I.

Title:
Atomic Scale Structures & Electron Energy levels

II. History:
The idea of atoms was invented by two Greek philosophers, Democritus and Leucippus in the
fifth century BC. The Greek word ατoμoν (atom) means indivisible because they believed that
atoms could not be broken into smaller pieces.

1803-DALTON'S MODEL OF THE ATOM

John Dalton proposed that all matter is composed of very small things which
he called atoms. This was not a completely new concept as the ancient Greeks
(notably Democritus) had proposed that all matter is composed of small,
indivisible (cannot be divided) objects. When Dalton proposed his model
electrons and the nucleus were unknown.

1904-THOMSOMSON’S MODEL
After the electron was discovered by J.J. Thomson in 1897, people realized
that atoms were made up of even smaller particles than they had previously
thought. However, the atomic nucleus had not been discovered yet and so the
“plum pudding model” was put forward in 1904. In this model, the atom is
made up of negative electrons that float in a “soup” of positive charge, much
like plums in a pudding or raisins in a fruit cake. In 1906, Thomson was
awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in this field. However, even with the
Plum Pudding Model, there was still no understanding of how these electrons in the atom were
arranged.

1911-RUTHERFORD’S MODEL
Ernest Rutherford carried out some experiments which led to a change in ideas
around the atom. His new model described the atom as a tiny, dense, positively
charged core called a nucleus surrounded by lighter, negatively charged
electrons. Another way of thinking about this model was that the atom was seen
to be like a mini solar system where the electrons orbit the nucleus like planets
orbiting around the sun. A simplified picture of this is shown alongside. This
model is sometimes known as the planetary model of the atom. Ernest
Rutherford, the so-called father of nuclear physics, discovered the proton in 1919.

1913-BOHR’S MODEL
Niels Bohr proposed the Bohr Model of the Atom in 1915. Because the Bohr
Model is a modification of the earlier Rutherford Model, some people call Bohr's
Model the Rutherford-Bohr Model. The modern model of the atom is based on
quantum mechanics. The Bohr Model contains some errors, but it is important
because it describes most of the accepted features of atomic theory without all of
the high-level math of the modern version.
1926-SCHRӦDINGER’S MODEL
Austrian physicist, took the Bohr atom model one step further. Schrödinger
used mathematical equations to describe the likelihood of finding an electron in
a certain position. This atomic model is known as the quantum mechanical
model of the atom. Unlike the Bohr model, the quantum mechanical model does
not define the exact path of an electron, but rather, predicts the odds of the
location of the electron.

This model can be portrayed as a nucleus surrounded by an electron cloud.

Where the cloud is most dense, the probability of finding the electron is greatest, and conversely,
the electron is less likely to be in a less dense area of the cloud. Thus, this model introduced the
concept of sub-energy levels.

III. Process
ELECTRON ENERGY LEVEL
The NEUTRON is a neutral particle in that it has no electrical charge.
The mass of the neutron is approximately equal to that of the proton.

An ELECTRON’S ENERGY LEVEL is the amount of energy required by

an electron to stay in orbit. Just by the electron’s motion alone, it has
kinetic energy. The electron’s position in reference to the nucleus gives
it potential energy. An energy balance keeps the electron in orbit and as
it gains or loses energy, it assumes an orbit further from or closer to the
center of the atom.

SHELLS and SUBSHELLS are the orbits of the electrons in an atom.

Each shell can contain a maximum number of electrons, which can be
determined by the formula 2n 2. Shells are lettered K through Q, starting
with K, which is the closest to the nucleus. The shell can also be split into
four subshells labeled s, p, d, and f, which can contain 2, 6, 10, and 14
electrons, respectively.

VALENCE is the ability of an atom to combine with other atoms. The valence of
an atom is determined by the number of electrons in the atom’s outermost
shell. This shell is referred to as the VALENCE SHELL. The electrons in the
outermost shell are called VALENCE ELECTRONS.

IONIZATION is the process by which an atom loses or gains electrons. An

atom that loses some of its electrons in the process becomes positively charged
and is called a POSITIVE ION. An atom that has an excess number of electrons is
negatively charged and is called a NEGATIVE ION.

ENERGY BANDS are groups of energy levels that result from the close
proximity of atoms in a solid. The three most important energy bands are the
CONDUCTION BAND, FORBIDDEN BAND, and VALENCE BAND.
ENERGY LEVELS AND ORBITALS
Unlike planets orbiting the Sun, electrons cannot be at any arbitrary
distance from the nucleus; they can exist only in certain specific locations
called allowed orbits. This property, first explained by Danish physicist Niels
Bohr in 1913, is another result of quantum mechanics—specifically, the
requirement that the angular momentum of an electron in orbit, like
everything else in the quantum world, come in discrete bundles called
quanta.
IV. Structure
V. Properties
Atomic Mass
Atomic mass, which is also known as atomic weigh, is the average mass of atoms of an element,
calculated using the relative abundance of isotopes in a naturally-occurring element.
Atomic mass indicates the size of an atom. Although technically the mass is the sum of the mass
of all the protons, neutrons, and electrons in an atom, the mass of an electron is so much less than
that of the other particles, that mass is simply that of the nucleus (protons and neutrons).

Atomic Number
Neutral atoms of an element contain an equal number of protons and electrons. The number of
protons determines an element’s atomic number (Z) and distinguishes one element from another.
For example, carbon’s atomic number (Z) is 6 because it has 6 protons. The number of neutrons
can vary to produce isotopes, which are atoms of the same element that have different numbers
of neutrons. The number of electrons can also be different in atoms of the same element, thus
producing ions (charged atoms). For instance, iron, Fe, can exist in its neutral state, or in the +2
and +3 ionic states.

Ionization Energy of Atoms

Ionization energy, also called ionization potential, is the energy necessary to remove an
electron from the neutral atom.
X + energy → X+ + e−
where X is any atom or molecule capable of being ionized, X+ is that atom or molecule with an
electron removed (positive ion), and e− is the removed electron.
There is an ionization energy for each successive electron removed. The electrons that circle the
nucleus move in fairly well-defined orbits. Some of these electrons are more tightly bound in the
atom than others. For example, only 7.38 eV is required to remove the outermost electron from a
lead atom, while 88,000 eV is required to remove the innermost electron.

VI. Application

VII. Future Breakthrough