Hi!
When I took chemistry back in High School, I was taught that atoms have a nucleus made up of protons and neutrons, with protons having a positive charge, and neutrons having no charge, except for in the simple hydrogen atom, which has no neutrons. The protons had a mass equal to the electrons mass in the atoms valence shells, just opposite charge.
Now it seems this might not be so true. From what I've been reading, the "valence shells" are actually a cloud. Different levels are just like clouds here on earth, either further or closer to the nucleus. If this is true, am I correct in thinking that electrons are more like a wave moving through the clouds?
If you had a hypothetical net and you put in the first valence shell, the one closest to the nucleus of the atom, the innermost one, and let's say it covered 50% of that cloud, that wouldn't mean you'd get have the electrons, would it? You'd have a 50% chance of getting some electrons, you might get none, etc? Is that right?
Having a hard time learning about it because there's soooo much conflicting information out there on the net. Some show the old picture I learned in high school, some say an electron is only hypothetical and doesn't actually exist, Wikipedia (listing sources) says, All the particles of the Standard Model have been experimentally observed, recently including the Higgs boson.
Seeing how the electron belongs to the leptons group, which is part of the standard model, it would seem the electron is now no-longer hypothetical, but absolutely exists, along with all the other particles on the Standard Model....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...tary_particles
Could someone with more recent knowledge who studies in the field, or keeps up with the latest news help me out here?
Is my hypothesis right about the electron cloud and the electrons being more like waves moving through that cloud, rather than particles orbiting the nucleus correct?
Thanks!
When I took chemistry back in High School, I was taught that atoms have a nucleus made up of protons and neutrons, with protons having a positive charge, and neutrons having no charge, except for in the simple hydrogen atom, which has no neutrons. The protons had a mass equal to the electrons mass in the atoms valence shells, just opposite charge.
Now it seems this might not be so true. From what I've been reading, the "valence shells" are actually a cloud. Different levels are just like clouds here on earth, either further or closer to the nucleus. If this is true, am I correct in thinking that electrons are more like a wave moving through the clouds?
If you had a hypothetical net and you put in the first valence shell, the one closest to the nucleus of the atom, the innermost one, and let's say it covered 50% of that cloud, that wouldn't mean you'd get have the electrons, would it? You'd have a 50% chance of getting some electrons, you might get none, etc? Is that right?
Having a hard time learning about it because there's soooo much conflicting information out there on the net. Some show the old picture I learned in high school, some say an electron is only hypothetical and doesn't actually exist, Wikipedia (listing sources) says, All the particles of the Standard Model have been experimentally observed, recently including the Higgs boson.
Seeing how the electron belongs to the leptons group, which is part of the standard model, it would seem the electron is now no-longer hypothetical, but absolutely exists, along with all the other particles on the Standard Model....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...tary_particles
Could someone with more recent knowledge who studies in the field, or keeps up with the latest news help me out here?
Is my hypothesis right about the electron cloud and the electrons being more like waves moving through that cloud, rather than particles orbiting the nucleus correct?
Thanks!
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