The Elements (and Atoms too)

 So i guess this is my first "building blocks" post.  I'm thinking in this category, I'm going to talk about all the elements in the universe, the 4 basic forces, the 12 basic particles, and other fundamental things that power this world.  Oh, and sciencey stuff go here too, since they help shape our world.

The elements are the most basic building blocks in the world, and they make up everything in the world (well, there's also dark matter and dark energy and stuff like that, but let's not worry about that for now).

The Elements, No copyright intended, from "The Elements" iPad App, Theodore Gray and Nick Mann

(Click "Read More! >>" to read the rest of the post and learn about the elements and atoms, see cool pictures, and listen to the Elements song!)

So What Exactly is an Element?
Atoms
 Well to understand elements, let's first understand what atoms are.  An atom is the smallest unit of matter that still has the objects properties.  Now, atoms are many of even smaller things too: protons, neutrons, electrons, quarks. . . But if you break it up to that small of a size, then the object won't have it's properties anymore.  Now, the way I just explained it made it a bit confusing.  Think of it this way.  You start off with a square piece of cardboard.  You decide to cut it in half.  And then you take that half and cut it in half again, and cut that in half, and take that half and cut it in half, and you do this for, well, a really really long time.  Eventually you'll reach a point where you can't cut the cardboard in half anymore, even with lasers and super precise cutting equipment.  This tiny piece of matter is an atom.

An atom, no copyright intended, from rsc.org/

Atoms are made up of three main components: protons, neutrons, and electrons.  In the center of the of an atom is the nucleus - made up of protons and neutrons.  Protons have a positive charge, while neutrons have a neutral charge, or no charge.  Orbiting the nucleus in clouds, or orbitals (or shells or rings), are the electrons.  Electrons are thousands of times smaller than protons and neutrons, but are still just as strong.  Electrons give out a negative charge.  They orbit the nucleus in nucleus in different shells.  The first shell is considered full with two electrons in it.  The second shell can hold up to eight electrons, and the third shell can hold up to 18 electrons, but it's already considered full at eight if it's trying to bond with other atoms.  The valence electrons are the electrons in outermost shell, and these are how atoms bond together, to form compounds and molecules, which create everything in the universe.  But bonding is another story, and it's pretty complicated.  But the basic goal for atoms when bonding, is the complete their outer shell, so they have a full valence cloud.  Oh, and keep in mind that electrons move so fast that they actually almost form a barrier or a wall, so that's why atoms are physically hard.

Inside of an Atom, no copyright intended, HowStuffWorks

Elements and the Periodic Table
Okay, so now I've pretty much covered all the basics on atoms.  Time to talk about elements now.  An element is basically a type of atom.  The characteristics of an atom completely depend on the number of protons and electrons it has, because it changes the entire identity of it.  For example, any atom that has one proton and one electron is a the element Hydrogen.  Neutrons affect how heavy an atom is, called the atomic mass.  Electrons aren't calculated in the atomic mass though because of how small they are.  Each type of element has their own atomic numbers which tell how many protons they have.  The chemical symbols are a one to two letter symbol of unique to each element.  The first letter in a chemical symbol is always capitalized, which helps when you write down chemical compounds and formulas.

the periodic table of elements (sorry it's hard to read), no copyright intended, from wikia.com

All the known elements are arranged in the Periodic Table of Elements, which is a chart showing all the elements.  It's much more complicated than it seems though.  The columns on a periodic table are called groups, or families, and all the elements in a group have similar properties.
Hydrogen: Poor hydrogen, in a group all by itself.  Forever Alone.
Group 1: Alkali Metals (does NOT include Hydrogen) - extremely reactive, react violently with water, soft, silvery, shiny
Group 2: Alkaline Earth Metals - pretty reactive, shiny
Groups 3-12: Transition Metals - good conductors, hard, shiny, malleable, ductile, high boiling and melting points
Group 13: Boron Group
Group 14: Carbon Group
Group 15: Nitrogen Group
Group 16: Oxygen Group
Group 17: Halogens: extremely reactive
Group 18: Noble Gases:nonreactive, complete shell, low boiling points, not found by themselves in nature
At the very bottom of the periodic table, there are also lanthanides and actinides.  Most actinides are not found in nature.

periodic table, with different groups and more, no copyright intended, by howstuffworks

And then there are periods, which are the rows in a periodic table.  All the elements in the same period have the same number of shells, or clouds or orbitals.  But wait there's more.  Every element is classified into either metals, nonmetals, and metalloids.  Most of the elements in the periodic table are metals.  Metals are metallic (shiny), solids at room temperature (except mercury, which other than bromine, is the only liquid element at room temperature), have high densities, have high melting and boiling points, are good conductors of heat and electricity, are malleable (can flatten them without them breaking), and are ductile (can bend them without them breaking).  Then there are nonmetals.  They are all found on the right side of the periodic table (except poor little Hydrogen, always being left out).  They are pretty much the opposite of metals: they're not shiny, brittle (shatter or break easily), and are poor conductors.  Then there are metalloids.  They are like the "in-betweens", because they share properties from both metals and metalloids.  There are the fewest of these, and you can find them on the "staircase" of the periodic table.

Metals, metalliods, nonmetals, no copyright intended, from

Yup.  Those are the basics.  Then there's more about valence electrons, covalent and ionic bonds, properties of each specific element, quarks, formulas about how atoms work, specifications and all that stuff... but I feel kinda lazy today so I'll deal with those some other time. : )

And of course, I just have to leave you with a video... : )

The Elements Song by Tom Lehrer 

-Darren!ee