The protons have a positive electrical charge, and the neutrons have no charge at all. The electrons that surround the nucleus have a negative charge. The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is an identifying feature of an element. Whenever atoms have the same number of electrons as protons, the electrical charge is balanced and the atom is neutral.Most substances are neutral. A neutral substance has neither a positive or negative electrical charge. A substance is negatively charged when it has more electrons than protons, and it becomes positively charged when it gets fewer electrons than protons. Therefore the number of electrons is also equal to the atomic number of an element.
