![]() Thus the remaining aluminum ion is said to have a net positive charge of 3, represented as +3 or 3+. When it becomes an ion, it loses 3 electrons, leaving behind only 10. Initially, the aluminum atom had a charge of +13 + ( −13) = 0 in other words, its charge was neutral due to the equal numbers of protons and electrons. ![]() Yet like all metals, aluminum is capable of forming an ion by losing electrons -in this case, three. ![]() Given the fact that every proton has a positive charge, and that most atoms tend to be neutral in charge, this means that there are usually 13 electrons, with a negative charge, present in an atom of aluminum. In certain situations, however, the atom may lose or gain one or more electrons and acquire a net charge, becoming an ion.Īluminum, for instance, has an atomic number of 13, which tells us that an aluminum atom will have 13 protons. HOW IT WORKS Ions: Positive and NegativeĪtoms have no electric charge, because they maintain an equal number of protons (positively charged subatomic particles) and electrons, subatomic particles with a negative charge. Another example of ions at work (and a particularly frightening example at that) is ionizing radiation, associated with the radioactive decay following a nuclear explosion. Ion exchange, or the replacement of one ion by another, is used in applications such as water purification, while chemists and physicists use ions in mass spectrometry, to discover mass and structural information concerning atoms and molecules. There are several varieties of ionization, including field ionization, which almost everyone has experienced in the form of static electricity. Ionization is the process whereby electrons are removed from an atom or molecule, as well as the process whereby an ionic substance, such as salt, is dissociated into its component ions in a solution such as water. These substances, of which table salt is an example, are called ionic compounds. Ions are involved in a form of chemical bonding that produces extremely strong bonds between metals, or between a metal and a nonmetal. Atoms have no electric charge if they acquire one, they are called ions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |