Atomic Theory Development

What is Todays Model?

Composed of Protons,
Neutrons, and Electrons
Dense, Positively Negatively
Charged Nucleus Charged
Electron Cloud

Most Probable
Mostly Location of the
Empty Electrons
Space
 Timeline of Development of Current
Atomic Model
Discovery Discovery
of the of the
Proton Neutron

450 BC 1802 1897 1911 1913 1930

Introduction
Democritus Beginning Discovery
of the wave
proposed of of the
mechanical
the idea of Modern Nucleus
model
atomos. Atomic Discovery
Theory of the The Idea
Electron of Energy
Levels for
Electrons
was
Proposed.
 Early Greeks

Matter is made of indestructible

particles called atomos

Democritus (400 BC)

 Summary for Daltons
Atomic Theory
(Father of the Modern Atomic Theory)
All atoms of a single element have the same mass

Atoms of different elements are different.

Atoms cant be divided, created or destroyed.

Atoms of different elements combine in simple

whole-number ratios to form compounds.
 Discovery of the Electron
In 1897, J.J. Thomson used a cathode ray tube to deduce the presence of a
negatively charged particle.

Crookes Tube

Cathode ray tubes pass electricity through a gas that is contained at a very low
pressure.
Cathode Ray
 J.J. Thomson
He proved that atoms of
any element can be made
to emit tiny negative
particles.
From this he concluded that
ALL atoms must contain
these negative particles.
He knew that atoms did not
have a net negative charge
and so there must be
something positive that
balances the negative
charge.
J.J. Thomson
 William Thomsons (Sir Kelvin)
Atomic Model (1910)

Thomson believed that the electrons were like plums embedded in a positively
charged pudding, thus it was called the plum pudding model.
Ernest Rutherfords (1871-1937)
Where exactly are those electrons?

Thomsons Theory: Plum Pudding

electrons embedded in a positive pudding.

Rutherfords idea:

Shoot something at them to see where they are.

Rutherfords has an idea
What if I shoot alpha radiation at
gold atoms in gold foil?

Discovery of the nucleus

 Flourescent
Screen
Lead Uranium
block

Gold Foil
 He Expected
The alpha particles to pass through without
changing direction very much.
Because
The positive charges were spread out evenly.
Alone they were not enough to stop the alpha
particles.
What he expected
Because
Because, he thought the mass was
evenly distributed in the atom
Because, he thought
the mass was evenly
distributed in the
atom
What he got
How he explained it
Atom is mostly empty.
Small dense,
positive piece at
center. +
Alpha particles
are deflected by
it if they get close
enough.
+
Rutherfords Conclusion (1911)

Small, dense, positive nucleus.

Equal amounts of (-) electrons at large distances

outside the nucleus.
 Neils Bohrs Atomic model (1913)

Small, dense, positive nucleus.

Equal amounts of (-) electrons at specific orbits
around the nucleus.

This incorrect version of the atom is often used to represented atoms

because it shows energy levels for electrons.
 ** James Chadwick
discovered neutrons in 1932.
-- n0 have no charge
and are hard to detect
-- purpose of n0 = stability of nucleus
Chadwick

And now we know of many

other subatomic particles:
quarks,
muons,
positrons,
photo from liquid H2 neutrinos,
bubble chamber pions, etc.
 Quantum Mechanical Model
-electron cloud model-
-charge cloud model-

Schroedinger, Pauli, Heisenberg, Dirac (up to 1940):

According to the QMM, we never know for certain
where the e are in an atom, but the equations of the
QMM tell us the probability that we will find an
electron at a certain distance from the nucleus.
 Quantum Mechanical Model

Modern atomic theory describes the electronic

structure of the atom as the probability of finding
electrons within certain regions of space (orbitals).
 Modern Atomic Theory
All matter is composed of atoms.

Atoms of the same element are chemically alike

with a characteristic average mass which is unique to
that element.
Atoms cannot be subdivided, created, or
destroyed in ordinary chemical reactions. However,
these changes CAN occur in nuclear reactions!

Atoms of any one element differ in

properties from atoms of another element

The exact path of electrons are unknown

and e-s are found in the electron cloud.
 The Atomic
Scale
Most of the mass of the
atom is in the nucleus
(protons and neutrons)

Electrons are found

outside of the nucleus (the
electron cloud)

Most of the volume of the

atom is empty space
q is a particle called a quark
 About Quarks
Protons and neutrons are
NOT fundamental particles.

Protons are made of

two up quarks and
one down quark.
Neutrons are made of
one up quark and
two down quarks.

Quarks are held together

by gluons
 Size of an atom
Atoms are incredibly tiny.
Measured in picometers (10-12 meters)
Hydrogen atom, 32 pm radius
Nucleus tiny compared to atom
Radius of the nucleus near 10-15 m.
Density near 1014 g/cm3

IF the atom was the size of a stadium, the nucleus

would be the size of a marble.

California WEB
 Models of the Atom

Daltons
Greek modelmodel Thomsons plum-pudding Rutherfords model Bohrs model Charge-cloud model
(400 B.C.) (1803) model (1897) (1909) (1913) (present)

1897 J.J. Thomson, a British
1803 John Dalton
scientist, discovers the electron,
pictures atoms as leading to his "plum-pudding"
tiny, indestructible model. He pictures electrons
embedded in a sphere of
particles, with no
internal structure. positive electric charge.
1911 New Zealander
Ernest Rutherford states
that an atom has a dense,
positively charged nucleus.
Electrons move randomly in
the space around the nucleus.
1913 In Niels Bohr's
model, the electrons move
in spherical orbits at fixed
distances from the nucleus.
1926 Erwin Schrdinger
develops mathematical
equations to describe the
motion of electrons in
atoms. His work leads to
the electron cloud model.

1800 1805 ..................... 1895 1900 1905 1910 1915 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945

1924 Frenchman Louis 1932 James

1904 Hantaro Nagaoka, a de Broglie proposes that Chadwick, a British
Japanese physicist, suggests moving particles like electrons physicist, confirms the
that an atom has a central have some properties of waves. existence of neutrons,
nucleus. Electrons move in Within a few years evidence is which have no charge.
orbits like the rings around Saturn. collected to support his idea. Atomic nuclei contain
neutrons and positively
charged protons.
Dorin, Demmin, Gabel, Chemistry The Study of Matter , 3rd Edition, 1990, page 125
 Match The Models

Billiard Plum Energy

Nucleus Neutrons
Ball Pudding Levels