Atoms: The Building Blocks of Nature and Energy
Everything you see-and the air you don't see-is made of atoms. As you know, the atoms for each type of material are different, depending upon the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons. The unique types of atoms are called “elements,” such as oxygen (8 protons, 8 neutrons, and 8 electrons), iron (26 protons, 30 neutrons, and 26 electrons), and mercury (80 protons, 121 neutrons, and 80 electrons).
Each atom acts like a small magnet. The protons are the positive charge; the electrons are the negative charge; and the neutrons have no charge, but they balance the positive and negative charges of the protons and electrons so that the atom holds together. “Nuclear energy” is the balance of the protons, electrons, and neutrons.
Atoms of the same element, with the same number of protons and electrons but with different numbers of neutrons, are “isotopes.” Most naturally occurring elements have more than one stable isotope. For example, carbon has three main isotopes. All carbon atoms have six protons in the nucleus, but they also can have six, seven, or eight neutrons.
Isotopes are important because some elements, such as uranium, have isotopes that are not well balanced (“unstable”). Scientists can use those isotopes to break up other atoms to release the energy.
