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ATOM IN MODERN SCIENCE
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Matter instead of being immutable was energy in a frozen state, while, conversely, energy was matter in a fluid state The liberation of energy in any form -chemical, electrcal or nuclear involves the loss of an equivalent amount of mass
"It is well known that most chemical reactions liberate energy, simplest instance being burning of coal The chemical union in this case, is that of carbon and oxygen in the form of molecular fusion When 3000 tons of coal are burnt to ashes, the residual ashes and the gaseous products weigh one gram less than 3000 tons, that is, one three-billionth part of the original mass will have been converted into energy
Thus oxygen (o) + carbon (C) = Carbon monoxide (co) + energy
This reaction would give 92 units of energy per gram of mixture If instead of molecular fusion of these two atomic species we have a nuclear fusion between their nuclei 6C12 + 8016 = 148:28 + energythe energy liberated per gram of mixture will be 14 X 109 Units, le 15,00,000 times as great In the liberation of chemical energy by the burning of coal, the energy comes from a very small mass i e loss of mass resulting from the rearrangement of the electrons on the surface of atoms The nuclei of the carbon atoms are not involved in any way, remaining exactly the same as before The amount of mass lost by the surface electrons is one thirteenth of one millionth of one percent On the other hand nuclear · energy involves vital changes in the atomic nucleus itself, with a consequent loss of as high as one tenth to acarly eight tenihs of one percent in the orginal mass of the nucleus This means that from one to nearly eight grams per thousand grams are libérated
