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What particle of an atom is involved in holding atoms together to form compounds?
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
The strong nuclear force (or "strong interaction") binds the subatomic particles in the nucleus together (protons and neutrons) while the electromagnetic force attracts negatively charged electrons to the positively charged nucleus.
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoWhat Holds an Atom TogetherWe've seen that an atom consists of a whole bunch of different kinds of particles. The next logical question (and we do want to be logical, don't we?) is: "What holds it all together?" What makes all this stuff an atom, rather than just a bunch of stuff flying past each other?
Well, there are basically two things that hold it together. Two forces, that is. The first of these has to do with electric charge, something I mentioned on the previous page. Electric charge comes in two varieties: positive and negative. The main carriers of positive charge are protons, while the main carriers of negative charge are electrons. (Within protons and neutrons, the quarks themselves carry charge, but this is only important to us in that the net charge of a proton or neutron is equal to the sum of the charges of all its quarks: zero for a neutron, and a small positive amount for a proton.) Every proton carries exactly the same amount of positive charge, and every electron carries a negative charge exactly opposite that of a proton. There are other particles with electric charge, but they tend to live only a very short time before they decay, and so they're mostly unimportant for atoms.
The significance of electric charge is that it forms the basis for electric force. Any particle with electric charge will exert a force on any other particle with charge. (And vice versa, of course.) And there are two rules describing the electric force.
- Opposite charges attract; like charges repel.
- The force gets weaker as the two charges get farther apart.
That is, a proton and an electron will attract each other. The closer they are together, the stronger this attraction will be. Two protons (or two electrons) will repel each other. And again, the closer together they are, the stronger the repulsion. Now the nucleus of an atom is positively charged, while electrons are negatively charged. As a result, a nucleus will attract electrons. These electrons will swarm around the nucleus, and the result is an atom.
Now we haven't explained everything yet. The electric force explains how the electrons are bound to the nucleus of an atom. But we haven't said anything about what holds the nucleus together. The electric force can't account for this, and in fact, the electric force actually works against holding the nucleus together.
Remember, the nucleus contains neutrons and protons. The neutrons are electrically neutral, and so the electric force won't hold them in. Furthermore, the protons are all positively charged, and so they all repel each other. So if the electric force was the only force involved, you couldn't create a nucleus. You could try to push all those protons and neutrons together, but as soon as you let go, the protons would all shoot away from each other, and the neutrons would drift apart as well. There has to be some other force that holds protons and neutrons together.
Of course, since the electric force is constantly trying to drive the protons apart, the force that holds them all in must be stronger than the electric force. And keep in mind, the electric force gets stronger as charged particles get closer together, and the protons in a nucleus are very close together. As a result, the force that holds protons and neutrons together must be very strong. Well, in a brilliant stroke of imagination, physicists have named this force "the strong force."
The strong force is a force which attracts protons to protons, neutrons to neutrons, and protons and neutrons to each other. The force has a very short range, and this is the reason the nucleus of an atom turns out to be so small. In addition, the strong force is also responsible for binding the quarks and gluons into protons and neutrons.
So the nucleus of an atom is held together by the strong force, while the electrons are held in the atom by the electric force. If you're more interested in these forces, you might want to try Dave's Microcosmos.
http://webs.morningside.edu/slaven/Physics/atom/atom2.html
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoThe particle of an atom is involved in holding atoms together to form compounds is the proton.
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Why ionic compounds are not used to make perfumes?
Ionic compounds have very strong forces holding them together, so the molecules wouldn't easily "break off" and float in the air, which is what you're smelling when you smell perfume.
Why are the melting and boiling points of covalent compounds lower than those of ionic compounds?
Molecular covalent compounds (where there are discrete molecules) have van der waals forces holding the molecules together in the solid and liquid phases. These forces are weak due to the small electrostatic charges involved as these originate in permanent or instantaneous dipoles. Ionic compounds are giant lattices where the ions are held together by electrostatic forces deriving fromthe relatively large charges on ions. It therefore takes more energy to break ionic lattices. NOTE that giant covalent molecules like diamond, silicon carbide also have high melting points. In these much energy is required to break the covalent bonds that hold the giant molecule together.
what has higher melting points ionic or covalent compounds?
Ionic compounds have higher melting points because the bond olding the ionic crystal together is stronger than the intermolecular forces (van der Waals) holding covalent molecules together. Giant covalent molecules such as dialmond and silicon dioxide have very high melting points because the lattice is held together by stong covalent bonds
Why are covalent bonds more volatile than ionic bonds?
Covalent bonds are weaker. They simply share an electron making them sort of stick together. Ionic bonding works by energy transfer and then sticking together electromagnetically.
What force is holding atoms together in compounds?
It not really a force, atoms are made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. The outside bit of atoms is the electrons bit which is fuzzy and when the atoms touch each other the fuzzy bits sort of join together. The weak nuclear force holds atoms together in a compound and the strong nuclear force holds atomic particles together within the atom. They are called Electromagnetic forces.
How does particle change from phase to phase?
Temperature and/or pressure cause the bonds holding particles together to weaken.
Which particle is responsible for holding the nucleus together?
The strong force, which attracts neutrons and protons amongst themselves.
Why do ionic compounds generally have melting points?
Ionic compounds have strong bonds holding the crystal lattice together that are due to the attraction between the oppositely charged cations and anions. Covalent compounds which are made up of discrete molecules (not giant molecular compounds like silica) have only weak intermolecular forces holding the solid form together and therefore these solids are easier to "break up" with thermal energy. t.
Why ionic compounds are not used to make perfumes?
Ionic compounds have very strong forces holding them together, so the molecules wouldn't easily "break off" and float in the air, which is what you're smelling when you smell perfume.
When was Holding Together created?
Holding Together was created in 1976-03.
Which compounds has a low boiling point?
The lowest boiling are small covalent molecular compounds which do not have any hydrogen bonding and because they are small have weaker dispersion forces holding them together in the liquid state. Re,memebr its intermolecular forces that keep molecules together in the solid and liquid. (Not giant molecules such as diamond they are held together in the solid by covalent bonds.)
Is there anything holding the pyramids together?
yes there is something holding the pyramids together. the substance or thing that is holding the pyramids together is mud or cement.
Why are the melting and boiling points of covalent compounds lower than those of ionic compounds?
Molecular covalent compounds (where there are discrete molecules) have van der waals forces holding the molecules together in the solid and liquid phases. These forces are weak due to the small electrostatic charges involved as these originate in permanent or instantaneous dipoles. Ionic compounds are giant lattices where the ions are held together by electrostatic forces deriving fromthe relatively large charges on ions. It therefore takes more energy to break ionic lattices. NOTE that giant covalent molecules like diamond, silicon carbide also have high melting points. In these much energy is required to break the covalent bonds that hold the giant molecule together.
What is particle size of sand?
I think sand has small particle size. This would mean that it's good at holding water because the water can fill up the gaps but I didn't think sand was very good at holding water.
Why are covalent bonds more volatile than ionic bonds?
Covalent bonds are weaker. They simply share an electron making them sort of stick together. Ionic bonding works by energy transfer and then sticking together electromagnetically.
what has higher melting points ionic or covalent compounds?
Ionic compounds have higher melting points because the bond olding the ionic crystal together is stronger than the intermolecular forces (van der Waals) holding covalent molecules together. Giant covalent molecules such as dialmond and silicon dioxide have very high melting points because the lattice is held together by stong covalent bonds
Why do iconic compounds have high melting points and boiling points?
I think you mean IONIC compounds. They have very strong bonds (called ionic bonds) holding the individual ions together in a crystal lattice when solid, and are still very strong in liquids. These must be overcome to melt and them to boil the substance.
