First Step Towards The Basics of Electronics--Matter

As we enter High School, we start to make confirm plans regarding our major for college. Among the many majors, Electronic Engineering is one of the top majors these days and it involves alot of Mathematics as well as physics. This hub consists of basic information regarding Matter which plays a vital role in providing knowledge about Electronics.

MATTER: What is matter? Anything that takes up space and has weight is matter. Some examples of matter are water, cars, air, chair, human bodies and so on. There are three states of matter: Solid, Liquid and Gas. Solids have definite shape and definite weight. For example, block, television, and closet. Liquids on the other side have definite weight but they take in the shape of the container where they are placed in. For example, juice, water, and milk. Gases neither have definite shape nor definite volume, meaning that they take in the shape of the container as well as the amount of their volume also depends on the container. Water is one of those things which goes through all three states. When it is solid, it is called ice, when it is liquid, it is called water and when it is gas, it is called steam. When we talk about matter, it is also beneficial to know about elements, compounds, mixture, molecules, and atoms.

 Element: Any material that cannot be reduced to a more simpler material with the help of chemical reaction is called an element. There are over 100 known elements. Some examples of elements are Lithium, Iron, Magnesium and Hydrogen. Every substance is made up of one or more elements.

Compound: When we mix two or more elements chemically, the material which we get is a compound. A compound is made in such a way that we can separate it chemically but not physically. Some examples of compounds are Water and Table Salt.

Mixture: A mixture is made up of elements and compounds that is not combined chemically. Unlike compounds, mixtures can be separated physically. Some examples of mixtures are Nitrogen, Carbondioxide, Oxygen and Sea Water.

Molecule: A molecule is made up of chemically combined atoms. With respect to a compound, it is the smallest particle in it that has all the attributes of its respective compound.

Atom: Atoms are those small particles which make up molecules. It is basically the smallest particle of all elements that has all the attributes of its respective compound. Every element has a different kind of atom in it. The atoms of every element comprises of electrons, protons and neutrons. These three things contain negative charge of electricity, positive charge of electricity and neutral charge respectively. An electron consists of mass as well as motion, due to which it has two types of energy -- Kinetic energy and Potential energy.