| Atoms, the smallest particles of matter that retain the properties of the matter, are made of protons, electrons, and neutrons. |
作为承载物质基本属性的最小粒子，原子是由质子、中子、电子组成的。 |
| Protons have a positive charge, Electrons have a negative charge that cancels the proton's positive charge. |
质子带有正电荷，电子带有可与质子所带正电荷相抵消的负电荷。 |
| Neutrons are particles that are similar to a proton but have a neutral charge. |
中子是与质子相似的电中性粒子。 |
| There are no differences between positive and negative charges except that particles with the same charge repel each other and particles with opposite charges attract each other. |
除了具有相同电荷的粒子相互排斥而具有相反电荷的粒子相互吸引之外，正电荷和负电荷之间没有差异。 |
| If a solitary positive proton and negative electron are placed near each other they will come together to form a hydrogen atom. |
如果将一个孤立的正质子和负电子彼此靠近放置，它们会聚在一起形成氢原子。 |
| This repulsion and attraction (force between stationary charged particles) is known as the Electrostatic Force and extends theoretically to infinity, but is diluted as the distance between particles increases. |
这种排斥和吸引力（静止的带电粒子之间的力）被称为静电力并且理论上可以延伸到无穷远处，但随着粒子之间距离的增加而被稀释。 |
| When an atom has one or more missing electrons it is left with a positive charge, and when an atom has at least one extra electron it has a negative charge. |
当一个原子缺失一个或多个电子时，它会被留作正电荷，而当一个原子具有至少一个额外的电子时，它具有负电荷。 |
| Having a positive or a negative charge makes an atom an ion. |
具有正或者负电荷的原子被称为离子。 |
| Atoms only gain and lose protons and neutrons through fusion, fission, and radioactive decay. |
原子只能通过聚变、裂变、或放射性衰变等方式得到或失去质子和中子。 |
| Although atoms are made of many particles and objects are made of many atoms, they behave similarly to charged particles in terms of how they repel and attract. |
虽然原子是由许多粒子构成的而物质是由许多原子构成的，他们在相互排斥和吸引方面的表现与带电粒子们都是相似的。 |
| In an atom the protons and neutrons combine to form a tightly bound nucleus. |
在一个原子中质子和中子们紧密地结合成原子核。 |
| This nucleus is surrounded by a vast cloud of electrons circling it at a distance but held near the protons by electromagnetic attraction (the electrostatic force discussed earlier). |
这个原子核被一团巨大的电子环绕，它们在一定距离上盘旋，但是通过电磁吸引力（前面讨论的静电力）保持在质子附近。 |
| The cloud exists as a series of overlapping shells / bands in which the inner valence bands are filled with electrons and are tightly bound to the atom. |
电子云以一系列重叠的壳或带的形式存在，其中较内层的共价带会被电子填充并与原子紧密结合。 |
| The outer conduction bands contain no electrons except those that have accelerated to the conduction bands by gaining energy. |
而外层的导电带不会有电子，除非有些电子被外部获取的能量加速到导电带 |
| With enough energy an electron will escape an atom (compare with the escape velocity of a space rocket). |
如果有了足够的能量，一个电子就可以逃离一个原子（可以类比于航空火箭的逃逸速度）。 |
| When an electron in the conduction band decelerates and falls to another conduction band or the valence band a photon is emitted. |
当一个处于导电带的电子减速并落到其他导电带或共价带时会发射出光子。 |
| This is known as the photoelectric effect. |
这被称为光电效应。 |
