What are Subatomic Particles?
The name "atom" is derived from the Greek word "a-tomio," which means "uncuttable" or "non-divisible." For the longest period, scientists assumed that atoms were indestructible.
However, some scientists discovered in the early twentieth century that atoms may be broken down further into smaller components such as electrons, protons, and neutrons. Subatomic particles are what they're called.
Discovery
The rules of conservation of mass, constant composition, and various proportions were all satisfactorily explained by Dalton's atomic theory.
However, it was unable to account for certain other facts, such as the creation of electricity on rubbing glass or ebonite when silk or fur was used.
These findings paved the way for the discovery of subatomic particles in the twentieth century. Let's take a look at how the three subatomic particles were discovered.
Discovery of Electron
Electrons are subatomic particles. It spins around an atom's nucleus. When electrons are lost or gained from an atom, ions are created. Chemical bonding occurs when electrons from different atoms join together. A few points about the discovery of electrons and their properties are listed below:
J. Thompson is credited with discovering electrons since he was the first to precisely calculate an electron's mass and charge.
All elements have an equal number of electrons and protons in their atoms.
When compared to the mass of a proton, the mass of an electron is insignificant. Its mass is discovered to be 1/1837 times that of a proton.
An electron has a charge of -1.602 * 10-19 Coulombs.
Electrons are negatively charged subatomic particles.
Discovery of Proton
Positively charged particles, sometimes known as canal rays, were discovered as a result of the cathode ray tube experiment. The following are their characteristics:
They are dependent on the type of gas in the cathode ray tube, unlike cathode rays. The positively charged gaseous ions are these.
The charge-to-mass ratio of these particles varies depending on the gas they come from.
A multiple of the fundamental unit of electrical charge is carried by some positively charged particles.
In an electrical or magnetic environment, these particles behave in the opposite way as cathode rays.
In 1919, this was characterised and the lightest and smallest positively charged particle made from hydrogen came into existence known as Proton.
Discovery of Neutron
Later on, scientists found an electrically neutral atom component. Chadwick, a scientist, did an experiment in which he bombarded a thin sheet of beryllium with particles in 1932. He saw the emission of electrically neutral particles that were slightly heavier than protons. As a result, these particles were given the name neutrons.
FAQs on Subatomic Particles
1. Is Proton used in medicine?
Yes. It is supported by a therapy known as Proton Therapy. Proton treatment, commonly known as proton beam therapy, is a sort of radiation therapy for killing tumour cells. Instead of employing x-rays as in traditional radiation therapy, protons are used to send high-energy beams that can target tumours more precisely than X-ray radiation.
Doctors and physicists collaborate to focus the proton beam on the tumour’s specific size and shape while treating a patient. The laser kills tumour cells layer by layer, preserving healthy tissue in the process.
2. What is an Atom?
The atom is regarded as the fundamental building block of matter. Atoms make up everything that has mass—that is, everything that takes up space.
While its name originally referred to a particle that could no longer be divided. The smallest thing possible and as we know that each atom is made up of smaller particles.
Because these particles are the building blocks of atoms, they are often referred to as subatomic particles.
Protons
Neutrons
Electrons are the three subatomic particles.
3. What type of electrical charges are found in subatomic particles and what is their reaction towards each other?
Electrical charges exist in two subatomic particles: protons and electrons. Electrons have a negative charge. Protons have a positive charge.
Neutrons, on the other hand, are uncharged particles. The law of attraction states that particles with the same charge repel each other, whereas particles with opposite charges attract each other.
Protons and electrons are drawn to one other in the same way that opposite ends of a magnet are attracted to each other. Protons are repulsed from other protons, and electrons are repelled from other electrons, just as they are when trying to push the same ends of two magnets together.
4. What is the classification of elementary particles?
Subatomic particles are either "elementary," meaning they are made up of only one elementary particle, or "composite," meaning they are made up of numerous elementary particles bonded together.
The Standard Model's fundamental particles include:
The six "flavours" of quarks are
Up
Down
Weird
Charm
Bottom
Top
There are six forms of leptons:
Electron
electron neutrino
Muon
muon neutrino
Tau
Tau neutrino
The photons of electromagnetism, the three W and Z bosons of the weak force, and the eight gluons of the strong force are the twelve-gauge bosons (force carriers).
The Higgs boson
5. Does the change in numbers of subatomic particles affect the atom?
Yes.
When the number of protons in an element is changed, the element is entirely transformed.There are a fixed amount of protons in each element. For example, if sodium were to gain a proton, it would become magnesium.
Isotopes are created when the number of neutrons in an atom changes.
Ions are formed when the number of electrons in a molecule changes. An anion is formed when electrons are lost. A gain of electrons will result in the formation of a cation.
6. Name the three subatomic particles of an atom. Give the difference between three subatomic particles.
If you have to name three subatomic particles of an atom, they are protons, electrons, and neutrons. Protons are the positively charged particles, electrons are the negatively charged particles, and neutrons are electrically neutral, which means that they do not possess any charge. All three subatomic particles have different subatomic particles mass.
7. What are the charges of the subatomic particles?
The charges of all three subatomic particles are different. Since the proton is a positively charged particle, it has a positive charge. Electrons are electrically negative and therefore, have a negative charge. Neutrons, as their name suggests, is electrically neutral and hence has a neutral charge.