Final answer:
Atoms are stable because electrons occupy quantized energy levels or orbitals, where they cannot simply lose energy and collapse into the nucleus. The older planetary model of the atom was refined by quantum mechanics, which introduced electron clouds governed by probabilities. The Coulomb force and the strong nuclear force play crucial roles in maintaining this atomic stability.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question posed touches on the stability of atoms and why electrons do not simply fly away from the atom. In the early twentieth century, Ernest Rutherford and his colleagues proposed a model of the atom known as the planetary model, where electrons orbit a central nucleus. However, according to classical mechanics and classical electromagnetism, this model was flawed because an accelerating electron emitting electromagnetic radiation would continuously lose energy and eventually spiral into the nucleus, thus suggesting that atoms are inherently unstable.
Niels Bohr resolved this issue by proposing that electrons exist in fixed orbits or energy levels with quantized energies, meaning that they could only lose or gain energy in discrete amounts, preventing the collapse of the atom. This model was a key step towards quantum mechanics, which further refined our understanding of atomic structure by introducing the concept of electron clouds and probability densities, where the exact position of an electron cannot be pinpointed but instead is represented by a likelihood of the electron's presence in a given space.
Atomic stability is further ensured by the interplay of forces within the atom, including the Coulomb force between oppositely charged particles and the strong nuclear force which holds the nucleus together.