In: Chemistry
What is atom, what is molecule and what is bond, what is orbit and what is orbital?
An 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 very
small.
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.
A molecule is an electrically neutral
group of two or more atoms held together by chemical
bonds.Molecules are distinguished from ions by their lack of
electrical charge. A molecule may be homonuclear, that is, it
consists of atoms of one chemical element, as with oxygen (O2); or
it may be heteronuclear, a chemical compound composed of more than
one element, as with water (H2O). Atoms and complexes connected by
non-covalent interactions, such as hydrogen bonds or ionic bonds,
are generally not considered single molecules.
A chemical bond is a lasting attraction between atoms that enables the formation of chemical compounds. The bond may result from the electrostatic force of attraction between atoms with opposite charges, or through the sharing of electrons as in the covalent bonds. The strength of chemical bonds varies considerably; there are "strong bonds" or "primary bond" such as metallic, covalent or ionic bonds and "weak bonds" or "secondary bond" such as Dipole-dipole interaction, the London dispersion force and hydrogen bonding.
An orbit is a planar or two-dimensional circular pathway. The maximum number of electrons in a particular orbit is 2n2 . An orbit follows Newton’s laws of motion. In atomic theory, an orbit is created because of the pull of the negatively charged electron to the positively charged nucleus while having the same angular velocity. But as Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle proves it as uncertain, we cannot easily determine the exact orbit of an electron.
An atomic orbital is a mathematical function that describes the wave-like behavior of either one electron or a pair of electrons in an atom.This function can be used to calculate the probability of finding any electron of an atom in any specific region around the atom's nucleus. The term, atomic orbital, may also refer to the physical region or space where the electron can be calculated to be present, as defined by the particular mathematical form of the orbital.
Each orbital in an atom is characterized by a unique set of values of the three quantum numbers n, ℓ, and m, which respectively correspond to the electron's energy, angular momentum, and an angular momentum vector component (the magnetic quantum number). Each such orbital can be occupied by a maximum of two electrons, each with its own spin quantum number s. The simple names s orbital, p orbital, d orbital and f orbital .