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CHAPTER 4
Structure of the Atom
The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound
truth may well be another profound truth.
An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow
field.
Never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think.
Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.
- Niels Bohr
History
450 BC, Democritus The idea that matter is composed of
tiny particles, or atoms.
XVII-th century, Pierre Cassendi, Robert Hook explained
states of matter and transactions between them with a model
of tiny indestructible solid objects.
1811 Avogadros hypothesis that all gases at given
temperature contain the same number of molecules per unit
volume.
1900 Kinetic theory of gases.
Consequence Great three quantization discoveries of XX
century: (1) electric charge: (2) light energy; (3) energy of
oscillating mechanical systems.
The name was adopted by IUPAC on May 30, 2012. About 80 decays of atoms of
flerovium have been observed to date. All decays have been assigned to the five
neighbouring isotopes with mass numbers 285289. The longest-lived isotope
currently known is 289Fl with a half-life of ~2.6 s, although there is evidence for a
nuclear isomer, 289bFl, with a half-life of ~66 s, that would be one of the longestlived nuclei in the superheavy element region.
Nuclear Structure
Atomic Spectra
By the beginning of the 20th century a large body of data
has been collected on the emission of light by atoms of
individual elements in a flame or in a gas exited by electrical
discharge.
Atomic Spectra
Atomic Spectra
In 1885 a Swiss schoolteacher, Johann Balmer,
found that the wavelengths of the lines in the visible
spectrum of hydrogen can be represented by formula
Atomic Spectra
Such an expression, found by J.R.Rydberg
and W. Ritz and known as the Rydberg-Ritz
formula, gives the reciprocal wavelengths as:
Atomic Spectra
The Rydberg constant is the same for all
spectral series.
For hydrogen the RH = 1.096776 x 107m-1.
For very heavy elements R approaches the
value R = 1.097373 x 107m-1.
Such empirical expressions were successful
in predicting other spectra, such as other
hydrogen lines outside the visible spectrum.
Atomic Spectra
So, the hydrogen Balmer series wavelength are
those given by Rydberg equation
Nuclear Models
Many attempts were made to construct a
model of the atom that yielded the Balmer and
Rydberg-Ritz formulas.
It was known that an atom was about 10-10m
in diameter, that it contained electrons much
lighter than the atom, and that it was electrically
neutral.
The most popular model was that of J.J.
Thomson, already quite successful in explaining
chemical reactions.
Beta decay
Beta decay occurs when the neutron to proton ratio is too
great in the nucleus and causes instability. In basic beta
decay, a neutron is turned into a proton and an electron.
The electron is then emitted. Here's a diagram of beta
decay with hydrogen-3:
Alpha Decay
The reason alpha decay occurs is because the nucleus has too many
protons which cause excessive repulsion. In an attempt to reduce the
repulsion, a Helium nucleus is emitted. The way it works is that the Helium
nuclei are in constant collision with the walls of the nucleus and because
of its energy and mass, there exists a nonzero probability of transmission.
That is, an alpha particle (Helium nucleus) will tunnel out of the nucleus.
Here is an example of alpha emission with americium-241:
Gamma Decay
Gamma decay occurs because the nucleus is at too high
an energy. The nucleus falls down to a lower energy state
and, in the process, emits a high energy photon known as a
gamma particle. Here's a diagram of gamma decay with
helium-3:
Electrons
cant backscatter
particles.
Before
After
too small!
N=t/d
Ernest Rutherford
(1871-1937)
Rutherford Scattering
Theres a relationship
between the impact
parameter b and the
scattering angle .
When b is small,
r is small.
the Coulomb force is large.
can be large and the particle can be
repelled backward.
where
cot(/2)
Rutherford
Scattering
Any particle inside
the circle of area
b02 will be similarly (or
more) scattered.
The cross section = b2 is related to
the probability for a particle being
scattered by a nucleus (t = foil thickness):
f = b2nt
This is negative, so
the system is bound,
which is good.
Electron
crashes
into the
nucleus!?
(a)
where Ei and Ef are the energy of initial and final state, h is the
Planks constant.
3.
n=1,2,3.
We can write
or
Bohrs Postulates
Substituting the expression for r in equation for
frequency:
Bohrs Postulates
Energy levels
If we will substitute the quantized value of r
as given by
we obtain
Energy levels
or
where
Energy levels
Transitions between this allowed energies
result in the emission or absorption of a
photon whose frequency is given by
Energy levels
Therefore is convenient to have the value
of hc in electronvolt nanometers!
hc = 1240 eVnm
Since the energies are quantized, the
frequencies and the wavelengths of the
radiation emitted by the hydrogen atom are
quantized in agreement with the observed
line spectrum.
21=hc / (E1-E2)
21=hc / (E1-E2)
(a)
(b)
(c)
Characteristic x-ray spectra. (a) Part the spectra of neodymium
(Z=60) and samarium (Z=62).The two pairs of bright lines are
the K and K lines. (b) Part of the spectrum of the artificially
produced element promethium (Z=61), its K and K lines fall
between those of Nd and Sm. (c) Part of the spectrum of all
three elements.
Current, (mAmp)
The
current
decreases because
many electrons lose
energy
due
to
inelastic
collisions
with mercury atoms
in the tube and
therefore
cannot
overcome the small
back potential.
Current, (mAmp)
As the Earth moves around the Sun, its orbits are quantized. (a) Follow the
steps of Bohrs analysis of the hydrogen atom to show that the allowed radii
of the Earths orbit are given by
where MS is the mass of the Sun, ME is the mass of the Earth, and n is an
integer quantum number. (b) Calculate the numerical value of n. (c) Find the
distance between the orbit for quantum number n and the next orbit out from
the Sun corresponding to the quantum number n + 1