for Electronics:

Atoms and Matter 
 

Welcome to the first edition of ACES Int'l Secrets & Tips for Electronics.  Be sure to bookmark this page!  ACES Int'l wishes to present what we believe to be the most in-depth and enlightening articles we can publish involving the field of Electronics.  

The articles presented in this section do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of ACES

International Incorporated, nor is ACES Int'l Inc. responsible for any claims resulting from the use

or dissemination of these articles.

 The ancient Greeks were the first people to hypothesize about the nature of matter.  The debate centered on what would happen if, say a piece of iron, were divided continually until there was left only one infinitely small piece... which they called an "atom".  The Greeks reasoned that this infinitely small piece (or atom) would also have to be made of iron.  The debate on the nature of matter continued through the centuries until modern man not only solved these questions concerning matter, but was able to split the atom through nuclear fission and change the world we live in forever.  Oh, by the way, it is through our increased understanding of matter and atoms that electronics and electricity also evolved and allowed us to do all of the amazing things that make up our modern civilization.  Let's take a look (a real CLOSE look) into the nature of matter and atoms.     

ATOMS

All molecules are made up of smaller particles called ATOMS. An atom is the smallest particle of an element that retains the characteristics of that element. The atoms of one element, however, differ from the atoms of all other elements. Since there are over 100 known elements, there must be over 100 different atoms, or a different atom for each element. Just as thousands of words can be made by combining the proper letters of the alphabet, so thousands of different materials can be made by chemically combining the proper atoms.

Any particle that is a chemical combination of two or more atoms is called a molecule. The oxygen molecule consists of two atoms of oxygen, and the hydrogen molecule consists of two atoms of hydrogen. Sugar, on the other hand, is a compound composed of atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. These atoms are combined into sugar molecules. Since the sugar molecules can be broken down by chemical means into smaller and simpler units, we cannot have sugar atoms.

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