The Space in the Atom
As mentioned previously, the
greater part of an atom consists of space. This
makes everyone think of the same question: why
is there such space? Let us think. In simple terms,
the atom consists of a nucleus, around which electrons
revolve. There is nothing else between the nucleus
and the electrons. This microscopic distance "in
which nothing exists" is in fact a very large
one on the atomic scale. We can exemplify this
scale as follows: if a small marble of one centimetre
in diameter represents the electron closest to
the nucleus, the nucleus would be one kilometre
away from this marble.1
We can cite the following example to make this
magnitude clearer in our mind:
There is a great space lying
between the basic particles. If I think of the
proton of an oxygen nucleus as the head of a pin
lying on the table in front of me, then the electron
revolving around it draws a circle passing through
Holland, Germany and Spain (The writer of these
lines lives in France). Therefore, if all atoms
forming my body came together so close as to touch
each other, you would not be able to see me any
more. You would actually never be able to see
me with the naked eye. I would be as small as
a tiny dust particle of the size of a several
thousandth of a millimetre.2
At this point, we realise that there is a similarity
between the largest and the smallest spaces known
in the universe. When we turn our eyes to the
stars, there again we see a void similar to that
in the atoms. There are voids of billions of kilometres
both between the stars and between the galaxies.
Yet, in both of these voids, an order that is
beyond the understanding of human mind prevails.
Inside
the Nucleus: Protons and Neutrons
Until 1932, it
was thought that the nucleus only consisted of
protons and electrons. It was discovered then
that there are not electrons but neutrons in the
nucleus besides the protons. (The renowned scientist
Chadwick proved in 1932 the existence of neutrons
in the nucleus and he was awarded a Noble Prize
for his discovery). Mankind was introduced to
the real structure of the atom only at such a
recent date.
We had mentioned
before how small is the nucleus of the atom. The
size of a proton that is able to fit in the atomic
nucleus is 10-15 metres.
You may think
that such a small particle would not have any
meaning in one's life. However, these particles
that are so small as to be incomprehensible by
the human mind form the basis of everything you
see around you.
Source
of the Diversity in the Universe
There are 109
elements that so far have been identified. The
entire universe, our earth, and all animate and
inanimate beings are formed by the arrangement
of these 109 elements in various combinations.
Thus far, we saw that all elements are made up
of atoms that are similar to each other, which,
in turn are made up of the same particles. So,
if all the atoms constituting the elements are
made up of the same particles, what then is it
that makes the elements different from each other
and causes the formation of infinitely diverse
matters?
It is the number
of protons in the nuclei of the atoms that principally
differentiates the elements from each other. There
is one proton in the hydrogen atom, the lightest
element, 2 protons in the helium atom, the second
lightest element, 79 protons in the gold atom,
8 protons in the oxygen atom and 26 protons in
the iron atom. What differentiates gold from iron
and iron from oxygen is simply the different numbers
of protons in their atoms. The air we breathe,
our bodies, the plants and animals, planets in
space, animate and inanimate, bitter and sweet,
solid and liquid, everything… all of these are
ultimately made up of protons, neutrons and electrons.
| Notes |
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1.
Taskin Tuna, Uzayin Ötesi (Beyond Space),
Bogaziçi Yayinlari, 1995, p. 53
2.Jean Guitton, Dieu et La Science:Vers
Le Métaréalisme, Paris:Grasset, 1991, p.
62
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