Understanding Atoms?

Question

this is prob a dumb question but its my understanding that everything in the universe is made up from a bunch of atoms
my question is does an atom have a life span or do they exist forever if they do have a life span how are new atoms formed?

ok since zahbudar said something about it the reason i put this question in
astronomy & space is because ive had a theory bouncing around in my lay brain
altthough no one could ever answer it im still going to ask your opinions?
do you think it could at all be possible that our universe is an atom that forms a much larger universe? the reason i came up with this is to try and explain how are universe could have an end or edge it just doesnt seem right that something could exist in the middle of nowhere in this way a universe would only exist inside of it self in a way and i think its a good way to explain and somewhat understand infinity.
I know it sounds crazy but at one point the world was flat and you could fall of the edge so is it really that crazy!!!

Answer 1

Atoms don't exactly have a "life span" but they do change. Some atoms (especially the large ones) "decay" which is when they shoot off protons electrons and neutrons, and become lighter elements. New elements are formed in stars, where the intense heat and pressure fuses elemets together into larger elements.

Answer 2

Life Span:


Atoms are forever! But let me explain. Atoms are made of a central core containing a collection of protons and neutrons. Almost all of the mass (the proper word for "weight") of the atom is contained in the nucleus. Surrounding the nucleus is a cloud of electrons whose number equals that of the number of protons. (This is necessary to keep the electrical charge of the atom zero.) The number of protons determines the identity of the atom. So, hydrogen has 1 proton, oxygen has 8 protons, iron has 26 protons, and so on. The number of neutrons is usually fixed for a particular atom (for example, the most common form of carbon has 6 neutrons), but this does not have to be so. Sometimes, when an atom doesn't have the 'right' number of neutrons, it becomes unstable and shoots out sub-atomic particles, a common one being the electron. What is happening is that one of the neutrons in this neutron-enhanced version of the atom, is changing into a proton plus an electron (plus a zero mass particle called the anti-neutrino, but we can chat about that some other time). This electron is spat out of the nucleus. This is an example of a "radioactive" atom. Essentially they are special versions of a particular atom that are trying to change to a stable type of atom, that is, one that will NOT change with time.

Let's take carbon as an example. The most common (and stable) form has 6 neutrons. This is called "carbon-12" from the fact that there are 6 protons plus 6 neutrons. There is a variety called "carbon-14" which has 8 neutrons. Every once in a while, a carbon 14 atom emits an electron (and yes, that pesky anti-neutrino too). Since the neutron that did this is now a proton, you have 7 protons and 7 neutrons. Remember that the type of atom is determined by the number of protons. So now the carbon-14 atom has transformed into a very stable nitrogen atom (which is identified by its 7 protons). The rate at which this happens is a "stochastic" process - it happens when it happens and you can't predict exactly when THAT atom over in the corner there will transform. However one usually works with many, many atoms, and, in that case, one can use a very reliable average time called the"half-life." This is the time that it takes for half (50%) of a bunch of unstable atoms to decay. For carbon-14, this number is 5,730 years. For different radioactive atoms, this number can be anywhere from a tiny fraction of a second to minutes, hours, days, or even millions of years. But, in all these cases, the point of the decay is to reach a type of atom that is stable.

Ultimately, even these stable atoms have a limit imposed by the lifetime of proton (>1025 years). Remember, though, that the best estimate of the present age of the universe is the much smaller number of 1010 years, so for all practical purposes, atoms are forever.




Forming Of An Atom:


The current view is that atoms are made up of protons and neutrons (which in turn are made up of quarks and gluons) and electrons. The protons and neutrons are at the central core called the nucleus, and the electrons revolve around it, being held in orbit by the electromagnetic force between the negatively charged electrons and the positively charged protons in the central nucleus. It is very much like the solar system with the sun at the center and the planets revolving around it. They were formed right after the "Big Bang" when our known universe originated from pure energy some billions of years ago. The energy was converted to the elementary particles (quarks, gluons, leptons etc...) from which protons and neutrons were formed. From these, atoms of different elements were produced.

Answer 3

New atoms are formed in stars. In our sun hydrogen nuclei are combined to make helium nuclei. In the center of the sun where this goes on the hydrogen and helium are in a state known as a plasma. It is just too hot for the electrons to bind to the nuclei. Strictly speaking then only when a nucleus travels outward and cools down can it form an actual atom.

Heavier nuclei can only be formed in very large stars after the hydrogen fuel is spent. The star cools and collapses under gravity until it gets so hot and dense that Helium nuclei can start combining to make Li or Be. Still heavier elements are formed in a supernova.

The sun is a third generation star. This means the stuff the sun is made of was in an star that blew up and that star was also made from stuff that was in a earlier massive star that blew up.

Life on earth depends on the oxygen and carbon that was formed in these earlier stars. I believe it was Caral Sagan who once wrote that we are made of star dust.

Answer 4

Atoms have been designed in such a way so that they form a volume lock-in as a planatary orbital system. It contains elementary particle which maintain an energy of rotation equilibrium.
The equilibrium is maintained during the orbital motion inside the atom by absorbing or shedding mass radiation.Thus atom are basically stable mass structures.

The atom dimensions depend on the Gravity phenomena of space pressure. If the Earth was to considerably increase in mass its atom would also expend they volume accordingly.
If an atom has excessive mass in it nucleus it would shed it in form of mass loss. This is called Gamma radiation . It will continue radiating till it becomes a more stable nucleous and atom.Atoms and mass strucutures are here to stay.

Answer 5

Atoms are generaly agreed to live forever as basic units of mass.

Since you linked this question to "space" I assume you are worried about things blowing up in space, etc.

Consider, if you will, a giant box of BB's dropped on the concrete surface of a major Interstate Highway... Assuming that the box breaks, what is left over besides the broken box? Your answer should be = a zillion scattered BB's. If
that is what you answered, you are quite correct. There is
nothing left that looks like what you started with, but the basic stuff is still there, even if it is scattered all over the place.

That is what happens in space...Something collides with something else, or blows up...everything is still there, just scattered all over the place in little tiny bits and pieces. Since there is no atmosphere to cause friction, most of the little bits and pieces are still traveling away from the collision or explosion at the same speed they started out at.

Answer 6

The whole univers is based on atomic structure.

The Atom with Proton and Neuton in the nucleas and the Electrons spinning around the nucleus form the basic structure. Jointly they form a bigger structure and so on.

Similarly, the solar system is like an atom with sun as nucleas and planets as electrons.

A small atom represents sun in all its magnamity and is a part of the huge solar system..


Similarly, solar system is a small atom of much bigger system and so on and on and on, till we reach the ultimate, the greatest, unbreakable, ever existing, omniscient, omnipresent, all powerfull atom, creator of all atoms to whom all atoms will return, which is probably THE GOD or the atom of God.

Answer 7

atoms have their perpetual lifespan in a form or other this was verified by neils bohr