| Atoms, the smallest particles of matter that retain the properties of the matter, are made of protons, electrons, and neutrons. |
原子是由质子、电子和中子组成的，是保持物质性质的最小粒子。 |
| Protons have a positive charge, Electrons have a negative charge that cancels the proton's positive charge. |
质子带正电荷，电子带负电荷，抵消了质子的正电荷。 |
| Neutrons are particles that are similar to a proton but have a neutral charge. |
中子是类似于质子但带有中性电荷的粒子。 |
| 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. |
正电荷和负电荷之间没有区别，只是带同种电荷的粒子相互排斥，带相反电荷的粒子相互吸引。 |
| If a solitary positive proton and negative electron are placed near each other they will come together to form a hydrogen atom. |
如果一个孤立的正质子和负电子彼此靠近，它们就会聚集在一起形成一个氢原子。 |
| 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（静止带电粒子之间的力）被称为静电力，理论上可以延伸到无穷远，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. |
当原子失去一个或多个电子时，带正电，而当得到一个或多个电子时，便带负电。 |
| Having a positive or a negative charge makes an atom an ion. |
带正电或负电的原子就是离子。 |
| Atoms only gain and lose protons and neutrons through fusion, fission, and radioactive decay. |
原子只有通过聚变、裂变和放射性衰变才能获得和失去质子和中子。 |
| 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. |
尽管原子是由许多粒子组成的，而物体是由许多原子组成的，但它们在排斥和吸引方面的行为与带电粒子相似。 |
| In an atom the protons and neutrons combine to form a tightly bound nucleus. |
在原子中，质子和中子紧密结合形成的原子核。 |
| 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). |
原子核被一个巨大的电子云包围着，电子云在一定距离内围绕着原子核旋转，但由于电磁引力（前面讨论过的静电力）而保持在质子附近。 |
| 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. |
电子云是由一系列重叠的壳层或带组成的，其中内层价带被电子填满，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. |
除了因获得能量而跃迁到导带的电子，外层导带不含电子。 |
| With enough energy an electron will escape an atom (compare with the escape velocity of a space rocket). |
电子得到足够的能量就会逃逸出原子（与太空火箭的逃逸速度相当）。 |
| When an electron in the conduction band decelerates and falls to another conduction band or the valence band a photon is emitted. |
当导带中的一个电子减速并跃迁到另一个导带或价带时，就会发射光子。 |
| This is known as the photoelectric effect. |
这就是所谓的光电效应。 |
