foods and everything else, are built from these primary particles The modern scientific view of matter’s invisible innards is more complicated, but also more precise and illuminating Atoms and Molecules All matter on earth is a mixture of around 100 pure substances, which we call the elements: hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and so on An atom is the smallest particle into which an element can be subdivided without losing its characteristic properties Atoms are very small indeed: several million would fit into the period at the end of this sentence All atoms are made up of smaller “subatomic” particles, electrons, protons, and neutrons The different properties of the elements arise from the varying combinations of subatomic particles that make up their atoms, and in particular their quotas of protons and electrons Hydrogen atoms contain one proton and one electron; oxygen carries 8 of each, and iron 26 When two or more atoms bond together, which they do by sharing electrons with each other, they form a molecule (from the Latin for “mass,” “bulk”) The molecule is to a chemical compound what the atom is to an element: the smallest unit that retains the properties of the original material Most matter on earth, including food, is a mixture of different chemical compounds Protons and Electrons Carry Positive and Negative Electrical Charges There’s one primary driving force behind all the chemical activity that makes life and cooking possible, and that’s the electrical attraction between protons and electrons Protons carry a positive electrical charge, and electrons an exactly balancing negative charge (The neutral neutron carries no charge.) Opposite electrical ...electrons Hydrogen atoms contain one proton and one electron; oxygen carries 8 of each, and iron 26 When two or more atoms bond together, which they do by sharing electrons with each other, they form a molecule (from the Latin... activity that makes life and cooking possible, and that’s the electrical attraction between protons and electrons Protons carry a positive electrical charge, and electrons an exactly balancing negative charge (The. .. matter on earth, including food, is a mixture of different chemical compounds Protons and Electrons Carry Positive and Negative Electrical Charges There’s one primary driving force behind all the chemical