Protons, neutrons, and electrons make up the atom, but I've heard that you can't breakdown an atom. How do we know that the electrons, protons, and neutrons make up the atom without being able to break one down?
Also I heard something about an atom being related to nuclear bombs; how does that have anything to do with an atom? And if it does have something to do with an atom, how does something that makes up every bit of matter in the universe be used for a nuclear bomb?
Best Answer
Think of an atom as a family with cats. The husband (neutron), wife (proton) and cat (electron) live in the house (atom). It's a bit more complicated because each house can have several husbands, wives and cats, so its more like a 1960s communal house, but anyway...
The electron, like a cat, is somewhere in the house but you're never quite sure where. Sometimes, like in metals, many cats in the neighborhood run around in the streets. Other elements keep their cats tightly held within the house but, if you give a cat the right amount of energy, it will break free and escape from the house.
Cats carry electric charge from place to place, which is why metals are such good conductors of electricity, because their cats are free to run around almost unhindered.
When the husband and wife get a divorce, all their common 'stuff' gets converted to energy. This is a lot of energy, which is why atom bombs are so devastating.