Talk:Atomic number

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"Atomic Number (Z)"[edit]

Why it is Z? or not for example M or P? Thx in advance for answering me. Martin from Poland.

I was looking at other sources and I cannot find a reason for any letter to be placed after the atomic number - there is no unit. GotPSP 21:56, 31 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe it is because the German word for number begins with a Z, but I'm just guessing. Itub 08:39, 8 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

nope, the german word for number is number, oddly enough. Z could just be the random letter they picked.--Scorpion451 20:24, 16 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
German has more than one word for 'number', Nummer is one (two 'm's, no 'b'), and Zahl another. Connoissaur (talk) 11:00, 1 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

However the German word for integer is zahlen. See integer which zahlen redirects to. This may be relevant as the atomic number is of course an integer. I concur with the next comment, Z is not a unit, merely a symbol, similarly A and N. I would assume A comes from atom and N comes from neutron. It doesn't hurt to think of it this way if it helps you remember which is which.Puzl bustr (talk) 08:50, 31 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The German word for 'integer' is Ganzzahl. Zahlen with a capital 'Z' means 'numbers' and can therefore be used informally to mean 'integers' (plural); zahlen with a lower-case 'z' means 'to pay' (whereas zählen means 'to count). Connoissaur (talk) 11:04, 1 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Z is not the unit of the atomic number it is the variable that stands for the atomic number, for example: for hydrogen Z=1. "m" is used as the magnetic moment for atomic orbitals and "p" is a type of orbital, since all of these terms are used together when referring to the structure of an atom they must have different symbols. --Whmice (talk) 11:43, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Suggest 1 possible wiki link and 13 possible backlinks for Atomic number.[edit]

An automated Wikipedia link suggester has some possible wiki link suggestions for the Atomic_number article:

Can link strict order: ...rities in chemistry, it was noticeable that placing them in strict order of [[atomic weight|atomic mass]] resulted in some mismatche...

Not appropriate--Patrick 14:14, Dec 1, 2004 (UTC)

Additionally, there are some other articles which may be able to linked to this one (also known as "backlinks"):

In Albert Einstein, can backlink atomic number: ...suring the mass of atomic nuclei and dividing them by their atomic number, both of which are easily measured, one can calculate the b...
In August 29, can backlink atomic number: ...1982]] - The synthetic [[chemical element]] [[Meitnerium]], atomic number 109, is first synthesized at the [[Gesellschaft für Schweri...
In Cahn Ingold Prelog priority rules, can backlink atomic number: ...ity corresponding to its atomic number—the higher the atomic number, the higher the priority. ...
In Gamma ray, can backlink atomic number: ...losion. Compton scattering is relatively independent of the atomic number of the absorbing material. ...
In Organic nomenclature, can backlink atomic number: ...) and an amine (NH<sub>2</sub>). The alcohol has the higher atomic number, and takes priority over the amine. The suffix for an alcoh...
In Optical isomerism, can backlink atomic number: ...n of polarized light and the ''R''/''S'' scheme is based on atomic number. One cannot predict the other....
In Proton, can backlink atomic number: ...ested that the hydrogen nucleus, which was known to have an atomic number of 1, was an elementary particle. This he named proton, fr...
In Radioactive waste, can backlink atomic number: ...active elements -- mostly plutonium. These elements have an atomic number greater than uranium -- thus transuranic...
In Valency, can backlink atomic number: ... List of valencies for the first 103 elements in order of atomic number:...
In Decay product, can backlink atomic number: ...ntually to a stable nuclide. For elements above [[lead]] in atomic number, this is nearly always an [[isotope]] of lead. Lead is gene...
In Victoria University of Manchester, can backlink atomic number: ...ritish universities. * [[Henry Moseley]], who identified atomic number as the nuclear charges. He studied under Rutherford and bri...
In Conventional X-ray generator, can backlink atomic number: ...e the electrons to be accelerated #a target made of a high atomic number, high melting point metal ...
In Transuranic elements, can backlink atomic number: Chemical element with an atomic number of 93 or more – that is, with a greater number of protons i...

Notes: The article text has not been changed in any way; Some of these suggestions may be wrong, some may be right.
Feedback: I like it, I hate it, Please don't link to — LinkBot 11:31, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I've created backlinks for the list suggested above.--andersonpd 13:00, 29 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Atomicity[edit]

Why does this article include a paragraph on atomicity? Should it be expanded into a section that ties in with Z? (And if so, how?) Or would anyone mind if I just deleted it? Querl 02:46, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I had a similar thought when I did a cleanup of the article. The paragraph seems like it belongs in some article, but it wasn't immediately apparant to me which one. It's more closely related to molecules than to atomic number. -- Mainstream Nerd 03:48, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
What is a symbol 105.245.171.186 (talk) 15:16, 9 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Confusing diagram[edit]

The diagram that appears at the head of this article is confusing and requires amending: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atomic_number_depiction.svg Specifically, the text in the upper-right seems to indicate that the superscript number is the "Atomic / mass" number, as if these terms were interchangeable, but they are not. The superscript digit shows the mass number, the subscript digit the atomic number. Connoissaur (talk) 10:55, 1 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]