Page 61 - The Miracle in the Atom

The Structure Of The Atom

such a world, would you?
What makes the earth colourful? How do the colours, which make our
world so extraordinarily beautiful, come into being?
Certain characteristics present in the nature of matter allow us perceive
objects in colour. Colours are formed as a natural result of certain motions of
the electrons inside the atom. You may think "What do the motions of elect-
rons have to do with colours?" Let's briefly explain this relationship:
Electrons revolve only in electron shells. We just mentioned that there
are 7 electron shells. Each electron shell has a specific level of energy, which
varies depending on the distance of the shell from the nucleus. The closer an
electron shell is to the nucleus, the less energy its electrons have, and the fart-
her it is to the nucleus, the more energy its electrons have.
Each electron shell has "sub-shells", among which the electrons of that
shell continuously move.
An electron needs to receive external energy to be able to travel out-
wards between the shells. The source of this energy is the "photon".
In its simplest terms, the photon is a "light particle". Every star in the
universe is a source of photons. The most important source of photons for

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