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Question

Question: How is an atom formed?...

How is an atom formed?

Explanation

Solution

Atoms are the fundamental building blocks of matter and the structural components. Because atoms were originally considered to be the tiniest things in the world and could not be split, the name "atom" originates from the Greek word for "indivisible." Atoms are now known to be made up of three particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons, each of which is made up of even smaller particles called quarks.

Complete answer:
After the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago, atoms were formed. As the hot, dense new cosmos cooled, circumstances became favourable for the formation of quarks and electrons. Quarks joined to make protons and neutrons, which then merged to form nuclei. It took 380,000 years for the cosmos to cool down sufficiently for nuclei to catch electrons and create the first atoms. According to Jefferson Lab, the first atoms were mostly hydrogen and helium, which are still the most prevalent elements in the universe. Gravity ultimately drove clouds of gas to consolidate and form stars, and as the stars exploded, heavier atoms were produced within them and dispersed across the cosmos.
Protons and neutrons, which are heavier than electrons, are found in the nucleus, which is at the heart of the atom. Electrons dwell in a cloud circling the nucleus and are very light. Protons and neutrons have a mass of almost the same. A proton, on the other hand, is 1,835 times more heavy than an electron. The number of protons and electrons in an atom is always the same, and the number of protons and neutrons is typically the same as well. A proton added to an atom creates a new element, but a neutron added to the same atom creates an isotope, or heavier form of that atom.

Note:
The fact that everything we see in the visible world is composed of matter rather than antimatter implies that, according to popular belief, there was somewhat more matter than antimatter when the energy released in the Big Bang was converted to mass. The majority of what was generated was destroyed, but a small amount of ordinary stuff was left behind. We are all derived from the uncool loser matter particles that couldn't couple up with antimatter in the minutes following the Big Bang, to borrow a joke from Eric Cornell.