The Nucleus of a Structured Atom
You might think you know what an atom is. As part of your education you were probably told that an atom has protons and neutrons in the middle and electrons scoot around this nucleus in specific orbits. And most likely, as with many other things you learned by rote, you just presumed that the some smart men in the early 20th century had nailed down those little building blocks of reality, and everything was known, hunky dory and tied up in a bow.
If so, the theory that you learned by rote may soon need to be rotated out and replaced. The new kid on the block is the Structured Atom Model. Here are its primary assertions:
• There are only two fundamental particles – the electron and protons. Neutrons don’t exist they are an invention, not a phenomenon.
• The proton and the electron are all and, of course they do not annihilate each other.
• There is only one fundamental force: the attractive electrostatic force that acts between the proton and the electron. The so-called Strong Nuclear Force is a figment of someone’s imagination as is the Weak Nuclear force.
• The nucleus is formed through geometric arrangements of electrons and protons, with the electrons acting as glue. Following the “spherical densest packing” principle with specific groupings in the nucleus defined as nuclets.
• The definitive organization of the nucleus is responsible for all the attributes of a particular element.
• A stable element has a stable nucleus, i.e. no movement, without cause, in the structure of the nucleus. Radioactive decay occurs with nuclei that are unstable. They always split in the same way (into the same two elements) indicating that the split is a split in the nucleus structure.
• A sphere (proton) is always part of one of the 3 identified geometrical structures: tetrahedron (4 protons), the pentagonal bi-pyramid (7 protons), or the icosahedron (12).
• The inner structure of the atom (nucleus) dictates the outer electron structure (orbitals).
It could be said that current atomic theory posits that the electrons orbiting the nucleus determine the nature of an element. The SAM theory disagrees and asserts that the shape of the nucleus determines the orbitals of electrons and the properties of the elements.
SAM has credible theories/answers to the following troublesome questions:
• Why are the noble gases inert?
• Why does chemical valence follow a pattern of — 0, 1, 2, 3, 4/-4, -3, -2, -1, 0
• Why do metals conduct electricity?
• Why are there no atoms with 5 or 8 nucleons? (A nucleon is a fundamental particle of the nucleus – either a proton or a neutron in current atomic theory.)
• How do atoms grow and divide in nuclear fusion and fission processes?
• Why are some elements rare?
• Why are the larger atoms unstable?
• Why is H20 (water) a bi-polar molecule?
• Does elemental transmutation occur here on Earth in geological and biological processes?
That’s not the whole enchilada, but it will do as an introduction to what will eventually replace the current mess of ideas that is atomic theory. If you want to know more, buy the book: The Nature of The Atom by Kaal, Otte, Sorensen and Emming.