| Atoms, the smallest particles of matter that retain the properties of the matter, are made of protons, electrons, and neutrons. |
原子是保留物质属性的最小粒子，由质子、电子以及中子组成。 |
| 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，其能够抵消质子的正电荷。 |
| Neutrons are particles that are similar to a proton but have a neutral charge. |
中子是与质子相似的粒子，而中子带的是中性电荷。 |
| 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太大差异，带相同电荷的粒子之间会互相排斥，而带相反电荷之间的粒子则会互相吸引。 |
| If a solitary positive proton and negative electron are placed near each other they will come together to form a hydrogen atom. |
一个带正电荷的质子和一个带负电荷的电子互相靠近就会集合在一起形成氢原子。 |
| 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（带固定电荷粒子之间产生的力）称为静电力，并且理论上，这种静电力可以延伸到无限远处，但力的大小随着粒子之间的距离增加而被减少。 |
| 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，它会带正电，而当原子得到至少一个额外的电子时会带负电。 |
| 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. |
原子只通过溶液、裂变反应以及放射性衰变来获得或者失去质子或中子。 |
| 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. |
虽然原子由许多粒子组成，物质由许多原子组成，但是当它们之间互相排斥和吸引的时候与带电粒子的行为是相似的。 |
| In an atom the protons and neutrons combine to form a tightly bound nucleus. |
在原子中，质子和中子结合形成一个紧密的原子核。 |
| 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). |
原子核周围围着大量的电子，这些电子由于电磁引力作用被吸引到质子附近（前面所说的静电力）。 |
| 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. |
电子是一系列的重叠壳/带，其内价带都是电子，并且被紧紧束缚于原子。 |
| The outer conduction bands contain no electrons except those that have accelerated to the conduction bands by gaining energy. |
外导带没有包含电子，除了有一些电子由于获得能量，而运动速度加快跑到了导带。 |
| With enough energy an electron will escape an atom (compare with the escape velocity of a space rocket). |
电子有了足够的能量后，会逃离原子（对比航天火箭的逃逸速度）。 |
| When an electron in the conduction band decelerates and falls to another conduction band or the valence band a photon is emitted. |
当到了导带的电子减速并跃迁到其他导带或价带时，会产生一个光子。 |
| This is known as the photoelectric effect. |
这就是光电效应。 |
