Chapter 3

Organizing Matter into

Atoms and Phases
In This Chapter
_ Peeking inside the atom: Protons, electrons, and neutrons
_ Deciphering atomic numbers and mass numbers
_ Understanding isotopes and calculating atomic masses
_ Ordering matter within different phases

“B ig stuff is built from smaller pieces of stuff. If you keep breaking stuff down into
smaller and smaller pieces, eventually you’ll reach the smallest possible bit of
stuff. Let’s call that bit an atom.” This is how the Greek philosopher Democritus might have
explained his budding concept of “atomism” to a buddy over a flask of Cretan wine. Like
wine, the idea had legs.
For hundreds of years, scientists have operated under the idea that all matter is made up of
smaller building blocks called atoms. So small, in fact, that until the invention of the electron
microscope in 1931, the only way to find out anything about these tiny, mysterious particles
was to design a very, very clever experiment. Chemists couldn’t exactly corner a single atom
in a back alley somewhere and study it alone — they had to study the properties of whole
gangs of atoms and try to guess what individual ones might be like. Through remarkable
ingenuity and incredible luck, chemists now understand a great deal about the atom. After
reading this chapter, so will you.
You also discover that matter keeps you on your toes by shape-shifting. Samples of matter
can change from sturdy solids to loose liquids to ghostly gases, depending on conditions. All
three of these phases of matter have very specific comfort zones where they’re most likely to
exist, and by the end of this chapter, you’ll be able to predict likely phases based on temperature
and pressure.

Building Atoms from Subatomic Particles

For now, picture an atom as a microscopic Lego. Atoms come in a variety of shapes and
sizes, and you can build larger structures out of them. Like a Lego, an atom is extremely hard
to break. In fact, so much energy is stored inside atoms that breaking them in half results in a
nuclear explosion. Boom!