Atoms

Atoms are tiny spheres that all materials are made of. There are over 100 different kinds of atoms, as seen in the table below (called the "Periodic Table", which groups similar atoms together in the same column). Atoms are made of even tinier pieces: protons (p+) in the center, usually joined by neutrons (n0), and circling around the outside are electrons (e-); more details of the table.

Some basic patterns in this table:

  • the simplest atom H (1 p+ and 1 e-) is listed at the top left
  • atoms get "bigger" (more +'s in their center) from left to right, and top to bottom
  • atoms in the same column have similar chemical properties (e.g. same number of bonds)
  • atoms more to the right hold e-s more tightly, except the rightmost
  • atoms listed in the rightmost column usually don't combine at all to form molecules
A very large part of estuary science focusses on just a few atoms from this collection, namely
  • H, hydrogen, the smallest, lightest, simplest atom
  • C, carbon, top of column IV A
  • N, nitrogen and
  • O, oxygen, follow C in the list
  • Na (sodium), Cl (chlorine), and maybe Ca (calcium) - involved in salts in ocean water
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