Stephen Fadem, age 11, Tulsa, Okla., for his question:
What is atomic enemy?
The atom has been described as a miniature solar system with a central sun and a number of orbiting planets. Every tiny particle in this atomic bundle is bursting with energy of some sort. The orbiting planets are electrons, particles of negative electricity, and bursting with electric, magnetic or chemical energy.
We might say that electrons had atomic energy because they are atomic particles ‑ but we do not. We reserve the term atomic energy for the power which is in the mighty heart of the atom. This central sun is callea the nucleus, which is why atomic energy is also called nuclear energy
The nucleus of a single atom, however, is too small to yield much energy. When it comes to grasping sizes, big or little, it is a good idea to scale them up or down and compare them with things in our everyday world. If all the people in North America were the size of carbon atoms, standing in a row they would measure slightly less than one inch. Now let's imagine that one of these atoms is enlarged to the size of a football stadium. The nucleus in the middle of the area is the size of a golf ball. Six electrons orbit the nucleus at distances as far out as the edge of the stadium ‑ and these electrons are no bigger than mosquitoes. What else is there? Nothing at ally for the mighty little atom is mostly empty space.
The energy from countless quintillions of electrons is needed to provide our electric power. They also provide the chemical energy which makes complex substances from basic elements. But their energy is very slight when compared with the energy locked in the nucleus. The electrons are single particles, each orbiting on its own and often able to act on its own. Atoms lose or gain electrons without any basic upheaval.
The nucleus of the atom is a wad of assorted particles, tightly bound together with the force we call atomic energy, When the; nucleus gains or loses a particle the upheaval is so great that the atom is changed into a different atom. When this happens some of the nuclear energy is released. An atomic explosion happens when countless atomic nuclei gain or lose particles in the same split second. An H‑bomb calls up terrifying pictures of destruction. But this is merely one aspect of the story of atomic energy.
In nature, there are countless atoms widely scattered throughout the earth's crust giving up nuclear energy every second. These sensitive, radioactive atoms are the ones used to make nuclear bombs. They can also be tamed and put to work to provide constructive rather than destructive energy. We already have several electric power plants run by this tamed atomic energy and we are planning to give this tamed atomic energy more and more work to do.