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The fundamental unit of chemistry is an atom. An atom is electrically neutral having the same number of positively and negatively charged particles. The positively charged particles are termed protons and those which are negatively charged are termed electrons.
The protons in an atom are bound to the nucleus along with neutrons. Neutrons are a part of atoms which are neutral with no charge on them. Thus positive particles that are protons cannot flow. Thus only the flow of electrons can make an atom either positively or negatively charged.
More on positive charge particles
A proton in an atom is positively charged with a charge of +1 on it. It is found in the nucleus of an atom. The mass of a proton is 1.67 × 10-27 kg which is equivalent to 1 a.m.u. If a metallic ion loses its electron from its outermost shell it becomes positively charged and is known as cation. The element which has lost the electron is termed an electropositive element.
Neutralisation of positively charged particles
Since an atom is neutral in charge, there is something that neutralises the positive charge of protons in an atom. Those particles are electrons. The magnitude of charge on protons and electrons is equal, but it differs in sign. Thus, in an atom, the number of protons equals the number of electrons in it. And the positive charge of atoms gets neutralised by the negative charge of electrons.
An electron gained by an element makes the element electronegative. The gain of electrons by an ion makes it an anion.
List of positively charged particles
Protons
Positrons
Alpha particles
Cations
All these particles listed above have a positive charge on them.The loss of electrons from particles makes them positively charged particles.
Discovery of positively charged particles
The positive particle of an atom was discovered in the year of 1920 by physicist Ernest Rutherford. He named it proton because the word meant “first” in Greek mythology.
Rutherford was trying to discover atoms of hydrogen in other atoms and this is how he was led to the discovery of protons. He observed that when alpha particles collided with nitrogen gas, they got absorbed. This absorption of alpha particles led the nitrogen nucleus to be converted into an oxygen nucleus which was heavier. He also observed that this absorption led to a release of hydrogen nuclei as a result. This is how the discovery of protons was made.
It also proved that hydrogen was the building block of all elements and thus it was the first element in the periodic table. A hydrogen atom has 1 electron and 1 proton in it. When we talk of ionised hydrogen atoms, they are nothing but a proton alone. This property was further used in the study of nuclear reactions.
When the discovery of protons, neutrons and electrons was made, it was believed that these particles were elementary and couldn’t be further subdivided. Later in the 20th century, it was discovered that even these particles were composite particles and were composed of smaller particles called quarks. These quarks are illustrated in Gell-Mann’s model where he has explained six types of quarks occurring in three types of pairs.
Conclusion
Charge on a particle, whether positive or negative, determines how that particle will react when it will take part in a chemical reaction, whether they form an electrovalent bond or a covalent bond. These charges also determine the direction of deflection of these particles in the presence of electric and magnetic fields.
These charges are bound together in an atom because they are opposite to each other and hence, have a force of attraction between them.
The positively charged nucleus of an atom attracts the negatively charged electrons in the shells of the atom making the atom knit tightly.
Bonds are formed by the transfer of electrons or sharing of electrons. If an electron gets transferred, the bond formed is ionic. If an electron is shared, the bond formed is covalent. This transfer or sharing of electrons occurs to achieve octet configuration in order to become a stable element.
