Page 36 - The Miracle in the Atom

THE MIRACLE IN THE ATOM

As this balance is maintained, a neutron, if required, may be changed
into a proton. Since the number of protons in the nucleus changes at the end
of this process, the atom changes too and becomes a different atom. Here, the
result is very significant. An atom transforms into a different atom without
disintegrating and continues its existence. This safety belt protects living or-
ganisms against the dangers that would otherwise arise from particles bre-
aking free uncontrollably and giving harm to people.

3. The Force That Keeps Electrons in Orbit:
The Electro-magnetic Force
The discovery of this force ushered in a new age in the world of physics.
It was then understood that each particle bears "an electrical charge" accor-
ding to its own structural characteristics and that a force exists between the-
se electrical charges. This force provides that particles with opposite electri-
cal charges attract each other and particles with the same charge repel each
other, therefore ensuring that the protons in the nucleus of the atom and the
electrons travelling in the orbits around it attract each other. In this way, the
"nucleus" and the "electrons", the two basic elements of the atom, stay toget-
her.
The slightest change in the strength of this force would cause electrons
to shoot away from the nucleus or to fall into the nucleus. In both cases, it
would become impossible for the atom and therefore, the material universe
to exist. Yet, from the first moment this force formed, the protons in the nuc-
leus attracted the electrons at the exact force required for the formation of the
atom thanks to the value of this force.

4. The Force Holding the Universe Together:

The Gravitational Force
Being the only force we can ordinarily perceive, it is also the one about
which we know least. Commonly known as gravity, this force is actually cal-
led the "mass attraction force". Although it is the least powerful force compa-
red to the other forces, by it very large masses attract each other. This force is
the reason why the galaxies and stars in the universe stay in each other's or-
bits. The earth and other planets remain in a certain orbit around the sun

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