM AND ITS FORCES ATOM AND ITS FORCES What is electricity? Electricity is defined as "the flow of electrons through simple materials and devices" or "that force which moves electrons." Scientists think electricity is produced by very tiny particles called electrons and protons. These particles are too small to be seen, but exist as subatomic particles in the atom. To understand how they exist, you must first understand the structure of the atom. EO 1.1 DESCRIBE the following terms: a. Electrostatic force b. Electrostatic field c. Potential difference d. Electromotive force (EMF) e. Ion charge The Atom Elements are the basic building Figure 1 The Atom blocks of all matter. The atom is the smallest particle to which an element can be reduced while still keeping the properties of that element. An atom consists of a positively charged nucleus surrounded by negatively charged electrons, so that the atom as a whole is electrically neutral. The nucleus is composed of two kinds of subatomic particles, protons and neutrons, as shown in Figure 1. The proton carries a single unit positive charge equal in magnitude to the electron charge. The neutron is slighty heavier than the proton and is electrically neutral, as the name implies. These two particles exist in various combinations, depending upon the element involved. The electron is the fundamental negative charge (-) of electricity and revolves around the nucleus, or center, of the atom in concentric orbits, or shells. Rev. 0 Page 1 ES-01