On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1524

foodsandeverythingelse,arebuiltfromthese
primaryparticles.Themodernscientificview
ofmatter’sinvisibleinnardsismore
complicated,butalsomorepreciseand
illuminating.
AtomsandMolecules

Allmatteronearthisamixtureofaround100
puresubstances,whichwecalltheelements:
hydrogen,oxygen,nitrogen,carbon,andso
on.Anatomisthesmallestparticleinto
whichanelementcanbesubdividedwithout
losingitscharacteristicproperties.Atomsare
verysmallindeed:severalmillionwouldfit
intotheperiodattheendofthissentence.All
atomsaremadeupofsmaller“subatomic”
particles,electrons,protons,andneutrons.
Thedifferentpropertiesoftheelementsarise
fromthevaryingcombinationsofsubatomic
particlesthatmakeuptheiratoms,andin
particulartheirquotasofprotonsand


electrons.Hydrogenatomscontainoneproton
andoneelectron;oxygencarries8ofeach,
andiron26.
Whentwoormoreatomsbondtogether,
whichtheydobysharingelectronswitheach
other,theyformamolecule(fromtheLatin
for“mass,”“bulk”).Themoleculeistoa
chemicalcompoundwhattheatomistoan

element:thesmallestunitthatretainsthe
propertiesoftheoriginalmaterial.Most
matteronearth,includingfood,isamixture
ofdifferentchemicalcompounds.
Protons and Electrons Carry Positive and
Negative Electrical Charges There’s one
primarydrivingforcebehindallthechemical
activitythatmakeslifeandcookingpossible,
and that’s the electrical attraction between
protonsandelectrons.Protonscarryapositive
electrical charge, and electrons an exactly
balancing negative charge. (The neutral
neutroncarriesnocharge.)Oppositeelectrical