Unstable Atoms for Dummies

Sample decay path of an unstable isotope

Around the Antisocial Network conference table, we regularly rattle the cages of  journalism (aka "communications") and English majors who think that their freelancing skills are so well-honed they can take on any subject, but can't. It's fairly rare for us to run across someone who at least claims to have a BS in some science who presents as scientifically illiterate; but they're out there. A case in point is today's nominee, eHow.com contributor Mallory Malesky, who penned "What Is an Unstable Atom?"¹ for Sciencing.com.

Malesky, whose bio claims a BS – magna cum laude – in "Natural Sciences" (WTF is that, anyway?), apparently doesn't remember much of the "Natural Science" she took, at least the basic chemistry classes. Take, for instance, this line from her introduction:

"The building blocks of all matter are atoms. Atoms combine together to form elements and compounds. An atom contains electrically charged particles, which hold the atom together. These particles are called protons, neutrons and electrons. The number of each particle an atom has dictates whether it is stable or unstable. Stable atoms remain in tact [sic], while unstable atoms may loose [sic] particles as energy in an attempt to become stable."

So, what would most seventh-graders think of that intro? Well, they might point out that atoms don't "combine to form elements" — they are elements — and they do combine to form molecules. Oh, and 1) neutrons aren't charged particles, and the particles themselves don't "hold the atom together." Some might even notice the grammatical errors... but probably not.

So what else does Mallory have to say? well, have a look (with our comments):

"A certain binding energy must be reached in order to exert a strong force on the nucleus to keep the protons and neutrons together -- protons are naturally attracted to negative forces because opposites attract." Yeah, well, what is that "binding energy," anyway? "When an atom contains the same number of protons and neutrons it is said to be stable." Umm, Mallory, we think that's probably not the main reason these isotopes are "said to be stable"... "Stable atoms can bind with other atoms based on interactions between electrons." We hate to tell you, Mallory, but unstable isotopes have exactly the same chemical properties as stable isotopes... "Uranium and radon are two common radioactive elements that occur naturally. These, and other similar elements, undergo radioactive decay over a period of time until they reach a stable state." Sorry, Mallory, it's not the element that decays, it's the unstable isotopes of an element -- a small but significant difference...

Obviously, Malesky's freelancing reach had exceeded her educational and/or intellectual grasp, so she was reduced to attempting to copy-reword-paste information from sites written by people who understood the question. In Mallory's case, however, she either didn't understand the question or didn't understand the answer. Either way, Mallory gets to be our Dumbass of the Day again.

¹ The post has been rewritten by Leaf Group's cleanup team, but Malesky's original can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   http://sciencing.com/unstable-atom-10041703.html

copyright © 2017-2022 scmrak

SI - CHEMISTRY