An atom is the smallest constituent unit of ordinary matter that has the propert

ies of a chemical element.[1] Every solid, liquid, gas, and plasma is made up of
neutral or ionized atoms. Atoms are very small; typical sizes are around 100 pm
(a ten-billionth of a meter, in the short scale).[2] However, atoms do not have
well defined boundaries, and there are different ways to define their size whic
h give different but close values.
Atoms are small enough that classical physics give noticeably incorrect results.
Through the development of physics, atomic models have incorporated quantum pri
nciples to better explain and predict the behavior.
Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucle
us. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and typically a similar number of
neutrons (none in hydrogen-1). Protons and neutrons are called nucleons. Over 9
9.94% of the atom's mass is in the nucleus. The protons have a positive electric
charge, the electrons have a negative electric charge, and the neutrons have no
electric charge. If the number of protons and electrons are equal, that atom is
electrically neutral. If an atom has more or less electrons than protons, then
it has an overall negative or positive charge, respectively, and it is called an
ion.
Electrons of an atom are attracted to the protons in an atomic nucleus by this e
lectromagnetic force. The protons and neutrons in the nucleus are attracted to e
ach other by a different force, the nuclear force, which is usually stronger tha
n the electromagnetic force repelling the positively charged protons from one an
other. Under certain circumstances the repelling electromagnetic force becomes s
tronger than the nuclear force, and nucleons can be ejected from the nucleus, le
aving behind a different element: nuclear decay resulting in nuclear transmutati
on.
The number of protons in the nucleus defines to what chemical element the atom b
elongs: for example, all copper atoms contain 29 protons. The number of neutrons
defines the isotope of the element.[3] The number of electrons influences the m
agnetic properties of an atom. Atoms can attach to one or more other atoms by ch
emical bonds to form chemical compounds such as molecules. The ability of atoms
to associate and dissociate is responsible for most of the physical changes obse
rved in nature, and is the subject of the discipline of chemistry.
Not all the matter of the universe is composed of atoms. Dark matter comprises m
ore of the Universe than matter, and is composed not of atoms, but of particles
of a currently unknown type.
Atoms in philosophy
Main article: Atomism
The idea that matter is made up of discrete units is a very old one, appearing i
n many ancient cultures such as Greece and India. The word "atom", in fact, was
coined by ancient Greek philosophers. However, these ideas were founded in philo
sophical and theological reasoning rather than evidence and experimentation. As
a result, their views on what atoms look like and how they behave were incorrect
. They also couldn't convince everybody, so atomism was but one of a number of c
ompeting theories on the nature of matter. It wasn't until the 19th century that
the idea was embraced and refined by scientists, when the blossoming science of
chemistry produced discoveries that only the concept of atoms could explain.
First evidence-based theory
Various atoms and molecules as depicted in John Dalton's A New System of Chemica
l Philosophy (1808).
In the early 1800s, John Dalton used the concept of atoms to explain why element
s always react in ratios of small whole numbers (the law of multiple proportions

). For instance, there are two types of tin oxide: one is 88.1% tin and 11.9% ox
ygen and the other is 78.7% tin and 21.3% oxygen (tin(II) oxide and tin dioxide
respectively). This means that 100g of tin will combine either with 13.5g or 27g
of oxygen. 13.5 and 27 form a ratio of 1:2, a ratio of small whole numbers. Thi
s common pattern in chemistry suggested to Dalton that elements react in whole n
umber multiples of discrete units in other words, ato
Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses who were worshipped in ancie
nt Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of anci
ent Egyptian religion, which emerged along with them sometime in prehistory. Dei
ties represented natural forces and phenomena, and the Egyptians supported and a
ppeased them through offerings and rituals so that these forces would continue t
o function according to maat, or divine order. After the founding of the Egyptia
n state around 3100 BC, the authority to perform these tasks was controlled by t
he pharaoh, who claimed to be the gods' representative and managed the temples w
here the rituals were carried out.
The gods' complex characteristics were expressed in myths and in intricate relat
ionships between deities: family ties, loose groups and hierarchies, and combina
tions of separate gods into one. Deities' diverse appearances in art as animals, h
umans, objects, and combinations of different forms also alluded, through symbolis
m, to their essential features.
In different eras, various gods were said to hold the highest position in divine
society, including the solar deity Ra, the mysterious god Amun, and the mother
goddess Isis. The highest deity was usually credited with the creation of the wo
rld and often connected with the life-giving power of the sun. Some scholars hav
e argued, based in part on Egyptian writings about these higher gods, that the E
gyptians came to recognize a single divine power that lay behind all things and
was present in all the other deities. But they never abandoned their original po
lytheistic view of the world, except possibly during the era of Atenism in the 1
4th century BC, when official religion focused exclusively on the impersonal sun
god Aten.
Gods were believed to be present throughout the world, capable of influencing na
tural events and human lives. Humans interacted with them in the temples and in
unofficial shrines, for personal reasons as well as for the larger goals of stat
e rites. Egyptians prayed for divine help, used rituals to compel deities to act
, and called upon them for advice. Humans' relations with their gods were a fund
amental part of Egyptian society.