Understanding Chemistry - A Question of Attraction and Distance

When one studies the electrons and protons within an atom, it is easy to forget that electrons have a mass and volume that is negigible when compared to the proton. It is also easy to forget, that for the most part, electrons orbit the nucleus(where the protons are confined) at a relatively very large distance. With textbook drawings that show electrons orbiting the nucleus, it is easy to forget that the these drawings are not to scale. In fact it would be impossible to draw them to scale on a sheet of paper. You would need a football sized sheet of paper to make this possible.

So whats the point? The point is that since electrons are widely dispersed about the nucleus, the negative charge they exert on surrounding atoms is  small  and diffused when compared to the positive charge force that the dense proton structure of the nucleus exerts. In atoms with more protons and hence more electrons, the orbital arrangement of the electrons tend to orbit such that many more electrons are aligned with the nucleus. Three electrons that are aligned with the nucleus will have a negative charge that is 1.5 times greater than in a electron spatial arrangement with just two electrons aligned with the nucleus. Since the number of direct alignments increases with increasing atomic number, the electrons are pulled closer to the nucleus resulting in a decreased atomic radius

 But that is not the whole story. Although an atom with many electrons, has a smaller radius, than one with just a few electrons, the electrons are still very far apart and do not effect the pull of the protons of its nucleus on other electrons on nearby atoms.