• Question: What orbits the nucleus of an atom?

    Asked by issy13 to Sarah, Will on 21 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Will Reynolds

      Will Reynolds answered on 21 Jun 2012:

      Hi agian Issy! the nucleus of an atom is made up of protons, which are positively charged, and neutrons which have no charge at all. The other particle in an atom is called an Electron and it is this bit that is responsible for forming bonds with other atoms, conducting electricity and making chemical and biological reactions happen! Thanks for your question.

    • Photo: Sarah Martin

      Sarah Martin answered on 21 Jun 2012:

      Hi issy!

      Electrons! Actually, we used to think that they orbit, like planets in the solar system, but they’re actually so fast that they obey the rules of quantum mechanics. So we can’t predict where they’ll be at any one time, but instead there are certain patterns around the nucleus, called orbitals, in which, somewhere, the electrons are whizzing about.

      🙂 Sarah

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