Today I share with you a very interesting topic about the subject. The atoms all that is matter in the three kingdoms of the universe: animal, vegetable and mineral, is formed by the set of a very large number of very small particles called atoms.
At the time of its discovery the atom was given this name, because of its indivisible meaning, it was considered the smallest particle in which matter can be subdivided. Later, with the development of science, it has been shown that the atom can still be decomposed into other elementary parts, and the studies that aim at this further split have given rise to modern nuclear science. In nature there are more or less a hundred elements whose atoms have a diverse configuration and on which depend the characteristics, properties and behavior of the elements themselves.
The atoms of the elements, if they come together, give rise to a molecule, for example: a water molecule is formed by an oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms. A salt molecule is a chlorine atom (Cl) combined with another sodium atom (Na)
Source: self made
In order to understand how a molecule is formed, it is necessary to deepen the knowledge of the atom, constituted by a central core with positive charge, around which electric particles called electrons, negatively charged, move. When an atom yields to one or more of its electrons (sodium chloride case), or shares them with it, a molecule is formed.
In addition to the electron there are other sub-particles such as the proton and neutron as well as other corpuscles in the atom such as the photon, without mass or electrical charge, positron similar to the electron, but with a positive charge, and other more complex classes
The theories that try to explain this tiny configuration of the mass, arose for more than a century, with the experiments of Thomson, and several geniuses like Albert Einstein, Rutherford, Neils Borh, Schrödinger made progress tremendous in shaping this intriguing area of physics. The different studies have established that the secrets of this particle, contain the key to finally understand the matter in their most intimate entrails, but on the way they have found a really fascinating event, which challenged the logic of the known until that moment.
Wave-particle behavior
There were many experiments that shed evidence about the wave behavior of matter, light was considered as a wave, given the effects of refraction, reflection and diffraction, which it manifested, but then with the discovery of Planck that light is not emitted as a continuous radiation, but in equal amounts, other assumptions began to be made. Einstein used the contributions of Planck, to explain the photoelectric effect, but even in that theory the clear wave-particle situation arose, given that if we take light as a jet of photons lacking mass, by What mechanism could interact with the electron?.
Later Arthur Compton discovered that the x-ray quanta possess both momentum and energy, so these phenomena indicated that light has properties of a different nature.
Louis Broglie in 1924 proposes that just as light possesses corpuscular behavior, other particles such as electrons could also have this capacity. Fact was quickly confirmed by Davisson and Hunsman.
According to (1) every particle has a wave associated with it, but this becomes imperceptible as the mass of the object increases, as for example a car that has a mass of 1500 kg and travels at a speed of 20 m / sg, corresponds to
Begining of uncertainty
One of the consequences of the wave-corpuscular nature of matter, was manifested by the German Werner Heisenberg 1927, which is known as Heisenberg's principle of uncertainty. It establishes a limitation in the measurement, to determine with accuracy the value of the position and the moment simultaneously. Such difficulty is expressed in one of its forms as follows:
The previous expression expresses a clear restriction in the precision with which it is possible to measure both magnitudes, in addition to indicating, that while with more certainty the position is known, less we will know its moment or vice versa, interesting ..!
So unlike the world governed by the laws of Newton, where everything seems to be calculated accurately, in the realm of the sub-particles there is no such determination, so we talk about probabilities at the time of answering famous question Where is the electron?
That is why we talk about probabilities when determining a certain state of the electron
Superposition and the tunnel effect
They have not heard the popular paradox of Schrödinger's cat
That in which a mental experiment on the part of the scientist, has a cat locked in a box with a poisonous substance which has the same probability that this is activated or not, killing the cat or failing to leave it alive.
For in this imaginary event they applied one of the properties of the electron called superposition in which the electron can be in two places at the same time (purchased fact), this is because in quantum mechanics they refer to the "particles"as a wave function that can be in different states until an observer interferes with its nature and defines its state.
So when applying this property, however improbable it may seem, the cat is alive and dead at the same time inside the box, occupying its possible states, until someone opens the box and determines its situation. In this case, the electron is lucky, it can be whatever it wants, wherever it wants to be, although a little selfish, because it is enough to try to see it so that it transforms.
Which means that the simple fact of observing the phenomenon alters its conditions
With regard to the tunnel effect it is equally daring, in my opinion it deals with the ability of electrons to cross or overcome a potential barrier, and appear in another state to which they did not have the energy required to reach them,
it's like a person who does not have the energy to jump 10 m, come and jump 25 m (it's an example).
this happens with the electron, for certain cases (not all the time, nor is it an abuser who walks around violating laws) applies this effect, in this way the quantum kingdom manifests another of its mysteries.
They know that the discovery of these manifestations, arise from the deep and complex study of quantum mechanics, the results that throw the mathematics are fundamental, to make an initial assumption that is then proven with the experiments, which also become more efficient as that technology advances, corroborating what geniuses develop through numbers.
As you see the study of the atom, which is like our solar system, only with the planets dancing between being waves and corpuscles, in stable, excited states and others that perhaps we do not know, is the first piece that constitutes our formidable universe, but what is even more interesting is that if we do not yet fully know the matter, mass, we also do not know for sure what energy is, because if we are guided by the well-known Einstein equation is
References:
ACOSTA, VIRGILIO; COWAN, CLYDE. Curso de Física Moderna. Editorial Harla, S.A., México, 1.975. Págs. 100-110. 512.
ALONSO, MARCELO; FINN, EDWARD J. Física, Volumen II: Campos y Ondas. Fondo Educativo Interamericano, S.A., México, 1.976.
EISBERT, ROBERT. Física Cuántica. Editorial Limusa, S.A., México, 1.983.
https://www.hablandodeciencia.com/articulos/2012/06/07/7052/
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