

It is an extremely reactive element and a strong oxidising agent: among the elements, it has the highest electron affinity and the third-highest electronegativity on the Pauling scale, behind only oxygen and fluorine. In the periodic table, the elements are listed in order of increasing atomic number Z.Įlectron configuration of Chlorine is 3s2 3p5. The number of electrons in each element’s electron shells, particularly the outermost valence shell, is the primary factor in determining its chemical bonding behavior. The configuration of these electrons follows from the principles of quantum mechanics.


Since the number of electrons and their arrangement are responsible for the chemical behavior of atoms, the atomic number identifies the various chemical elements. Each electron is influenced by the electric fields produced by the positive nuclear charge and the other (Z – 1) negative electrons in the atom. Therefore, the number of electrons in neutral atom of Chlorine is 17. The number of electrons in an electrically-neutral atom is the same as the number of protons in the nucleus. 36Cl is produced in the atmosphere by spallation of 36 Ar by interactions with cosmic ray protons. Trace amounts of radioactive 36Cl exist in the environment, in a ratio of about 7×10 −13 to 1 with stable isotopes. All other isotopes have half-lives under 1 hour, many less than one second.Ĭhlorine-35 is composed of 17 protons, 18 neutrons, and 17 electrons.Ĭhlorine-37 is composed of 17 protons, 20 neutrons, and 17 electrons.Ĭhlorine-36 is composed of 17 protons, 19 neutrons, and 17 electrons. These are its only two natural isotopes occurring in quantity, with 35Cl making up 76% of natural chlorine and 37Cl making up the remaining 24%.The longest-lived radioactive isotope is 36Cl, which has a half-life of 301,000 years. Main Isotopes of ChlorineĬhlorine has two stable isotopes, 35Cl and 37Cl. Mass numbers of typical isotopes of Chlorine are 35 37. Isotopes are nuclides that have the same atomic number and are therefore the same element, but differ in the number of neutrons. The difference between the neutron number and the atomic number is known as the neutron excess: D = N – Z = A – 2Z.įor stable elements, there is usually a variety of stable isotopes. Neutron number plus atomic number equals atomic mass number: N+Z=A. The total number of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom is called the neutron number of the atom and is given the symbol N. The total electrical charge of the nucleus is therefore +Ze, where e (elementary charge) equals to 1,602 x 10 -19 coulombs. Total number of protons in the nucleus is called the atomic number of the atom and is given the symbol Z.

The distribution of charge is usually linear, surface or volumetric.Chlorine is a chemical element with atomic number 17 which means there are 17 protons in its nucleus. Ĭoulomb also showed that oppositely charged bodies attract according to an inverse-square law: It follows therefore from these three tests, that the repulsive force that the two balls – electrified with the same kind of electricity – exert on each other, follows the inverse proportion of the square of the distance. Coulomb discovered that bodies with like electrical charges repel: The law states that the magnitude, or absolute value, of the attractive or repulsive electrostatic force between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of their charges and inversely proportional to the squared distance between them. Coulomb's law was essential to the development of the theory of electromagnetism and maybe even its starting point, as it allowed meaningful discussions of the amount of electric charge in a particle. Although the law was known earlier, it was first published in 1785 by French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, hence the name. This electric force is conventionally called electrostatic force or Coulomb force. Coulomb's inverse-square law, or simply Coulomb's law, is an experimental law of physics that calculates the amount of force between two electrically charged particles at rest.
