Atom – Cosma

Cosma / Communication / Knowledge / Realm / Physical / Matter / Atom

A way to remember their size is this: if an apple is magnified to the size of the earth, then the atoms in the apple are approximately the size of the original apple. — Richard Feynman, The Feynman Lectures on Physics

—————————

Introduction¹

MooMooMath and Science (YouTube Channel)
MooMooMath and Science (Official Website)

Dictionary

atom : the smallest particle of an element that can exist either alone or in combination — Merriam-Webster See also OneLook

Thesaurus

Roget’s II (Thesaurus.com), Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, Visuwords

Encyclopedia

Atom is the smallest constituent unit of ordinary matter that has the properties of a chemical element. Every solid, liquid, gas, and plasma is composed of neutral or ionized atoms. Atoms are extremely small; typical sizes are around 100 picometers (a ten-billionth of a meter, in the short scale).

Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and typically a similar number of neutrons. Protons and neutrons are called nucleons. More than 99.94% of an atom’s mass is in the nucleus. The protons have a positive electric charge, the electrons have a negative electric charge, and the neutrons have no electric charge. If the number of protons and electrons are equal, that atom is electrically neutral. If an atom has more or fewer electrons than protons, then it has an overall negative or positive charge, respectively, and it is called an ion. — Wikipedia

Atoms (Eric Weisstein’s World of Physics, Wolfram Research)
Atom (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Search

Atom (WolframAlpha)
Step by Step Chemistry (Wolfram Alpha)

———————–

Inspiration

Virtual Field Trips (Navigating Nuclear: Energizing Our World)

Talks about Atoms (TED: Ideas Worth Spreading)
Articles about Atoms (Big Think)

———————-

Innovation

Science

Atomic Physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. It is primarily concerned with the arrangement of electrons around the nucleus and the processes by which these arrangements change.

The term atomic physics can be associated with nuclear power and nuclear weapons, due to the synonymous use of atomic and nuclear in standard English. Physicists distinguish between atomic physics — which deals with the atom as a system consisting of a nucleus and electrons — and nuclear physics, which considers atomic nuclei alone. — Wikipedia

Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions. Other forms of nuclear matter are also studied. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the atom as a whole, including its electrons. — Wikipedia

Scientists Perform World’s Smallest MRI on Single Atoms (Brooks Hays, UPI)
World’s Smallest MRI Performed on Single Atoms (Institute for Basic Science, Phys.org)

Nuclear Physics (Wolfram Alpha)

Technology

Nuclear engineering is concerned with the application of breaking down atomic nuclei (fission) or of combining atomic nuclei (fusion), or with the application of other sub-atomic processes based on the principles of nuclear physics. In the sub-field of nuclear fission, it includes the design, interaction, and maintenance of systems and components like reactors and power plants. The field also includes the study of medical and other applications of radiation, particularly Ionizing radiation, nuclear safety,nuclear fuel, or other related technology (e.g., radioactive waste disposal). — Wikipedia

Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear power plants. Nuclear decay processes are used in niche applications such as radioisotope thermoelectric generators in some space probes such as Voyager 2. Generating electricity from fusion power remains the focus of international research. — Wikipedia

Nuclear Power (Wolfram Alpha)

Commerce

Entrepreneurship

Atom Campaigns (Kickstarter)

————————–

Preservation

—————————

Participation

Education

Physics (Free Animated Education, YouTube Playlist)
Free Animated Education (Facebook)

What are Atoms? (Science Kids)

Nuclear Science (Contemporary Physics Project)

Atoms Cafe (PlayMada Games)

Atoms Around Us (Chem4Kids)
Nuclear Physics (Physics4Kids)

Atomic Structure (ChemMatters, American Chemical Society)
Nuclear Chemistry (ChemMatters, American Chemical Society)

Nuclear Science 101 (American Nuclear Society)
About Nuclear (American Nuclear Society)

Nuclear Engineering (American Society for Engineering Education)

MERLOT: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching
OER Commons: Open Educational Resources

Course

Nuclear Physics (Crash Course Physics)

General Chemistry I: Atoms, Molecules, and Bonding (MITx)

Chemistry Department Courses (MIT OpenCourseWare)
Chemistry Courses (edX)

Nuclear Science and Engineering Department (MIT OpenCourseWare)
Nuclear Sciences & Engineering (Course 22, MITx)

Nuclear Physics Courses (MIT OpenCourseWare)
Nuclear Engineering Courses (MIT OpenCourseWare)
Nuclear Materials Courses (MIT OpenCourseWare)

Nuclear Physics Courses (edX)

Community

Occupation

CareerOneStop, YouTube Channel (U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration)
CareerOneStop, Official Website (U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration)

Nuclear Engineers (CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor)
Nuclear Engineers (US Occupational Outlook Handbook)

Explore Careers (Navigating Nuclear: Energizing Our World)
Nuclear Chemistry Careers (American Chemical Society)

Organization

American Nuclear Society

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

News

Atomic Physics (JSTOR)
Atomic Physics (arXiv.org e-Print Archive)

Nuclear News (American Nuclear Society)
Publications (American Nuclear Society)

Nuclear chemistry (Nature)
Nuclear Energy (Phys.org)
Atomic & Nuclear (Scientific American)
Nuclear Energy (NPR Archives)

Government

International Atomic Energy Agency

Office of Nuclear Energy (US Energy Department)
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission

———————-

Expression

Fun

SnuggliePuppy (YouTube Channel)
Paige the Border Collie (Facebook Page)

Humor

Fusion (Tim Hunkin, The Rudiments of Wisdom Encyclopedia)
Radiation (Tim Hunkin, The Rudiments of Wisdom Encyclopedia)
Plutonium (Tim Hunkin, The Rudiments of Wisdom Encyclopedia)

Hobby

The Man Who Hunts Hidden Radioactive Objects (Chris Baraniuk, BBC Future)

Poem

Each atom absorbs unique light,
Leaving lines that are black as the night.
This absorption occurs
At the bits it prefers,
So the rest of the spectrum stays bright. — DenmarK, absorption spectrum

OEDILF: The Omnificent English Dictionary In Limerick Form

Recent News from Phys.org …

ALMA reveals giant molecular clouds across Needle...
on April 28, 2026 at 12:20 pm
An international team of astronomers has employed the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to perform high-resolution observations of the Needle galaxy. Results of the new observational campaign, presented April 15 on the arXiv preprint server, provide more insights into the properties of molecular gas in this galaxy.
Room-temperature vibrations could transform how...
on April 27, 2026 at 11:20 pm
Researchers have demonstrated a new technique for creating 2D materials that runs at room temperature and increases production rates tenfold over current methods, without using toxic solvents. Scientists led by Dr. Jason Stafford from the Department of Mechanical Engineering demonstrated the method can produce nanosheets of conductors, semiconductors and insulators, which are the building blocks of all digital devices and technologies produced today. The research is published in the journal […]
This ultracold quantum device turns electricity...
on April 27, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Researchers at McGill University have developed a novel device that generates sound-like particles known as phonons at extremely cold temperatures. The technology could be used to create phonon lasers, with possible applications in communications and medical diagnostics.
At just four nanometers thick, this metal starts...
on April 27, 2026 at 8:40 pm
Researchers in the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have discovered a powerful new way to control the electronic behavior of a metal—by manipulating the atomic properties of materials where they meet. The study, published in Nature Communications, demonstrates that interfacial polarization can tune the surface work function of metallic ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) by more than 1 electron volt (eV)—a tiny amount of energy—simply by adjusting film thickness at the nanometer scale.
Small differences in cell structures called...
on April 27, 2026 at 7:40 pm
A research team from the School of Biomedical Sciences at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has uncovered the mechanism underlying how cancer patients respond to a widely used cancer drug, known as paclitaxel, offering insights that may help overcome cancer drug resistance. The study found that small differences in microtubules, the structures inside cells that help the cells divide and move, can determine the efficacy of paclitaxel. This finding was published […]

——–
Related

Here are links to pages about closely related subjects.

Knowledge Realm

Physical

“Fundamentals”
Law (Constant) Relativity
Force Gravity, Electromagnetism (Light, Color)
Matter (Microscope) Molecule, Atom (Periodic Table), Particle

“Space”
Universe (Astronomical Instrument)
Galaxy Milky Way, Andromeda
Planetary System Star, Brown Dwarf, Planet, Moon

Our Neighborhood
Solar System Sun
Terrestrial Planet Mercury, Venus, Earth (Moon), Mars
Asteroid Belt Ceres, Vesta
Jovian Planet Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Trans-Neptunian Object
Kuiper Belt Pluto, Haumea, Makemake
Scattered Disc Eris, Sedna, Planet X
Oort Cloud Etc. Scholz’s Star
Small Body Comet, Centaur, Asteroid

——
Notes

1. The resources on this page are are organized by a classification scheme developed exclusively for Cosma.