ELEMENTS AND THE ATOM’S SIZE ©:

THE PHYSICAL SIZE OF THE ATOM

The atom has been measured and unexpected characteristics have emerged. When you look at the atomic radii of the Elements in a Periodic Table the size of the Elements on the right are smaller than the Elements on the left. The far right Group (column) on the Periodic Table, called the Noble Gases: Helium; Neon; Argon; Krypton; Xeon; and Radon, are all measured smaller than the Elements on their row to the left. However, the mass of each of the Elements increases from left to right.

This is somewhat counter-intuitive. It would seem that as you move from left to right the physical size of the elements should be related to their mass, however, this is not the case.

Why does the physical size of the atom decrease as you move from left to right on the Periodic Table of Elements, but the mass increases from left to right. Proto-Physics explains this. First, look at the Periodic Table of Elements. In this “Public Domain” table the physical size and mass of the Elements are defined in this image of the Periodic Table:

 

For each period (row) in the Periodic Table, the atomic radii decrease, from the alkali metals to the noble gases.  (A period is a horizontal row in the periodic table.)

The following image shows the size of the Noble Gas, Helium:

The “size” of an atom is measured by the location the Proteon intersects with the Proteus. With Nobel Gases this intersection is the Ionization Potential location nearest the center of the Proteus. Below is an image that shows the Helium Proteon intersecting the Helium Proteus at the point nearest the center of the nuclues of the Helium atom:

 

The Helium Proteus / Proteon intersecgtion, shown in the image above, is measured as 31 picometers, the Radii of Helium. Below is a table that shows this Radii:

 

The Neon Proteus has 7 more Reference Frame locations (described by Ionization Potentials) were the Neon Proteus can intersect. Below is an image that shows the Nobel Gas Neon:

 

And the next image shows the intersecting of the Proteus as imagined from the perspective of a Proteon. Neon detail of Proteon intersecting Proteus:

 

Below is a table to look at the 38 pm size of Neon. This table shows the size of each of the Elements for the Period beginning with Lithium and ending with Neon:

 

Proto-Physics will eventually answer why there are periods and why the size of any elemental atom measured the way it does. For now, however, the discussion is regarding the Nobel Gases.