document_title: Atom

question_text: what state of matter has the electrons separated from the nuclei of the atoms

question_tokens: what state of matter has the electrons separated from the nuclei of the atoms

text: Atom

text: History of atomic theory

text: Atoms in philosophy

text: The idea that matter is made up of discrete units is a very old idea, appearing in many ancient cultures such as Greece and India. The word "atom" was coined by ancient Greek philosophers. However, these ideas were founded in philosophical and theological reasoning rather than evidence and experimentation. As a result, their views on what atoms look like and how they behave were incorrect. They also could not convince everybody, so atomism was but one of a number of competing theories on the nature of matter. It was not until the 19th century that the idea was embraced and refined by scientists, when the blossoming science of chemistry produced discoveries that only the concept of atoms could explain.

text: First evidence-based theory

text: In the early 1800s, John Dalton used the concept of atoms to explain why elements always react in ratios of small whole numbers (the law of multiple proportions). For instance, there are two types of tin oxide: one is 88.1% tin and 11.9% oxygen and the other is 78.7% tin and 21.3% oxygen (tin(II) oxide and tin dioxide respectively). This means that 100g of tin will combine either with 13.5g or 27g of oxygen. 13.5 and 27 form a ratio of 1:2, a ratio of small whole numbers. This common pattern in chemistry suggested to Dalton that elements react in whole number multiples of discrete units—in other words, atoms. In the case of tin oxides, one tin atom will combine with either one or two oxygen atoms.[1]

text: Dalton also believed atomic theory could explain why water absorbs different gases in different proportions. For example, he found that water absorbs carbon dioxide far better than it absorbs nitrogen.[2] Dalton hypothesized this was due to the differences between the masses and configurations of the gases' respective particles, and carbon dioxide molecules (CO2) are heavier and larger than nitrogen molecules (N2).

text: Brownian motion

text: In 1827, botanist Robert Brown used a microscope to look at dust grains floating in water and discovered that they moved about erratically, a phenomenon that became known as "Brownian motion". This was thought to be caused by water molecules knocking the grains about. In 1905, Albert Einstein proved the reality of these molecules and their motions by producing the first Statistical physics analysis of Brownian motion.[3][4][5] French physicist Jean Perrin used Einstein's work to experimentally determine the mass and dimensions of atoms, thereby conclusively verifying Dalton's atomic theory.[6]

text: Discovery of the electron

text: The physicist J. J. Thomson measured the mass of cathode rays, showing they were made of particles, but were around 1800 times lighter than the lightest atom, hydrogen. Therefore, they were not atoms, but a new particle, the first subatomic particle to be discovered, which he originally called "corpuscle" but was later named electron, after particles postulated by George Johnstone Stoney in 1874. He also showed they were identical to particles given off by photoelectric and radioactive materials.[7] It was quickly recognized that they are the particles that carry electric currents in metal wires, and carry the negative electric charge within atoms. Thomson was given the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics for this work. Thus he overturned the belief that atoms are the indivisible, ultimate particles of matter.[8] Thomson also incorrectly postulated that the low mass, negatively charged electrons were distributed throughout the atom in a uniform sea of positive charge. This became known as the plum pudding model.

text: Discovery of the nucleus

text: In 1909, Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden, under the direction of Ernest Rutherford, bombarded a metal foil with alpha particles to observe how they scattered. They expected all the alpha particles to pass straight through with little deflection, because Thomson's model said that the charges in the atom are so diffuse that their electric fields could not affect the alpha particles much. However, Geiger and Marsden spotted alpha particles being deflected by angles greater than 90°, which was supposed to be impossible according to Thomson's model. To explain this, Rutherford proposed that the positive charge of the atom is concentrated in a tiny nucleus at the center of the atom.[9] Rutherford compared his findings to one firing a 15-inch shell at a sheet of tissue paper and it coming back to hit the person who fired it.[10]

text: Discovery of isotopes

text: While experimenting with the products of radioactive decay, in 1913 radiochemist Frederick Soddy discovered that there appeared to be more than one type of atom at each position on the periodic table.[11] The term isotope was coined by Margaret Todd as a suitable name for different atoms that belong to the same element. J.J. Thomson created a technique for separating atom types through his work on ionized gases, which subsequently led to the discovery of stable isotopes.[12]

text: Bohr model

text: In 1913 the physicist Niels Bohr proposed a model in which the electrons of an atom were assumed to orbit the nucleus but could only do so in a finite set of orbits, and could jump between these orbits only in discrete changes of energy corresponding to absorption or radiation of a photon.[13] This quantization was used to explain why the electrons orbits are stable (given that normally, charges in acceleration, including circular motion, lose kinetic energy which is emitted as electromagnetic radiation, see synchrotron radiation) and why elements absorb and emit electromagnetic radiation in discrete spectra.[14]

text: Later in the same year Henry Moseley provided additional experimental evidence in favor of Niels Bohr's theory. These results refined Ernest Rutherford's and Antonius Van den Broek's model, which proposed that the atom contains in its nucleus a number of positive nuclear charges that is equal to its (atomic) number in the periodic table. Until these experiments, atomic number was not known to be a physical and experimental quantity. That it is equal to the atomic nuclear charge remains the accepted atomic model today.[15]

text: Chemical bonding explained

text: Chemical bonds between atoms were now explained, by Gilbert Newton Lewis in 1916, as the interactions between their constituent electrons.[16] As the chemical properties of the elements were known to largely repeat themselves according to the periodic law,[17] in 1919 the American chemist Irving Langmuir suggested that this could be explained if the electrons in an atom were connected or clustered in some manner. Groups of electrons were thought to occupy a set of electron shells about the nucleus.[18]

text: Further developments in quantum physics

text: The Stern–Gerlach experiment of 1922 provided further evidence of the quantum nature of the atom. When a beam of silver atoms was passed through a specially shaped magnetic field, the beam was split based on the direction of an atom's angular momentum, or spin. As this direction is random, the beam could be expected to spread into a line. Instead, the beam was split into two parts, depending on whether the atomic spin was oriented up or down.[19]

text: In 1924, Louis de Broglie proposed that all particles behave to an extent like waves. In 1926, Erwin Schrödinger used this idea to develop a mathematical model of the atom that described the electrons as three-dimensional waveforms rather than point particles. A consequence of using waveforms to describe particles is that it is mathematically impossible to obtain precise values for both the position and momentum of a particle at a given point in time; this became known as the uncertainty principle, formulated by Werner Heisenberg in 1926. In this concept, for a given accuracy in measuring a position one could only obtain a range of probable values for momentum, and vice versa.[20] This model was able to explain observations of atomic behavior that previous models could not, such as certain structural and spectral patterns of atoms larger than hydrogen. Thus, the planetary model of the atom was discarded in favor of one that described atomic orbital zones around the nucleus where a given electron is most likely to be observed.[21][22]

text: Discovery of the neutron

text: The development of the mass spectrometer allowed the mass of atoms to be measured with increased accuracy. The device uses a magnet to bend the trajectory of a beam of ions, and the amount of deflection is determined by the ratio of an atom's mass to its charge. The chemist Francis William Aston used this instrument to show that isotopes had different masses. The atomic mass of these isotopes varied by integer amounts, called the whole number rule.[23] The explanation for these different isotopes awaited the discovery of the neutron, an uncharged particle with a mass similar to the proton, by the physicist James Chadwick in 1932. Isotopes were then explained as elements with the same number of protons, but different numbers of neutrons within the nucleus.[24]

text: Fission, high-energy physics and condensed matter

text: In 1938, the German chemist Otto Hahn, a student of Rutherford, directed neutrons onto uranium atoms expecting to get transuranium elements. Instead, his chemical experiments showed barium as a product.[25][26] A year later, Lise Meitner and her nephew Otto Frisch verified that Hahn's result were the first experimental nuclear fission.[27][28] In 1944, Hahn received the Nobel prize in chemistry. Despite Hahn's efforts, the contributions of Meitner and Frisch were not recognized.[29]

text: In the 1950s, the development of improved particle accelerators and particle detectors allowed scientists to study the impacts of atoms moving at high energies.[30] Neutrons and protons were found to be hadrons, or composites of smaller particles called quarks. The standard model of particle physics was developed that so far has successfully explained the properties of the nucleus in terms of these sub-atomic particles and the forces that govern their interactions.[31]

text: Structure

text: Subatomic particles

text: Though the word atom originally denoted a particle that cannot be cut into smaller particles, in modern scientific usage the atom is composed of various subatomic particles. The constituent particles of an atom are the electron, the proton and the neutron; all three are fermions. However, the hydrogen-1 atom has no neutrons and the hydron ion has no electrons.

text: The electron is by far the least massive of these particles at 6969911000000000000♠9.11×10−31 kg, with a negative electrical charge and a size that is too small to be measured using available techniques.[32] It is the lightest particle with a positive rest mass measured. Under ordinary conditions, electrons are bound to the positively charged nucleus by the attraction created from opposite electric charges. If an atom has more or fewer electrons than its atomic number, then it becomes respectively negatively or positively charged as a whole; a charged atom is called an ion. Electrons have been known since the late 19th century, mostly thanks to J.J. Thomson; see history of subatomic physics for details.

text: Protons have a positive charge and a mass 1,836 times that of the electron, at 6973167260000000000♠1.6726×10−27 kg. The number of protons in an atom is called its atomic number. Ernest Rutherford (1919) observed that nitrogen under alpha-particle bombardment ejects what appeared to be hydrogen nuclei. By 1920 he had accepted that the hydrogen nucleus is a distinct particle within the atom and named it proton.

text: Neutrons have no electrical charge and have a free mass of 1,839 times the mass of the electron,[33] or 6973169290000000000♠1.6929×10−27 kg, the heaviest of the three constituent particles, but it can be reduced by the nuclear binding energy. Neutrons and protons (collectively known as nucleons) have comparable dimensions—on the order of 6985250000000000000♠2.5×10−15 m—although the 'surface' of these particles is not sharply defined.[34] The neutron was discovered in 1932 by the English physicist James Chadwick.

text: In the Standard Model of physics, electrons are truly elementary particles with no internal structure. However, both protons and neutrons are composite particles composed of elementary particles called quarks. There are two types of quarks in atoms, each having a fractional electric charge. Protons are composed of two up quarks (each with charge +2/3) and one down quark (with a charge of −1/3). Neutrons consist of one up quark and two down quarks. This distinction accounts for the difference in mass and charge between the two particles.[35][36]

text: The quarks are held together by the strong interaction (or strong force), which is mediated by gluons. The protons and neutrons, in turn, are held to each other in the nucleus by the nuclear force, which is a residuum of the strong force that has somewhat different range-properties (see the article on the nuclear force for more). The gluon is a member of the family of gauge bosons, which are elementary particles that mediate physical forces.[35][36]

text: Nucleus

text: All the bound protons and neutrons in an atom make up a tiny atomic nucleus, and are collectively called nucleons. The radius of a nucleus is approximately equal to 1.07 3√A fm, where A is the total number of nucleons.[37] This is much smaller than the radius of the atom, which is on the order of 105 fm. The nucleons are bound together by a short-ranged attractive potential called the residual strong force. At distances smaller than 2.5 fm this force is much more powerful than the electrostatic force that causes positively charged protons to repel each other.[38]

text: Atoms of the same element have the same number of protons, called the atomic number. Within a single element, the number of neutrons may vary, determining the isotope of that element. The total number of protons and neutrons determine the nuclide. The number of neutrons relative to the protons determines the stability of the nucleus, with certain isotopes undergoing radioactive decay.[39]

text: The proton, the electron, and the neutron are classified as fermions. Fermions obey the Pauli exclusion principle which prohibits identical fermions, such as multiple protons, from occupying the same quantum state at the same time. Thus, every proton in the nucleus must occupy a quantum state different from all other protons, and the same applies to all neutrons of the nucleus and to all electrons of the electron cloud. However, a proton and a neutron are allowed to occupy the same quantum state.[40]

text: For atoms with low atomic numbers, a nucleus that has more neutrons than protons tends to drop to a lower energy state through radioactive decay so that the neutron–proton ratio is closer to one. However, as the atomic number increases, a higher proportion of neutrons is required to offset the mutual repulsion of the protons. Thus, there are no stable nuclei with equal proton and neutron numbers above atomic number Z = 20 (calcium) and as Z increases, the neutron–proton ratio of stable isotopes increases.[40] The stable isotope with the highest proton–neutron ratio is lead-208 (about 1.5).

text: The number of protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus can be modified, although this can require very high energies because of the strong force. Nuclear fusion occurs when multiple atomic particles join to form a heavier nucleus, such as through the energetic collision of two nuclei. For example, at the core of the Sun protons require energies of 3–10 keV to overcome their mutual repulsion—the coulomb barrier—and fuse together into a single nucleus.[41] Nuclear fission is the opposite process, causing a nucleus to split into two smaller nuclei—usually through radioactive decay. The nucleus can also be modified through bombardment by high energy subatomic particles or photons. If this modifies the number of protons in a nucleus, the atom changes to a different chemical element.[42][43]

text: If the mass of the nucleus following a fusion reaction is less than the sum of the masses of the separate particles, then the difference between these two values can be emitted as a type of usable energy (such as a gamma ray, or the kinetic energy of a beta particle), as described by Albert Einstein's mass–energy equivalence formula, E = mc2, where m is the mass loss and c is the speed of light. This deficit is part of the binding energy of the new nucleus, and it is the non-recoverable loss of the energy that causes the fused particles to remain together in a state that requires this energy to separate.[44]

text: The fusion of two nuclei that create larger nuclei with lower atomic numbers than iron and nickel—a total nucleon number of about 60—is usually an exothermic process that releases more energy than is required to bring them together.[45] It is this energy-releasing process that makes nuclear fusion in stars a self-sustaining reaction. For heavier nuclei, the binding energy per nucleon in the nucleus begins to decrease. That means fusion processes producing nuclei that have atomic numbers higher than about 26, and atomic masses higher than about 60, is an endothermic process. These more massive nuclei can not undergo an energy-producing fusion reaction that can sustain the hydrostatic equilibrium of a star.[40]

text: Electron cloud

text: The electrons in an atom are attracted to the protons in the nucleus by the electromagnetic force. This force binds the electrons inside an electrostatic potential well surrounding the smaller nucleus, which means that an external source of energy is needed for the electron to escape. The closer an electron is to the nucleus, the greater the attractive force. Hence electrons bound near the center of the potential well require more energy to escape than those at greater separations.

text: Electrons, like other particles, have properties of both a particle and a wave. The electron cloud is a region inside the potential well where each electron forms a type of three-dimensional standing wave—a wave form that does not move relative to the nucleus. This behavior is defined by an atomic orbital, a mathematical function that characterises the probability that an electron appears to be at a particular location when its position is measured.[46] Only a discrete (or quantized) set of these orbitals exist around the nucleus, as other possible wave patterns rapidly decay into a more stable form.[47] Orbitals can have one or more ring or node structures, and differ from each other in size, shape and orientation.[48]

text: Each atomic orbital corresponds to a particular energy level of the electron. The electron can change its state to a higher energy level by absorbing a photon with sufficient energy to boost it into the new quantum state. Likewise, through spontaneous emission, an electron in a higher energy state can drop to a lower energy state while radiating the excess energy as a photon. These characteristic energy values, defined by the differences in the energies of the quantum states, are responsible for atomic spectral lines.[47]

text: The amount of energy needed to remove or add an electron—the electron binding energy—is far less than the binding energy of nucleons. For example, it requires only 13.6 eV to strip a ground-state electron from a hydrogen atom,[49] compared to 2.23 million eV for splitting a deuterium nucleus.[50] Atoms are electrically neutral if they have an equal number of protons and electrons. Atoms that have either a deficit or a surplus of electrons are called ions. Electrons that are farthest from the nucleus may be transferred to other nearby atoms or shared between atoms. By this mechanism, atoms are able to bond into molecules and other types of chemical compounds like ionic and covalent network crystals.[51]

text: Properties

text: Nuclear properties

text: By definition, any two atoms with an identical number of protons in their nuclei belong to the same chemical element. Atoms with equal numbers of protons but a different number of neutrons are different isotopes of the same element. For example, all hydrogen atoms admit exactly one proton, but isotopes exist with no neutrons (hydrogen-1, by far the most common form,[52] also called protium), one neutron (deuterium), two neutrons (tritium) and more than two neutrons. The known elements form a set of atomic numbers, from the single proton element hydrogen up to the 118-proton element oganesson.[53] All known isotopes of elements with atomic numbers greater than 82 are radioactive, although the radioactivity of element 83 (bismuth) is so slight as to be practically negligible.[54][55]

text: About 339 nuclides occur naturally on Earth,[56] of which 254 (about 75%) have not been observed to decay, and are referred to as "stable isotopes". However, only 90 of these nuclides are stable to all decay, even in theory. Another 164 (bringing the total to 254) have not been observed to decay, even though in theory it is energetically possible. These are also formally classified as "stable". An additional 34 radioactive nuclides have half-lives longer than 80 million years, and are long-lived enough to be present from the birth of the solar system. This collection of 288 nuclides are known as primordial nuclides. Finally, an additional 51 short-lived nuclides are known to occur naturally, as daughter products of primordial nuclide decay (such as radium from uranium), or else as products of natural energetic processes on Earth, such as cosmic ray bombardment (for example, carbon-14).[57][note 1]

text: For 80 of the chemical elements, at least one stable isotope exists. As a rule, there is only a handful of stable isotopes for each of these elements, the average being 3.2 stable isotopes per element. Twenty-six elements have only a single stable isotope, while the largest number of stable isotopes observed for any element is ten, for the element tin. Elements 43, 61, and all elements numbered 83 or higher have no stable isotopes.[58][page needed]

text: Stability of isotopes is affected by the ratio of protons to neutrons, and also by the presence of certain "magic numbers" of neutrons or protons that represent closed and filled quantum shells. These quantum shells correspond to a set of energy levels within the shell model of the nucleus; filled shells, such as the filled shell of 50 protons for tin, confers unusual stability on the nuclide. Of the 254 known stable nuclides, only four have both an odd number of protons and odd number of neutrons: hydrogen-2 (deuterium), lithium-6, boron-10 and nitrogen-14. Also, only four naturally occurring, radioactive odd–odd nuclides have a half-life over a billion years: potassium-40, vanadium-50, lanthanum-138 and tantalum-180m. Most odd–odd nuclei are highly unstable with respect to beta decay, because the decay products are even–even, and are therefore more strongly bound, due to nuclear pairing effects.[58][page needed]

text: Mass

text: The large majority of an atom's mass comes from the protons and neutrons that make it up. The total number of these particles (called "nucleons") in a given atom is called the mass number. It is a positive integer and dimensionless (instead of having dimension of mass), because it expresses a count. An example of use of a mass number is "carbon-12," which has 12 nucleons (six protons and six neutrons).

text: The actual mass of an atom at rest is often expressed using the unified atomic mass unit (u), also called dalton (Da). This unit is defined as a twelfth of the mass of a free neutral atom of carbon-12, which is approximately 6973166000000000000♠1.66×10−27 kg.[59] Hydrogen-1 (the lightest isotope of hydrogen which is also the nuclide with the lowest mass) has an atomic weight of 1.007825 u.[60] The value of this number is called the atomic mass. A given atom has an atomic mass approximately equal (within 1%) to its mass number times the atomic mass unit (for example the mass of a nitrogen-14 is roughly 14 u). However, this number will not be exactly an integer except in the case of carbon-12 (see below).[61] The heaviest stable atom is lead-208,[54] with a mass of 7002207976652100000♠207.9766521 u.[62]

text: As even the most massive atoms are far too light to work with directly, chemists instead use the unit of moles. One mole of atoms of any element always has the same number of atoms (about 7023602200000000000♠6.022×1023). This number was chosen so that if an element has an atomic mass of 1 u, a mole of atoms of that element has a mass close to one gram. Because of the definition of the unified atomic mass unit, each carbon-12 atom has an atomic mass of exactly 12 u, and so a mole of carbon-12 atoms weighs exactly 0.012 kg.[59]

text: Shape and size

text: Atoms lack a well-defined outer boundary, so their dimensions are usually described in terms of an atomic radius. This is a measure of the distance out to which the electron cloud extends from the nucleus.[63] However, this assumes the atom to exhibit a spherical shape, which is only obeyed for atoms in vacuum or free space. Atomic radii may be derived from the distances between two nuclei when the two atoms are joined in a chemical bond. The radius varies with the location of an atom on the atomic chart, the type of chemical bond, the number of neighboring atoms (coordination number) and a quantum mechanical property known as spin.[64] On the periodic table of the elements, atom size tends to increase when moving down columns, but decrease when moving across rows (left to right).[65] Consequently, the smallest atom is helium with a radius of 32 pm, while one of the largest is caesium at 225 pm.[66]

text: When subjected to external forces, like electrical fields, the shape of an atom may deviate from spherical symmetry. The deformation depends on the field magnitude and the orbital type of outer shell electrons, as shown by group-theoretical considerations. Aspherical deviations might be elicited for instance in crystals, where large crystal-electrical fields may occur at low-symmetry lattice sites.[67][68] Significant ellipsoidal deformations have been shown to occur for sulfur ions[69] and chalcogen ions[70] in pyrite-type compounds.

text: Atomic dimensions are thousands of times smaller than the wavelengths of light (400–700 nm) so they cannot be viewed using an optical microscope. However, individual atoms can be observed using a scanning tunneling microscope. To visualize the minuteness of the atom, consider that a typical human hair is about 1 million carbon atoms in width.[71] A single drop of water contains about 2 sextillion (7021200000000000000♠2×1021) atoms of oxygen, and twice the number of hydrogen atoms.[72] A single carat diamond with a mass of 6996200000000000000♠2×10−4 kg contains about 10 sextillion (1022) atoms of carbon.[note 2] If an apple were magnified to the size of the Earth, then the atoms in the apple would be approximately the size of the original apple.[73]

text: Radioactive decay

text: Every element has one or more isotopes that have unstable nuclei that are subject to radioactive decay, causing the nucleus to emit particles or electromagnetic radiation. Radioactivity can occur when the radius of a nucleus is large compared with the radius of the strong force, which only acts over distances on the order of 1 fm.[74]

text: The most common forms of radioactive decay are:[75][76]

text:
Alpha decay: this process is caused when the nucleus emits an alpha particle, which is a helium nucleus consisting of two protons and two neutrons. The result of the emission is a new element with a lower atomic number.
Beta decay (and electron capture): these processes are regulated by the weak force, and result from a transformation of a neutron into a proton, or a proton into a neutron. The neutron to proton transition is accompanied by the emission of an electron and an antineutrino, while proton to neutron transition (except in electron capture) causes the emission of a positron and a neutrino. The electron or positron emissions are called beta particles. Beta decay either increases or decreases the atomic number of the nucleus by one. Electron capture is more common than positron emission, because it requires less energy. In this type of decay, an electron is absorbed by the nucleus, rather than a positron emitted from the nucleus. A neutrino is still emitted in this process, and a proton changes to a neutron.
Gamma decay: this process results from a change in the energy level of the nucleus to a lower state, resulting in the emission of electromagnetic radiation. The excited state of a nucleus which results in gamma emission usually occurs following the emission of an alpha or a beta particle. Thus, gamma decay usually follows alpha or beta decay.

text: Other more rare types of radioactive decay include ejection of neutrons or protons or clusters of nucleons from a nucleus, or more than one beta particle. An analog of gamma emission which allows excited nuclei to lose energy in a different way, is internal conversion— a process that produces high-speed electrons that are not beta rays, followed by production of high-energy photons that are not gamma rays. A few large nuclei explode into two or more charged fragments of varying masses plus several neutrons, in a decay called spontaneous nuclear fission.

text: Each radioactive isotope has a characteristic decay time period—the half-life—that is determined by the amount of time needed for half of a sample to decay. This is an exponential decay process that steadily decreases the proportion of the remaining isotope by 50% every half-life. Hence after two half-lives have passed only 25% of the isotope is present, and so forth.[74]

text: Magnetic moment

text: Elementary particles possess an intrinsic quantum mechanical property known as spin. This is analogous to the angular momentum of an object that is spinning around its center of mass, although strictly speaking these particles are believed to be point-like and cannot be said to be rotating. Spin is measured in units of the reduced Planck constant (ħ), with electrons, protons and neutrons all having spin ½ ħ, or "spin-½". In an atom, electrons in motion around the nucleus possess orbital angular momentum in addition to their spin, while the nucleus itself possesses angular momentum due to its nuclear spin.[77]

text: The magnetic field produced by an atom—its magnetic moment—is determined by these various forms of angular momentum, just as a rotating charged object classically produces a magnetic field. However, the most dominant contribution comes from electron spin. Due to the nature of electrons to obey the Pauli exclusion principle, in which no two electrons may be found in the same quantum state, bound electrons pair up with each other, with one member of each pair in a spin up state and the other in the opposite, spin down state. Thus these spins cancel each other out, reducing the total magnetic dipole moment to zero in some atoms with even number of electrons.[78]

text: In ferromagnetic elements such as iron, cobalt and nickel, an odd number of electrons leads to an unpaired electron and a net overall magnetic moment. The orbitals of neighboring atoms overlap and a lower energy state is achieved when the spins of unpaired electrons are aligned with each other, a spontaneous process known as an exchange interaction. When the magnetic moments of ferromagnetic atoms are lined up, the material can produce a measurable macroscopic field. Paramagnetic materials have atoms with magnetic moments that line up in random directions when no magnetic field is present, but the magnetic moments of the individual atoms line up in the presence of a field.[78][79]

text: The nucleus of an atom will have no spin when it has even numbers of both neutrons and protons, but for other cases of odd numbers, the nucleus may have a spin. Normally nuclei with spin are aligned in random directions because of thermal equilibrium. However, for certain elements (such as xenon-129) it is possible to polarize a significant proportion of the nuclear spin states so that they are aligned in the same direction—a condition called hyperpolarization. This has important applications in magnetic resonance imaging.[80][81]

text: Energy levels

text: The potential energy of an electron in an atom is negative, its dependence of its position reaches the minimum (the most absolute value) inside the nucleus, and vanishes when the distance from the nucleus goes to infinity, roughly in an inverse proportion to the distance. In the quantum-mechanical model, a bound electron can only occupy a set of states centered on the nucleus, and each state corresponds to a specific energy level; see time-independent Schrödinger equation for theoretical explanation. An energy level can be measured by the amount of energy needed to unbind the electron from the atom, and is usually given in units of electronvolts (eV). The lowest energy state of a bound electron is called the ground state, i.e. stationary state, while an electron transition to a higher level results in an excited state.[82] The electron's energy raises when n increases because the (average) distance to the nucleus increases. Dependence of the energy on ℓ is caused not by electrostatic potential of the nucleus, but by interaction between electrons.

text: For an electron to transition between two different states, e.g. grounded state to first excited level (ionization), it must absorb or emit a photon at an energy matching the difference in the potential energy of those levels, according to Niels Bohr model, what can be precisely calculated by the Schrödinger equation. Electrons jump between orbitals in a particle-like fashion. For example, if a single photon strikes the electrons, only a single electron changes states in response to the photon; see Electron properties.

text: The energy of an emitted photon is proportional to its frequency, so these specific energy levels appear as distinct bands in the electromagnetic spectrum.[83] Each element has a characteristic spectrum that can depend on the nuclear charge, subshells filled by electrons, the electromagnetic interactions between the electrons and other factors.[84]

text: When a continuous spectrum of energy is passed through a gas or plasma, some of the photons are absorbed by atoms, causing electrons to change their energy level. Those excited electrons that remain bound to their atom spontaneously emit this energy as a photon, traveling in a random direction, and so drop back to lower energy levels. Thus the atoms behave like a filter that forms a series of dark absorption bands in the energy output. (An observer viewing the atoms from a view that does not include the continuous spectrum in the background, instead sees a series of emission lines from the photons emitted by the atoms.) Spectroscopic measurements of the strength and width of atomic spectral lines allow the composition and physical properties of a substance to be determined.[85]

text: Close examination of the spectral lines reveals that some display a fine structure splitting. This occurs because of spin–orbit coupling, which is an interaction between the spin and motion of the outermost electron.[86] When an atom is in an external magnetic field, spectral lines become split into three or more components; a phenomenon called the Zeeman effect. This is caused by the interaction of the magnetic field with the magnetic moment of the atom and its electrons. Some atoms can have multiple electron configurations with the same energy level, which thus appear as a single spectral line. The interaction of the magnetic field with the atom shifts these electron configurations to slightly different energy levels, resulting in multiple spectral lines.[87] The presence of an external electric field can cause a comparable splitting and shifting of spectral lines by modifying the electron energy levels, a phenomenon called the Stark effect.[88]

text: If a bound electron is in an excited state, an interacting photon with the proper energy can cause stimulated emission of a photon with a matching energy level. For this to occur, the electron must drop to a lower energy state that has an energy difference matching the energy of the interacting photon. The emitted photon and the interacting photon then move off in parallel and with matching phases. That is, the wave patterns of the two photons are synchronized. This physical property is used to make lasers, which can emit a coherent beam of light energy in a narrow frequency band.[89]

text: Valence and bonding behavior

text: Valency is the combining power of an element. It is equal to number of hydrogen atoms that atom can combine or displace in forming compounds.[90] The outermost electron shell of an atom in its uncombined state is known as the valence shell, and the electrons in that shell are called valence electrons. The number of valence electrons determines the bonding behavior with other atoms. Atoms tend to chemically react with each other in a manner that fills (or empties) their outer valence shells.[91] For example, a transfer of a single electron between atoms is a useful approximation for bonds that form between atoms with one-electron more than a filled shell, and others that are one-electron short of a full shell, such as occurs in the compound sodium chloride and other chemical ionic salts. However, many elements display multiple valences, or tendencies to share differing numbers of electrons in different compounds. Thus, chemical bonding between these elements takes many forms of electron-sharing that are more than simple electron transfers. Examples include the element carbon and the organic compounds.[92]

text: The chemical elements are often displayed in a periodic table that is laid out to display recurring chemical properties, and elements with the same number of valence electrons form a group that is aligned in the same column of the table. (The horizontal rows correspond to the filling of a quantum shell of electrons.) The elements at the far right of the table have their outer shell completely filled with electrons, which results in chemically inert elements known as the noble gases.[93][94]

text: States

text: Quantities of atoms are found in different states of matter that depend on the physical conditions, such as temperature and pressure. By varying the conditions, materials can transition between solids, liquids, gases and plasmas.[95] Within a state, a material can also exist in different allotropes. An example of this is solid carbon, which can exist as graphite or diamond.[96] Gaseous allotropes exist as well, such as dioxygen and ozone.

text: At temperatures close to absolute zero, atoms can form a Bose–Einstein condensate, at which point quantum mechanical effects, which are normally only observed at the atomic scale, become apparent on a macroscopic scale.[97][98] This super-cooled collection of atoms then behaves as a single super atom, which may allow fundamental checks of quantum mechanical behavior.[99]

text: Identification

text: The scanning tunneling microscope is a device for viewing surfaces at the atomic level. It uses the quantum tunneling phenomenon, which allows particles to pass through a barrier that would normally be insurmountable. Electrons tunnel through the vacuum between two planar metal electrodes, on each of which is an adsorbed atom, providing a tunneling-current density that can be measured. Scanning one atom (taken as the tip) as it moves past the other (the sample) permits plotting of tip displacement versus lateral separation for a constant current. The calculation shows the extent to which scanning-tunneling-microscope images of an individual atom are visible. It confirms that for low bias, the microscope images the space-averaged dimensions of the electron orbitals across closely packed energy levels—the Fermi level local density of states.[100][101]

text: An atom can be ionized by removing one of its electrons. The electric charge causes the trajectory of an atom to bend when it passes through a magnetic field. The radius by which the trajectory of a moving ion is turned by the magnetic field is determined by the mass of the atom. The mass spectrometer uses this principle to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. If a sample contains multiple isotopes, the mass spectrometer can determine the proportion of each isotope in the sample by measuring the intensity of the different beams of ions. Techniques to vaporize atoms include inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, both of which use a plasma to vaporize samples for analysis.[102]

text: A more area-selective method is electron energy loss spectroscopy, which measures the energy loss of an electron beam within a transmission electron microscope when it interacts with a portion of a sample. The atom-probe tomograph has sub-nanometer resolution in 3-D and can chemically identify individual atoms using time-of-flight mass spectrometry.[103]

text: Spectra of excited states can be used to analyze the atomic composition of distant stars. Specific light wavelengths contained in the observed light from stars can be separated out and related to the quantized transitions in free gas atoms. These colors can be replicated using a gas-discharge lamp containing the same element.[104] Helium was discovered in this way in the spectrum of the Sun 23 years before it was found on Earth.[105]

text: Origin and current state

text: Atoms form about 4% of the total energy density of the observable Universe, with an average density of about 0.25 atoms/m3.[106] Within a galaxy such as the Milky Way, atoms have a much higher concentration, with the density of matter in the interstellar medium (ISM) ranging from 105 to 109 atoms/m3.[107] The Sun is believed to be inside the Local Bubble, a region of highly ionized gas, so the density in the solar neighborhood is only about 103 atoms/m3.[108] Stars form from dense clouds in the ISM, and the evolutionary processes of stars result in the steady enrichment of the ISM with elements more massive than hydrogen and helium. Up to 95% of the Milky Way's atoms are concentrated inside stars and the total mass of atoms forms about 10% of the mass of the galaxy.[109] (The remainder of the mass is an unknown dark matter.)[110]

text: Formation

text: Electrons are thought to exist in the Universe since early stages of the Big Bang. Atomic nuclei forms in nucleosynthesis reactions. In about three minutes Big Bang nucleosynthesis produced most of the helium, lithium, and deuterium in the Universe, and perhaps some of the beryllium and boron.[111][112][113]

text: Ubiquitousness and stability of atoms relies on their binding energy, which means that an atom has a lower energy than an unbound system of the nucleus and electrons. Where the temperature is much higher than ionization potential, the matter exists in the form of plasma—a gas of positively charged ions (possibly, bare nuclei) and electrons. When the temperature drops below the ionization potential, atoms become statistically favorable. Atoms (complete with bound electrons) became to dominate over charged particles 380,000 years after the Big Bang—an epoch called recombination, when the expanding Universe cooled enough to allow electrons to become attached to nuclei.[114]

text: Since the Big Bang, which produced no carbon or heavier elements, atomic nuclei have been combined in stars through the process of nuclear fusion to produce more of the element helium, and (via the triple alpha process) the sequence of elements from carbon up to iron;[115] see stellar nucleosynthesis for details.

text: Isotopes such as lithium-6, as well as some beryllium and boron are generated in space through cosmic ray spallation.[116] This occurs when a high-energy proton strikes an atomic nucleus, causing large numbers of nucleons to be ejected.

text: Elements heavier than iron were produced in supernovae through the r-process and in AGB stars through the s-process, both of which involve the capture of neutrons by atomic nuclei.[117] Elements such as lead formed largely through the radioactive decay of heavier elements.[118]

text: Earth

text: Most of the atoms that make up the Earth and its inhabitants were present in their current form in the nebula that collapsed out of a molecular cloud to form the Solar System. The rest are the result of radioactive decay, and their relative proportion can be used to determine the age of the Earth through radiometric dating.[119][120] Most of the helium in the crust of the Earth (about 99% of the helium from gas wells, as shown by its lower abundance of helium-3) is a product of alpha decay.[121]

text: There are a few trace atoms on Earth that were not present at the beginning (i.e., not "primordial"), nor are results of radioactive decay. Carbon-14 is continuously generated by cosmic rays in the atmosphere.[122] Some atoms on Earth have been artificially generated either deliberately or as by-products of nuclear reactors or explosions.[123][124] Of the transuranic elements—those with atomic numbers greater than 92—only plutonium and neptunium occur naturally on Earth.[125][126] Transuranic elements have radioactive lifetimes shorter than the current age of the Earth[127] and thus identifiable quantities of these elements have long since decayed, with the exception of traces of plutonium-244 possibly deposited by cosmic dust.[128] Natural deposits of plutonium and neptunium are produced by neutron capture in uranium ore.[129]

text: The Earth contains approximately 7050133000000000000♠1.33×1050 atoms.[130] Although small numbers of independent atoms of noble gases exist, such as argon, neon, and helium, 99% of the atmosphere is bound in the form of molecules, including carbon dioxide and diatomic oxygen and nitrogen. At the surface of the Earth, an overwhelming majority of atoms combine to form various compounds, including water, salt, silicates and oxides. Atoms can also combine to create materials that do not consist of discrete molecules, including crystals and liquid or solid metals.[131][132] This atomic matter forms networked arrangements that lack the particular type of small-scale interrupted order associated with molecular matter.[133]

text: Rare and theoretical forms

text: Superheavy elements

text: While isotopes with atomic numbers higher than lead (82) are known to be radioactive, an "island of stability" has been proposed for some elements with atomic numbers above 103. These superheavy elements may have a nucleus that is relatively stable against radioactive decay.[134] The most likely candidate for a stable superheavy atom, unbihexium, has 126 protons and 184 neutrons.[135]

text: Exotic matter

text: Each particle of matter has a corresponding antimatter particle with the opposite electrical charge. Thus, the positron is a positively charged antielectron and the antiproton is a negatively charged equivalent of a proton. When a matter and corresponding antimatter particle meet, they annihilate each other. Because of this, along with an imbalance between the number of matter and antimatter particles, the latter are rare in the universe. The first causes of this imbalance are not yet fully understood, although theories of baryogenesis may offer an explanation. As a result, no antimatter atoms have been discovered in nature.[136][137] However, in 1996 the antimatter counterpart of the hydrogen atom (antihydrogen) was synthesized at the CERN laboratory in Geneva.[138][139]

text: Other exotic atoms have been created by replacing one of the protons, neutrons or electrons with other particles that have the same charge. For example, an electron can be replaced by a more massive muon, forming a muonic atom. These types of atoms can be used to test the fundamental predictions of physics.[140][141][142]


document_title: Southern Italy

question_text: what island is located off the boot toe of italy

root

text: Southern Italy

text: Etymology[edit]

text: The term Mezzogiorno ("midday" in Italian) first came into use in the 18th century and is an Italian rendition of meridies (Latin for 'south', because of the sun's position at midday in the Northern Hemisphere). The term was later popularised by Giuseppe Garibaldi and it eventually came into vogue after the Italian unification.

tag: p

text: In a similar manner, Southern France is colloquially known as le Midi ("midday" in French).

text: Regions[edit]

text: Southern Italy is generally thought to comprise the administrative regions of Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, Molise, Sicily, and usually Sardinia.[6][7][8] Some also include the southernmost and easternmost parts of Lazio (the Sora, Cassino, Gaeta, Cittaducale, Formia, and Amatrice districts) within the Mezzogiorno, since they were once part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and southern Italian lects are spoken. The island of Sardinia, although for cultural, linguistic and historical reasons having less in common with the aforementioned regions, is frequently included as Southern Italy or Mezzogiorno, often for statistical and economical purposes.[8][9]

text: Geography[edit]

text: Southern Italy forms  the lower part of the Italian "boot", containing the ankle (Campania), the toe (Calabria), the arch (Basilicata), and the heel (Apulia), Molise (north of Apulia) and Abruzzo (north of Molise) along with the island of Sicily. Separating the "heel" and the "boot" is the Gulf of Taranto, named after the city of Taranto, which is at an angle between the heel and the boot itself. It is an arm of the Ionian Sea. The island of Sardinia, right below the French island of Corsica, might also be included.

text: On the eastern coast is the Adriatic Sea, leading into the rest of the Mediterranean through the Strait of Otranto (named after the largest city on the tip of the heel). On the Adriatic, south of the "spur" of the boot, the peninsula of Monte Gargano; on the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Gulf of Salerno, the Gulf of Naples, the Gulf of Policastro and the Gulf of Gaeta are each named after a large coastal city. Along the northern coast of the Salernitan Gulf and on the south of the Sorrentine Peninsula runs the Amalfi Coast. Off the tip of the peninsula is the isle of Capri.

text: The climate is mainly Mediterranean (Köppen climate classification Csa), except at the highest elevations (Dsa, Dsb) and the semi-arid eastern stretches in Apulia, along the Ionian Sea in Calabria and the southern stretches of Sicily (BSw). The largest city of Southern Italy is Naples, a name from the Greek that it has historically maintained for millennia. Bari, Taranto, Reggio Calabria, Foggia, and Salerno are the next largest cities in the area. The region is geologically very active (except Salento in Apulia) and highly seismic: the 1980 Irpinia earthquake killed 2,914 people, injured more than 10,000 and left 300,000 homeless.

text: History[edit]

text: Prehistory and antiquity[edit]

text: In the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, for various reasons, including demographic crisis (famine, overcrowding, etc.), the search for new commercial outlets and ports, and expulsion from their homeland, Greeks began to settle in Southern Italy (Cerchiai, pp. 14–18). Also during this period, Greek colonies were established in places as widely separated as the eastern coast of the Black Sea, Eastern Libya and Massalia (Marseille). They included settlements in Sicily and the southern part of the Italian Peninsula. The Romans called the area of Sicily and the foot of Italy, Magna Graecia (Latin, "Great Greece"), since it was so densely inhabited by the Greeks. The ancient geographers differed on whether the term included Sicily or merely Apulia and Calabria—Strabo being the most prominent advocate of the wider definitions.

text: With this colonisation, Greek culture was exported to Italy, in its dialects of the Ancient Greek language, its religious rites and its traditions of the independent polis. An original Hellenic civilization soon developed, later interacting with the native Italic and Latin civilisations.  The most important cultural transplant was the Chalcidean/Cumaean variety of the Greek alphabet, which was adopted by the Etruscans; the Old Italic alphabet subsequently evolved into the Latin alphabet, which became the most widely used alphabet in the world.

text: Many of the new Hellenic cities became very rich and powerful, like Neapolis (Νεάπολις, Naples, "New City"), Syrakousai (Συράκουσαι, Syracuse), Akragas (Ἀκράγας, Agrigento), and Sybaris  (Σύβαρις, Sibari). Other cities in Magna Graecia included Tarentum (Τάρας), Epizephyrian Locri (Λοκροὶ Ἐπιζεφύριοι), Rhegium (Ῥήγιον), Croton (Κρότων), Thurii (Θούριοι), Elea (Ἐλέα), Nola (Νῶλα), Syessa (Σύεσσα), Bari (Βάριον), and others.

text: After Pyrrhus of Epirus failed in his attempt to stop the spread of Roman hegemony in 282 BCE, the south fell under Roman domination and remained in such a position well into the barbarian invasions (the Gladiator War is a notable suspension of imperial control). It was held by the Byzantine Empire after the fall of Rome in the West and even the Lombards failed to consolidate it, though the centre of the south was theirs from Zotto's conquest in the final quarter of the 6th century.

text: Middle Ages[edit]

text: Following the Gothic War (535–554), and until the arrival of the Normans, much of Southern Italy's destiny was linked to the fortunes of the Eastern Empire, even though Byzantine domination was challenged in the 9th century by the Lombards, who annexed the area of Cosenza to their Duchy of Benevento. Consequently, the Lombard and the Byzantine areas became influenced by Eastern monasticism and much of Southern Italy experienced a slow process of orientalisation in religious life (rites, cults and liturgy), which accompanied a spread of Eastern churches and monasteries that preserved and transmitted the Greek and Hellenistic tradition (the Cattolica monastery in Stilo is the most representative of these Byzantine monuments). From then to the Norman conquest of the 11th century, the south of the peninsula was constantly plunged into wars between Greece, Lombardy, and the Islamic Caliphate. The latter established several Islamic states in southern Italy, such as the Emirate of Sicily and Emirate of Bari. Amalfi, an independent republic from the 7th century until 1075, and to a lesser extent Gaeta, Molfetta and Trani, rivalled other Italian maritime republics in their domestic prosperity and maritime importance.

text: In the 11th century, the Normans occupied all the Lombard and Byzantine possessions in Southern Italy, ending the six-century-old presence of both powers in the peninsula, and eventually expelled the Muslims from Sicily. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily under Roger II was characterised by its competent governance, multi-ethnic nature and religious tolerance. Normans, Jews, Muslim Arabs, Byzantine Greeks, Lombards and "native" Sicilians lived in relative harmony.[11] However, the Norman domination lasted only several decades before it formally ended in 1198 with the reign of Constance of Sicily, and was replaced by that of the Swabian Hohenstaufen dynasty.

text: In Sicily, Emperor Frederick II endorsed a deep reform of the laws culminating with the promulgation of the Constitutions of Melfi (1231, also known as Liber Augustalis), a collection of laws for his realm that was remarkable for its time and was a source of inspiration for a long time after.[12] It made the Kingdom of Sicily a centralised state and established the primacy of written law. With relatively small modifications, the Liber Augustalis remained the basis of Sicilian law until 1819. His royal court in Palermo, from around 1220 to his death, saw the first use of a literary form of an Italo-Romance language, Sicilian, that had a significant influence on what was to become the modern Italian language. During this period, he also built the Castel del Monte, and in 1224, he founded the University of Naples, now called, after him, Università Federico II.[13]

text: In 1266, conflict between the Hohenstaufen house and the Papacy led to Sicily's conquest by Charles I, Duke of Anjou. Opposition to French officialdom and taxation combined with incitement of rebellion by agents from the Byzantine Empire and the Crown of Aragon led to the Sicilian Vespers insurrection and successful invasion by king Peter III of Aragon in 1282. The resulting War of the Sicilian Vespers lasted until the Peace of Caltabellotta in 1302, dividing the old Kingdom of Sicily in two. The island of Sicily, called the "Kingdom of Sicily beyond the Lighthouse" or the Kingdom of Trinacria, went to Frederick III of the house of Aragon, who had been ruling it. The peninsular territories, contemporaneously called Kingdom of Sicily, but called Kingdom of Naples by modern scholarship, went to Charles II of the House of Anjou, who had likewise been ruling it. Thus, the peace was formal recognition of an uneasy status quo.[14] Despite the king of Spain being able to seize both the two crowns starting from the 16th century, the administrations of the two halves of the Kingdom of Sicily remained separated until 1816, when they were reunited in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.

text: Early modern history[edit]

text: In 1442, however, Alfonso V conquered the Kingdom of Naples and unified Sicily and Naples once again as dependencies of the Crown of Aragon. At his death in 1458, the kingdom was again separated and Naples was inherited by Ferrante, Alfonso's illegitimate son. When Ferrante died in 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded Italy, using the Angevin claim to the throne of Naples, which his father had inherited on the death of King René's nephew in 1481, as a pretext, thus beginning the Italian Wars. Charles VIII expelled Alfonso II of Naples from Naples in 1495, but was soon forced to withdraw due to the support of Ferdinand II of Aragon for his cousin, Alfonso II's son Ferrantino. Ferrantino was restored to the throne, but died in 1496, and was succeeded by his uncle, Frederick IV. The French, however, did not give up their claim, and in 1501 agreed to a partition of the kingdom with Ferdinand of Aragon, who abandoned his cousin King Frederick. The deal soon fell through, however, and the Crown of Aragon and France resumed their war over the kingdom, ultimately resulting in an Aragonese victory leaving Ferdinand in control of the kingdom by 1504.

text: The kingdom continued to be a focus of dispute between France and Spain for the next several decades, but French efforts to gain control of it became feebler as the decades went on, and Spanish control was never genuinely endangered. The French finally abandoned their claims to the kingdom by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559. With the Treaty of London (1557) the new client state of "Stato dei Presidi" (State of Presidi) was established and governed directly by Spain, as part of the Kingdom of Naples.

text: The administration of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, as well as the Duchy of Milan, was then run by the Council of Italy, while Sardinia kept being an integral part of the Council of Aragon until the first years of the XVIII° century, when it was ceded to Austria and eventually Savoy.

text: After the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, possession of the kingdom again changed hands. Under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Naples was given to Charles VI, the Holy Roman Emperor. He also gained control of Sicily in 1720, but Austrian rule did not last long. Both Naples and Sicily were conquered by a Spanish army during the War of the Polish Succession in 1734, and Charles, Duke of Parma, a younger son of King Philip V of Spain was installed as King of Naples and Sicily from 1735. When Charles inherited the Spanish throne from his older half-brother in 1759, he left Naples and Sicily to his younger son, Ferdinand IV. Despite the two kingdoms being in a personal union under the House of Bourbon from 1735 onwards, they remained constitutionally separated.

text: Early 19th century[edit]

text: Being a member of the House of Bourbon, King Ferdinand IV was a natural opponent of the French Revolution and Napoleon. In January 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte, in the name of the French Republic, captured Naples and proclaimed the Parthenopaean Republic, a French client state, as successor to the kingdom.  King Ferdinand fled from Naples to Sicily until June of that year. In 1806, Bonaparte, by then French Emperor, again dethroned King Ferdinand and appointed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, as King of Naples. In the Edict of Bayonne of 1808, Napoleon removed Joseph to Spain and appointed his brother-in-law, Joachim Murat, as King of the Two Sicilies, though this meant control only of the mainland portion of the kingdom.[15][16] Throughout this Napoleonic interruption, King Ferdinand remained in Sicily, with Palermo as his capital.

text: After Napoleon's defeat, King Ferdinand IV was restored by the Congress of Vienna of 1815 as Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. He established a concordat with the Papal States, which previously had a claim to the land.[17] There were several rebellions on the island of Sicily against the King Ferdinand II but the end of the kingdom was only brought about by the Expedition of the Thousand in 1860, led by Garibaldi, an icon of the Italian unification, with the support of the House of Savoy and their Kingdom of Sardinia. The expedition resulted in a striking series of defeats for the Sicilian armies against the growing troops of Garibaldi. After the capture of Palermo and  Sicily, he disembarked in Calabria and moved towards Naples, while in the meantime the Piedmontese also invaded the Kingdom from the Marche. The last battles fought were that of the Volturnus in 1860 and the siege of Gaeta, where King Francis II had sought shelter, hoping for French help, which never came. The last towns to resist Garibaldi's expedition were Messina (which capitulated on 13 March 1861) and Civitella del Tronto (which capitulated on 20 March 1861). The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was dissolved and annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy, founded in the same year.

text: Southern and Northern Italy in 1860[edit]

text: At the time of the Italian Unification, the gap between Northern and Southern Italy was significant. The Northern states of Italy were home to roads for about 75,500 kilometers and railroads for 2,316 kilometers, combined with a wide range of channels connected to rivers for goods transportation; iron and steel production was 17,000 tons per year. On the contrary in the Southern state of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies there were 14,700 kilometers of roads, 184 kilometers of railroads only near Naples, no channels connected to rivers and iron and steel production was 1,500 tons per year.

text: In 1860, illiteracy rates on the Italian peninsula of 1860 had an average of 75%, with the lowest peak of 54% being in the northwestern Kingdom of Sardinia (known as Piedmont), and the highest moving to the south, where in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies illiteracy reached 87%.[18]

text:
In 1860 the southern merchant navy amounted to 260,000 tons, whereas the northern merchant navy 347,000 tons, aside from the Venetian navy annexed in 1866 and assessed 46,000 tons. In 1860 the whole Italian merchant navy was the fourth of Europe with about 607,000 tons.[19]
The Southern merchant navy was made up of sailing vessels mainly for fishing and coastal shipping in the Mediterranean Sea and it had very few steamships, even if one of the first steamers was built and fitted in Naples in 1818. Both merchant and military navy were insufficient compared to the great coastal extent of Southern Italy defined by the Italian historian Raffaele De Cesare: "… a great pier towards South".[20]

text: In addition to the merchant navy we must also consider the waterway network connected with rivers and canals, which was used to transport goods in a large area, the waterway network was highly developed in the north and nonexistent in the south.

text: In the article "This is Not Italy! Ruling and Representing the South, it is clear how the Northern elites considered the South. The Piedmontese North felt the need to invade the South and establish a new form of governance based on the Northern system since they viewed the South as under-developed and lacking of social capital. These views of the South can largely be attributed to the letters of correspondents in southern Italy who sent biased letters to leaders of the North, specifically Count Camillo Cavour, urging for the invasion and reformation of the South. Although these views of the South were condescending, they also came with a genuine belief that in order to create a unified Italy, help from the North was necessary. Viewing southern Italy as barbaric, served as a sort of justification to allow the "civilized, Piedmontese north" (167) to intervene. Another view however was marked with disdain of Southern Italy. According to the article, "such manifestations of the south's difference threaten the glowing and gloating sense of northern superiority" (167).  These viewpoints clearly indicate the divide between Northern and Southern Italy in the 1860s.[21]

text: Denis Mack Smith, British historian, describes the radical difference between the Northern and the newly annexed Southern Italy in 1860, for these two halves were on quite different levels of civilization, pointing out that the Bourbon in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies were staunch supporters of a feudal system and that they had feared the traffic of ideas and had tried to keep their subjects insulated from the agricultural and industrial revolutions of northern Europe.[22]

text: The above-mentioned study by Denis Mack Smith is confirmed by the Italian historian and left wing politician Antonio Gramsci in his book "The Southern Question", by which the author emphasizes the "absolutely antithetical conditions" of Northern and Southern Italy at the time of the Italian Unification in 1861, when South and North united themselves again after more than one thousand years.

text: Gramsci remarks that, in the North of Italy, the historical period of the Communes had given special boost to history and in Northern Italy existed an economic organization similar to that of the other states of Europe, propitious to further development  of capitalism and industry, whereas in Southern Italy history had been different and the fatherly Bourbon administrations produced nothing of value; the bourgeois class did not exist, agriculture was primitive and insufficient to satisfy the local market, there were no roads, no ports,  the few waters that the region had were not exploited, due to its special geographical feature.[23]

text:
Life conditions of the people of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies are illustrated also by Raffaele De Cesare,[24] who reports the lack of interest from the king of Naples Ferdinand II to do useful works to change the neglected conditions of public hygiene, particularly in the provinces where scarcity of sewer systems and often water shortage were known issues.
[25]

text:
The problem of Brigandage is explained in the book "Heroes and Brigands" by the southern Italian historian and politician Francesco Saverio Nitti outlining that Brigandage was endemic in Southern Italy, where for centuries monarchy based itself on Brigandage, that had become  like a historical agent.[26]
Unlike Southern Italy, Brigandage was generally little in the other annexed states of northern and central Italy like: Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, Duchy of Parma, Duchy of Modena, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Papal States, because the situation of Southern Italy was very different, owing to the previous centuries of history.

text: According to the southern Italian historian Giustino Fortunato,[27] and Italian institutional sources [28] the problems of Southern Italy existed before the Italian Unification, in this regard Giustino Fortunato underlines that the Bourbon were not the only ones responsible for southern problems, that had ancient and deep origins also in previous centuries of poverty and isolation, caused by foreign dominations and governments.

text: In literature the period of 1860 is described by the Sicilian writer Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa in his famous novel The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) set in Sicily during the years of the Italian unification, in a famous final scene prince Salina, when invited to join the senate of unified Italy, answers to an important Piedmontese officer " … the Sicilian will never want to change, because the Sicilian feels perfect …", by which and by other words the author underlines the problem for the Sicilians to change their old life style while remaining in their island. The novel was represented in the homonymous film The Leopard (1963 film) by Luchino Visconti in which the actor Burt Lancaster played as Prince Salina.

text: After 1861[edit]

text: The southern economy greatly suffered after the Italian unification and the process of industrialisation was interrupted. Poverty and organised crime were long-standing issues in Southern Italy as well and it got worse after unification. Cavour stated the basic problem was poor government, and believed the solution lied in the strict application of the Piedmonese legal system. The main result was an upsurge in brigandage.[29] Because of this, the South experienced great economic difficulties resulting in massive emigration leading to a worldwide Italian diaspora, especially to North America, South America, Australia, Zealandia, The Middle East and other parts of Europe . Many natives also relocated to the industrial cities in northern Italy, such as Genoa, Milan and Turin. A relative process of industrialisation has developed in some areas of the "Mezzogiorno" after World War II. In the 1946 referendum after the war, the region voted to keep the monarchy, with its greatest support coming in Campania. Politically, it was at odds with northern Italy, which won the referendum to establish a republic.[30] Today, the South remains less economically developed than the northern and central regions, which enjoyed an "economic miracle" in the 1950s and 1960s and became highly industrialized.

text: Economy[edit]

text: Starting from the unification of Italy in 1861–1870, a growing economic divide between the northern provinces and the southern half of Italy became evident.[31] In the early decades of the new kingdom, the lack of effective land reform, heavy taxes, and other economic measures imposed on the South, along with the removal of protectionist tariffs on agricultural goods imposed to boost northern industry, made the situation nearly impossible for many tenant farmers, small businesses and land owners. Multitudes chose to emigrate rather than try to eke out a meagre living, especially from 1892 to 1921.[32] In addition, the surge of brigandage and mafia provoked widespread violence, corruption and illegality. Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti once conceded that places existed "where the law does not operate at all".[33]

text: After the rise of Benito Mussolini, the "Iron Prefect" Cesare Mori tried to defeat the already powerful criminal organizations flowering in the South with some degree of success. However, when connections between mafia and the Fascists emerged, Mori was removed and the Fascist propaganda declared the mafia defeated.[34] Economically, Fascist policy aimed at the creation of an Italian Empire and Southern Italian ports were strategic for all commerce towards the colonies. Naples enjoyed a demographic and economic rebirth mainly due to the interest of King Victor Emmanuel III, who was born there.[35]

text: Starting from the 1950s, the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno was set up as a huge public master plan to help industrialise the South, that aimed to do this in two ways: by land reforms creating 120,000 new small farms, and through the "Growth Pole Strategy" whereby 60% of all government investment would go to the South, thus boosting the Southern economy by attracting new capital, stimulating local firms, and providing employment. However, the objectives were largely missed, and as a result the South became increasingly subsidised and state-dependent, incapable of generating private growth itself.[36] Presently huge regional disparities still persist. Problems still include pervasive organised crime and very high unemployment rates.

text: Due to Southern Italy's lack of progress to bettering the area, it has a record number of emigration. The most prevalent issue in Southern Italy is its inability to attract businesses and therefore create jobs. Between 2007 and 2014 943,000 Italians were unemployed. Of this, 70% were Italians from the South.[37] Employment in the South is ranked the lowest compared to countries in the European Union.[37] Italians from the South are also ranked the lowest in terms of money contributed into the economy of the Italy from immigrants.[38] The most common jobs in Southern Italy lie in tourism, distribution, food industries, wood furniture, whole sale, vehicle sales, sales in mineral and artisan.[39] As evident in the list of the most common jobs in Southern Italy, the economy of the South heavily relies on tourism. It attracts tourists through its rich historical background.

text: A report published in July 2015 by the Italian organization SVIMEZ shows that South Italy had a negative GDP growth in the last seven years and that from the year 2000 it has been growing half as much as Greece.[40]

text: In 2016, Southern Italy's GDP and economy have been growing twice as much as Northern Italy.[41]

text: In 2018, it was found that some hospitals in Calabria are so poor that they use cardboard as splints to treat fractures.[42]

text: Culture[edit]

text: The regions of Southern Italy were exposed to some different historical influences than the rest of the peninsula, starting most notably with Greek colonisation. Greek influence in the South was dominant until Latinisation was completed by the time of the Roman Principate. Greek influences returned by the late Roman Empire, especially following the reconquests of Justinian and the Byzantine Empire.

text: Sicily, a distinctive Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture  throughout the Middle Ages, was captured by Muslims  and turned into an Emirate for a period, and via Sicily, elements of Ancient Greek and Hindu culture borrowed by Arabs  were introduced to Italy and Europe. The rest of the mainland was subject to a struggle of power among the Byzantines, Lombards, and Franks. In addition, the Venetians established outposts as trade with Byzantium and the Near East increased.

text: Until the Norman conquests of the 11th and 12th centuries much of the South followed Eastern rite (Greek) Christianity. The Normans who settled in Sicily and Southern Italy in the Middle Ages significantly impacted the architecture, religion and high culture of the region. Later, Southern Italy was subjected to rule by the new European nation states, first the Crown of Aragon, then Spain, and then Austria. The Spanish had a major impact on the culture of the South, having ruled it for over three centuries.

text: Jewish communities lived in Sicily and Southern Italy for over 15 centuries, but in 1492 King Ferdinand II of Aragon proclaimed the Edict of expulsion. At their height, Jewish Sicilians probably constituted around one tenth of the island's population. After the Edict, they partially converted to Christianity and some moved to Ottoman Empire and other places in Southern Italy, Rome and Europe. In the 19th century, street musicians from Basilicata began to roam worldwide to seek a fortune, most of them would become professional instrumentalists in symphonic orchestras, especially in the United States.[43]

text: In recent years, Southern Italy has experienced a revival of its traditions and music, such as Neapolitan song and the Tarantella.


document_title: When Calls the Heart

question_text: who is jack in when calls the heart

question_tokens: who is jack in when calls the heart

text: When Calls the Heart

text: Plot[edit]

text: When Calls the Heart tells the story of Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow), a young teacher accustomed to her high-society life. She receives her first classroom assignment in Coal Valley, a small coal-mining town in Western Canada which is located just south of Robb, Alberta. There, life is simple—but often fraught with challenges. Elizabeth charms most everyone in Coal Valley, except Royal North West Mounted Police Constable Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing). He believes Thatcher’s wealthy father has doomed the lawman's career by insisting he be assigned in town to protect the shipping magnate’s daughter. The town of Coal Valley was renamed Hope Valley in Episode 2, Season 2 after the coal mine was closed.

text: Living in this 1910 coal town, Elizabeth must learn the ways of the Canadian frontier movement if she wishes to thrive in the rural west on her own. Lori Loughlin portrays Abigail Stanton, whose husband, the foreman of the mine, and her only son—along with 45 other miners—have recently been killed in an explosion, which turns out to have been a tragic accident waiting to happen—a result of the mining-company site manager's irresponsible management and lack of due care in his management of the mine. The newly widowed women find their faith tested when they must go to work in the mine to keep a roof over their heads, food on the table, and compile a wage for the town's teacher.[9]

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
Season
Episodes
Originally aired

First aired
Last aired

1
12
January 11, 2014 (2014-01-11)
March 29, 2014 (2014-03-29)

2
7
April 25, 2015 (2015-04-25)
June 13, 2015 (2015-06-13)

New Year's Wish
December 26, 2015 (2015-12-26)

3
8
February 21, 2016 (2016-02-21)
April 10, 2016 (2016-04-10)

Christmas
December 25, 2016 (2016-12-25)

4
10
February 19, 2017 (2017-02-19)
April 23, 2017 (2017-04-23)

The Christmas Wishing Tree
December 25, 2017 (2017-12-25)

5
10
February 18, 2018 (2018-02-18)
April 22, 2018 (2018-04-22)

tag: table

text: Cast[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Erin Krakow as Elizabeth Thatcher Thornton
Daniel Lissing as Jack Thornton
Lori Loughlin as Abigail Stanton
Jack Wagner as Bill Avery
Martin Cummins as Henry Gowen
Pascale Hutton as Rosemary LeVeaux Coulter
Kavan Smith as Leland Coulter

tag: ul

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Paul Greene as Carson Shepherd
Gracyn Shinyei as Emily Montgomery
Loretta Walsh as Florence Blakeley
Erica Carroll as Dottie Ramsey
Mark Humphrey as Frank Hogan
Johannah Newmarch as Molly Sullivan
Mitchell Kummen as Gabe Montgomery
Logan Williams as Miles Montgomery
Ben Rosenbaum as Hickam
Carter Ryan Evancic as Cody Hastings
Chelah Horsdal as Cat Montgomery
Steve Bacic as Charles Spurlock
Kristina Wagner as Nora Avery
Aren Buchholz as Jesse Flynn
Charlotte Hegele as Julie Thatcher
Andrea Brooks as Faith Carter
Eva Bourne as Clara Stanton
Ava Grace Cooper as Opal
Max Lloyd-Jones as Tom Thornton
Brooke Shields as Charlotte Thornton
Devon Weigel as Viola Thatcher
Marcus Rosner as Charles Kensington
Mamie Laverock as Rosaleen Sullivan
Adrian Hough as Reverend Anderson
Lynda Boyd as Grace Thatcher
Will Verchere-Gopaulsingh as Caleb Dunbar
Ali Skovbye as Becky Hastings
Garwin Sanford as William Thatcher
Laura Bertram as Mary Dunbar
Derek Hamilton as Dewitt Graves
Niall Matter as Shane Cantrell (season 4)
Spencer Drever as Cyrus Rivera (season 4)
Josie Bissett as AJ Foster

text: Characters[edit]

text:
Elizabeth Thatcher Thornton is an independent, strong-minded, passionate and dedicated young teacher from the city. The middle daughter of William and Grace Thatcher, Elizabeth has two sisters, older sister Viola and younger sister Julie. Elizabeth finds herself in Coal Valley, a small community on the Canadian frontier in need of a teacher, and quickly discovers it is not an easy place to live, lacking the creature comforts and luxuries of her privileged life with her family. She soon meets the newly appointed and charismatic Mountie Jack Thornton and develops an immediate dislike for him. However, over time they become good friends, and develop an obvious attraction to one another. In the final episode of season 1, "Prelude to a Kiss," (also titled as "Final Adieu"), after overcoming many obstacles throughout the season, Jack tells Elizabeth, "You're the one, you're the only one" and they share a kiss. Throughout season 2, Elizabeth's feelings for Jack are high at times as well as low. Finally, in the season 2 finale, she admits that his job as a Mountie scares her. After being comforted both admitting that they love each other, Jack and Elizabeth kiss.
Jack Thornton is a laid back country boy. Jack is the son of Mountie Thomas Thornton and his wife Charlotte Thornton. Jack has a younger brother, Tom (named after his father). As a Mountie and a man of stout character and integrity, he often finds himself protecting and saving people. In season 1's "A Telling Silence," Jack finds a basset hound whom he names Rip (after Rip Van Winkle) and takes home with him. A source of comfort and companion in the small town, Jack often goes to Rip when times in his life are difficult. In season 2's "With All My Heart," Rip, who's afraid of thunder, hides in the mine shafts during a storm. Jack and Elizabeth search for him; in their search, their relationship grows stronger. Upon his first meeting of Elizabeth, he developed an instant dislike and it appeared she irritated him. However, he grew to like and then fall madly and completely in love with her over time. In "Rules of Engagement" (S.1), it is revealed that Jack was briefly engaged to Rosemary LeVeaux when she comes looking for him. However, they have both changed and realize that they cannot have a relationship as they once did ever again. In "Prelude to a Kiss" (S.1), Jack found out that Elizabeth may be leaving Coal Valley. Taking her on a walk and giving her a framed picture of them that he had sketched, he asks her not to leave Coal Valley and tells her, "You're the one, you're the only one." She replied that she was "not going anywhere", Coal Valley was where she belonged before they share a kiss. In season 2, Elizabeth and Jack share a hot-and-cold relationship until the finale, "With All My Heart." They both admit that they love each other and share another kiss. Jack's brother, Tom, is introduced season 2's "Trials of the Heart," and their rocky relationship continues until "Coming Together, Coming Apart." Jack gently reminds his younger brother how their father was so proud of him, but he wouldn't be proud of the way he was currently living. Both in tears, Jack tells his younger brother that he believes in him and that he can turn his life around. More recently, Jack has become good friends with the sawmill operator, Lee Coulter. In season 3, Jack begins the new year knowing that Elizabeth only has eyes for him and that her relationship with Charles is over for good. In "Hearts In Question," Jack's mother Charlotte shows up unexpectedly. She meets Elizabeth and is suspicious of her, but through staying her sees Elizabeth for who she really is: a trustworthy, dedicated teacher. In the season finale, "Prayers From The Heart," Jack is injured in a flood. But he miraculously recovers in time to serve as Lee's best man at his wedding.
Abigail Stanton is a Coal Valley woman who tragically lost her husband and son in the mining accident. Abigail is a very kind woman, and she stands strongly for the things she believes in. She is one of the first women to welcome Elizabeth and the two women quickly become friends. When Elizabeth accidentally burns down the little teacherage, Abigail gladly welcomes her into her home to live. After being complimented on her cooking, Abigail decides to open a cafe in Coal Valley. Together, Abigail and Elizabeth move into the rooms above the cafe. At the end of season 1, Abigail enjoys the company of Bill Avery, a Mountie, serving as a Forensic Investigator and friend of Jack Thornton's. In season 2, Abigail takes in her daughter-in-law, Clara, the wife of her late son Peter whom Abigail sees as the daughter she never had. With Bill's past being revealed, Abigail ends their friendship and spends more time with the new pastor, Frank Hogan. Also, she is a strong independent woman that is set on doing the things that are right and tries to help Elizabeth.
Bill Avery is a mysterious, quiet man. He first appears in season 1's "Rules of Engagement," in order to help Jack expose Mr. Gowen's wrongdoings. Bill is immediately attracted to widow Abigail Stanton. Things are going well until Abigail discovers a picture of Bill's family and his wedding ring. He later tells her that his son died, as well as his wife. However, his wife, Nora, comes to confront him in season 2's "Heart's Desire."
Henry Gowen is a cold, cynical man who formerly owned the coal mine. After the mine was shut down, Henry became the mayor of Hope Valley and still creates a cold, cynical presence whenever people are around him. Henry is highly disliked and feared in the town. He frequently uses bribery to get what he wants, which is never for the good of the town.
Rosemary "Rosie" LeVeaux Coulter is a flamboyant, enthusiastic actress from New York. She was briefly engaged to Jack Thornton, but they both realized that it wouldn't work out. Rosie immediately disliked Elizabeth and viewed her as "the competition," but eventually came to really care about Elizabeth, even if she has a hard time showing it. At the beginning of season 2, Rosemary began working at the cafe with Abigail and the two quickly became friends. Spending time with Abigail helped tone down some of Rosemary's enthusiasm and made her a more likable person. Rosemary even came to like Elizabeth, even if only on an acquaintance level. Truthfully, she cares about everyone in Hope Valley, especially Lee, with whom she shares an mutual attraction. When Rosie is not spending time with Lee, talking to Abigail, or dreaming about the glamorous life of an actress, she can often be found somewhere writing her weekly advice column for Hope Valley's newspaper! In season 3, Rosemary's friendship with Elizabeth deepened. Instead of viewing her as an adversary, she finds a friend in Elizabeth. Throughout season 3, Rosemary's relationship with Lee becomes more romantic. In "Heart Of A Hero," seeing that Lee needs to spend more time at the sawmill to help the new settlers find jobs, Rosemary tells Lee that the theatre doesn't have to be built. He insists, but she says how important his job is. He smiles and tells her he will one day build her theatre, telling her that she is "the best part of his life." The couple shares in their first kiss. In "A Gentle Heart," Lee is injured. Thinking he is asleep, Rosemary pours out her heart to him, telling how much she loves him. In "Heartbreak," Rosemary is offered a job in Hollywood filming. This has always been Rosemary's dream, to be an actress. Lee unselfishly tells her to do whatever she feels best, but it is obvious that the thought of her leaving Hope Valley hurts him. Rosemary considers her options and realizes that her place is in Hope Valley, with Lee. Lee then tells her that he has another "role" that he thinks would be perfect for her and proposes marriage. She happily accepts. In "Hearts In Question," Rosemary enthusiastically plans for their wedding. The couple weds in the season 3 finale "Prayers From The Heart," with Elizabeth and Abigail as her maids of honor.
Leland "Lee" Coulter is a kind, laidback, patient man who opens a sawmill in Hope Valley. When timber becomes Coal Valley's major source of natural resources, the town is renamed Hope Valley. He shares a mutual attraction to Rosemary and proves to be one of the few people who can outwit her. When she declines his romantic intentions, Lee recruits his friend, Molly Sullivan, to make Rosemary jealous; the ploy succeeds and Rosemary accepts his suit, appreciating Lee's good qualities. Despite her dramatic and occasionally prickly personality, Lee's compassion and patience never fails with her. With Rosemary's help, Lee beat Mr. Gowen at his own game in "Heart and Home." When not at work, Lee enjoys being with friends, including Jack Thornton, who shares Lee's simple and laidback outlook, allowing the men to discuss their lives and exchange romantic advice. In season 3, Lee's mill is unfortunately sabotaged by a man inside. Through Bill and Jack's investigation, they find the culprit. In season 3's "Heart Of A Hero," Rosemary unselfishly gives up the theatre that Lee promised to build her. Lee promises that one day, he will build her the theatre at a time when he isn't so involved with the sawmill and finding people jobs. In "A Gentle Heart," Lee is injured. Thinking Lee is asleep, Rosemary pours out her heart to Lee, telling him how afraid she was when she heard he had been injured. He however hears each and every word. She told him how much she loves him and to never leave her. In the episode "Heartbreak," Lee thinks Rosemary may leave Hope Valley when she is offered a movie job in Hollywood. When she gives up the movie, seeing her future in Hope Valley with him, he asks her to marry him. The couple weds in the season 3 finale, "Prayers From The Heart." Jack serves the role of Lee's best man.
Julie Thatcher is Elizabeth's hopeless romantic younger sister. She often gets herself into sticky situations by falling head over heels for men who aren't quite what they seem. In season 2 she gets involved with Jack's brother Tom, which causes trouble with her family and for Jack and Elizabeth's relationship.
Cat Montgomery is a kind, encouraging woman in Coal Valley. She is a widow and mother of three: Gabe, Miles, and Emily. Cat was one of the first mothers to show kindness to Elizabeth when she first came. She desperately wants her children to remember the good memories of their father as seen by her self-sacrificing acts in "Secrets and Lies." Possessing a great sense of teamwork and encouragement, Cat supports the women of Coal Valley while working in the mines in "Cease and Desist." She is good friends with Elizabeth and Abigail. In "These Games," she also helps Jack catch a thief.
Florence Blakeley is a feisty gossip in Hope Valley. She often has a pessimistic perspective and always seems to find the negative, even in a very positive situation. In "Heart and Home," Abigail told Florence what she really thought about her, which causes Florence to rein in her negativity somewhat, though she remains fairly outspoken. While not always likable, Florence adds spice to life in Hope Valley.
Molly Sullivan is a friend of Lee Coulter and Elizabeth Thatcher. Molly's husband was killed in the mine disaster. She has a daughter Rosaleen. In season 1's "A Telling Silence," Rosaleen has trouble in school because she misses her father so much. When she runs away, Elizabeth finds her in the mine, feeling guilty that she didn't bring her father his lunch the day of the disaster because she wanted to play with a friend instead. She fears her mother will blame her, but Elizabeth convinces her that Molly will "say that she loves her more than life itself." Molly is reunited with her daughter, to the joy of the town's people. In season 2's "With All My Heart," Lee feels it's time to "play hard to get" with Rosemary, so he enlists help from Molly. She pretends to be interested in him romantically. This ploy works and Rosemary admits that she does in fact like him. Molly is a kind woman and was among the first to welcome Elizabeth to town.
Clara Stanton is the wife of Abigail's late son Peter, and is a sweet, quiet, and sensitive young woman. Abigail never knew she had a daughter-in-law until season 2's "Trials of the Heart;" with Peter having married Clara only three days before he was killed. In "Heart's Desire," Abigail invites Clara to come live with her in Hope Valley, an offer that Clara accepts.
Charles Kensington III is an old friend of Elizabeth with whom she reconnects while in Hamilton. He is interested in her, though her feelings for Jack get in the way of their relationship.

text: Production[edit]

text: The series, originally planned to be filmed in Colorado, is filmed south of Vancouver, British Columbia, on a farm surrounded by vineyards. The fictional frontier town of Coal Valley was erected in late 2013. Some of the set trimmings and a stage coach came from the Hell on Wheels set.[10] The Thatcher home is the University Women's Club of Vancouver.[11]

text: The series was renewed for a second season,[12] which aired from April 25 to June 13, 2015. Hallmark Channel announced in July 2015 that the series had been renewed for a third season, which aired from February 21 to April 10, 2016,[13] with a sneak peek airing during the 2015 Christmas season.[14]

text: In mid-2016, it was announced that Season 4 would premiere on the Hallmark Channel Christmas Day with a two-hour special. On April 11, 2016, Lissing and Krakow announced via the series' Facebook page that Hallmark Channel had renewed the series for a fourth season, which aired from February 19 to April 23, 2017.[15][16]

text: Filming for season five began in Vancouver on August 22, 2017, and ended on December 21, 2017.[17][18]

text: Broadcast[edit]

text: The first season of the series was subsequently picked up by CBC Television for rebroadcast as a summer series in 2015.[19] The network has since aired the second and third seasons.[20][21] The series became available internationally on Netflix in August 2017.