Talk:Atom

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Atom article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.

Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic.
New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help.

Article policies

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Archives: Index, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5: 3 months

Atom is a former featured article. Please see the links under Article milestones below for its original nomination page (for older articles, check the nomination archive) and why it was removed.

This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on July 9, 2008.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
October 17, 2007	Peer review	Not reviewed
February 9, 2008	Peer review	Reviewed
February 10, 2008	Good article nominee	Listed
February 18, 2008	Featured article candidate	Promoted
October 25, 2020	Featured article review	Demoted
This article was on the Article Collaboration and Improvement Drive for the week of November 21, 2007.
Current status: Former featured article

Physics Top‑importance

	Physics portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Physics, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Physics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.PhysicsWikipedia:WikiProject PhysicsTemplate:WikiProject Physicsphysics
Top	This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale.

Chemistry Top‑importance

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Chemistry, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of chemistry on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.ChemistryWikipedia:WikiProject ChemistryTemplate:WikiProject ChemistryChemistry
Top	This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale.

Elements Mid‑importance

	Chemistry portal This article is supported by WikiProject Elements, which gives a central approach to the chemical elements and their isotopes on Wikipedia. Please participate by editing this article, or visit the project page for more details.ElementsWikipedia:WikiProject ElementsTemplate:WikiProject Elementschemical elements
Mid	This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the importance scale.

Error re fraction of atom's mass in the nucleus

"More than 99.9994% of an atom's mass is in the nucleus" in paragraph 3 of the current article is simply WRONG (despite the reference!) -- protons weigh ~1836 times more than electrons, neutrons weigh ~1838 more, so the ratio (for neutral atoms, with their varying binding-mass-energy and varying neutron-proton-ratios in different atoms and their isotopes) is between about 99.98% and 99.94% -- significantly different than what the reference said -- perhaps the person who wrote (or edited or typeset) that reference mistakenly threw in a few extra nines? ^z (talk) 11:54, 12 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

... confirmed "more than 99.94%" via calculations, and found reference in ELECTRON THEORY, Vennie Edwards (2018), first paragraph of Chapter 3 ("Atoms") ... have corrected the "Atom" article page appropriately ... ^z (talk) 16:28, 13 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]