Explore the
invisible.
A journey into the structure of matter. Explore atomic ideas, mathematical orbitals, and the light emitted by hydrogen.
ENTER THE LAB ↗See beyond
the surface.
Explore hydrogen-like orbital shapes through probability-weighted samples. Rotate the view and discover the structures hidden in the mathematics.
How we learned
to see atoms.
Scientific models change when new evidence appears. Follow the ideas that brought us from indivisible spheres to quantum probability.
The historical models are educational representations and do not describe modern electron behavior.
All matter.
118 stories.
Explore every recognized element. Select a tile to inspect its atomic number, electron configuration and category.
Mass values are dataset values and may represent conventional atomic weights or mass numbers. Electron configurations marked * are predicted. Data: Bowserinator / Periodic-Table-JSON, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Same element.
Different story.
Isotopes have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. Radioactive decay is probabilistic.
Ideas change.
Science evolves.
Compare two milestones. Historical paths are conceptual illustrations and do not describe modern quantum behavior.
When atoms
make light.
In hydrogen, an electron transition between energy levels corresponds to a photon with a specific energy and wavelength.
Calculate a spectral line.
Choose two different levels. The displayed wavelength uses the simple infinite-nuclear-mass hydrogen model.
Curiosity is
the beginning.
ATOM is an independent educational exploration of the invisible structures that make up our world. Visualizations are mathematical and conceptual, not photographs of atoms.