Helium atom Helium atom A helium atom is an atom of the chemical element helium. Helium is composed of two electrons bound by the electromagnetic force to a nucleus containing two protons along with either one or two neutrons, depending on the isotope, held together by the strong force. Unlike for hydrogen, a closed-form solution to the Schrödinger equation for the helium atom has not been found. However, various approximations, such as the Hartree–Fock method, can be used to estimate the ground state energy and wavefunction of the atom. The quantum mechanical description of the helium atom is of special interest, because
Atom (time) Atom (time) An Atom of time or "a-tom" (“indivisible” in Greek), refers to the smallest possible unit of time. One of the earliest occurrences of the word “atom” to mean the smallest possible unit of measuring time is found in the Greek text of the New Testament in Paul's . The text compares the length of time of the “atom” to the time needed for “the twinkling of an eye.” The text reads: “en atomo, en repe ophthamou” – the word "atom" is usually translated "a moment" - “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye”. With that meaning