![]() However, since positrons are antimatter, they don't usually make it very far. Positrons are created during the process of hydrogen fusion, where they carry away the positive charge from protons so that they can become neutrons. They are the antimatter equivalent to an electron, which means that they are small, positively charged particles. The opposite can also occur, where the nucleus of an atom can absorb an electron, changing a proton into a neutron. When this happens a neutron turns into a proton and an electron is released in order to balance out the charges. Despite being so small, their charge is as strong as a proton, which means that one proton and one electron will balance each other out.Įven though electrons don't normally exist in the nucleus of an atom, the nucleus of an atom will occasionally give off an electron in a process known as Beta Decay. Electrons are much smaller than protons or neutrons. ElectronsĮlectrons are negatively charged particles that generally orbit the nucleus of an atom. An atom that has too many or too few neutrons generally won't last very long, and will simply break apart into smaller atoms that are more stable. Neutrons are important in the creation of atoms because they help stabilize the nucleus. Unlike protons, however, a neutron has no charge. Neutrons are very similar to protons, in that they are found in the nucleus of an atom, and they are fairly large. Protons are fairly large and heavy for subatomic particles, and they carry a positive charge. In stars, most of the hydrogen has been ionized (losing its electron), which means that when we're talking about hydrogen inside of stars, we're usually just talking about protons. In fact, the simplest atom, a hydrogen atom, is just one proton orbited by a single electron. Protons are one of the fundamental building blocks that make up atoms. Besides these, there are many other subatomic particles that we need to know about in order to understand the internal workings of a star. ![]() The nucleus of an atom is made up of protons and neutrons. Atoms, as you may know, are made up of a nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons. These are particles that are even smaller than a single atom, and are thus called Subatomic Particles. Even though astrophysicists looks at the largest objects in the universe, you can't understand how they work unless you also understand the smallest objects in the universe.
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