The Atom & Subatomic Particles
The atom can be visualized as a spherical, electrically neutral particle
comprised of many subatomic particles. As far as the topic of
oxidation-reduction is concerned, we shall consider only two of these particles,
the proton and the electron. Protons are positively charged particles which are
always found in the dense core or nucleus of the atom. According to theory, the
electrons, or negatively charged particle, are located somewhere outside of the
nucleus and surrounding it in spherical fashion as shown in the sketch below.
Each proton is arbitrarily assigned a charge of "+1"; and each electron, a charge
of "-1". In every atom there is always the same number of protons (p) as there
are electrons (e). Hence, every atom is electrically neutral, as the positive
charges of the protons always cancels the negative charge of the electrons. In
other words, the net electrical charge of any atom is always zero.
