Benefits Of Atoms That May Change Your Perspective

Atoms are everywhere, but they have a fascinating history with many benefits to humanity. How many li atoms are contained in 97.9 g of li? There are 100 moles of atoms in 97.9 g, and 18.018 Li atoms in 100 moles, for a total of 18 Li atoms in 97.9 g. This blog post will explore the benefits of Atoms and how they have impacted our history as a species from their discovery to the way they have changed our lives today. Come read about the amazing power of Atoms! I have always loved atoms.  

They are the building blocks of our world.  An atom is made up of a nucleus that contains protons and neutrons, and around it are electrons.  Because atoms are so tiny and contain so much energy, they do not stay in their ground state for very long, but instead oscillate around that ground state in a process called “photon emission”.   The electrons are moved to higher or lower energy orbits by applying an external electric field.  They can be sent down near the nucleus or sent up to higher orbitals.

Benefits Of Atoms That May Change Your Perspective :

1. Electricity :

Due to the electrical nature of Atoms, they can be used to produce electricity in a process called “thermionic emission” where they are heated up and electrons are emitted.  This produces an electric current that can be applied to do work.  You may have heard of this process before through the words “Hot air rises and cool air sinks”, which is a result of thermionic emission of gasses.

2. Solar Cells :

Due to the electrical nature of Atoms , they can also be used in solar panels.  Electrons are captured by the solar cell and then applied to do work.  These solar panels can then be used to power homes or businesses, and have become more popular over time.  Solar cells are now prevalent because they are a clean source of energy.

3. Redox Reactions :

Redox reactions are reactions in which electrons are lost or gained by a molecule, atom or ion.  This process is extremely important in chemistry because it allows for the transfer of energy with new bonds forming as a result.   This has been important in many chemical reactions that take place on Earth such as the oxidation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, which is a major part of photosynthesis in plants.  

4. Catalysts :

Catalysts  are molecules that accelerate reactions without being consumed in the process.   Examples of this include how enzymes are used for chemical reactions to speed them up, and the role of metals like iron and copper in redox reactions.   It is because of how important catalysts are in our lives that over 90% of all pharmaceutical drugs use them to improve their effectiveness.   One example is that aspirin is a hugely popular pain killer because it acts as an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis in the cyclooxygenase pathway, which makes us feel less pain when we take it.

5. Allotropes :

An allotrope is a variant of the same element that has a different atomic mass but is composed of the same type of atoms bonded in the same way.  For example, an atom of carbon can exist as a diamond or graphite. The only difference between these two allotropes is their atomic mass.   This can also be applied to other elements like gold or mercury as well, and is possible because of variations in mass caused by protons and neutrons in the nucleus.   This makes these elements at least appear to have different structures, but are still made up of the same material.

6. Fission and Fusion :

Fission is the splitting of atoms into smaller particles, like what happens when an atom of uranium forms into an atom of barium and krypton.  This happens because when the uranium nucleus absorbs a neutron, it doesn’t split in half, but instead splits into two different atoms that have a lower mass than the original.  This discrepancy in mass comes from energy released by the reaction because energy is mass, and can be calculated as “E=mc^2”.  Nuclear reactors use this property to generate power for homes and businesses as a result of fission reactions. 

Fusion is the opposite of fission because it is the process where two atoms are combined together.  Examples of this include the sun and hydrogen bombs, which fuse together atoms to release a large amount of energy.  People also use hydrogen for fusion, where an atom of deuterium and tritium are fused together to produce a helium nucleus, which releases energy in the process.   This has led to many advancements in sciences like biology and medicine, as well as power generation.  If humanity can find a way to efficiently create fusion, then we may have unlimited power potential at our fingertips.