- #1
AdamF
- 34
- 3
I don't get it - the definition of a chemical element is:
"Cannot be chemically interconverted or broken down into simpler substances"
-- But isn't every atom of an element made up of further sub-atomic particles, and atoms can be then broken apart, etc...?
Also, how did people tell the difference in the beginning between breaking down a compound structure into constituent "elements" and just forming a new compound?
"Cannot be chemically interconverted or broken down into simpler substances"
-- But isn't every atom of an element made up of further sub-atomic particles, and atoms can be then broken apart, etc...?
Also, how did people tell the difference in the beginning between breaking down a compound structure into constituent "elements" and just forming a new compound?