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    Theories of The Atom

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    Camila Pérez Sanabria

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    Theories of The Atom

    Uploaded by

    Camila Pérez Sanabria
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    Theories of the Atom

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    16 views3 pages

    Theories of The Atom

    Uploaded by

    Camila Pérez Sanabria

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 3

    CSEC Physics

    Nuclear Physics

    Subtopic: Historical Theories of the Atom

    1. Democritus: A Greek philosopher (470 BC) who suggested that matter was made of tiny,
    indivisible particles. These particles were called the atom. Between the atoms that made up
    matter, it was believed that empty spaces exists.

    2. John Dalton (1766-1844): responsible for the BILLIARD BALL MODEL. Dalton suggested an
    ‘indestructible particle’ theory, which suggested that mass of an atom cannot be lost. Even if
    atoms react with other atoms or collide with other atoms, they remain whole and in tact.

    3. Sir Joseph Thomson (1856-1940): responsible for the PLUM PUDDING MODEL (also called the
    RAISIN BUN MODEL). Thomson suggested that the atom had negative charges scattered
    through-out a positively charged substance. His conclusion was based off experiments involving
    the CATHODE RAY TUBE. During this experiment, cathode rays were directed through a tube, in
    which they were deflected away from a negatively charged plate and towards a positively
    charged plate.

    Figure 1 – Basic structure of a cathode ray tube.

    Figure 2 – Cathode ray experiment performed by J.J. Thomson

    4. Earnest Rutherford (1871-1937): Responsible for the PLANETARY MODEL of the atom.
    Rutherford proposed that the atom consisted of electrons orbiting a nucleus. He believed the
    electrons were kept in orbit around the nucleus because of a force of attraction between a
    positively charged nucleus and a negatively charged electron. Rutherford’s model was based on
    an experiment (The Geiger-Marsden Experiment), performed by his two colleagues. This is also
    known as the GOLD FOIL EXPERIMENT. In this experiment, alpha particles (which are positive)
    were accelerated towards a this gold foil. Most alpha particles went straight through the foil,
    and a few were reflected backwards, indicating there were small areas of positive charge in the
    gold foil atoms.

    Figure 3 – Gold Foil Experiment (Geiger-Marsden Experiment)

    5. James Chadwick (1891-1974): Confirmed the existence of the neutron, building on Rutherford’s
    planetary model. He performed an experiment in which he accelerated alpha particles towards
    beryllium. After striking the beryllium, chargeless rays were produced which then accelerated
    towards a paraffin sheet. These rays caused positive charges to exit the paraffin and enter and
    ion collection chamber. Based on the law of conservation of momentum, for protons to be
    displaced from the paraffin, the “rays” had to be neutral charges with the same mass as a
    proton. Hence, neutrons….

    Figure 4 – Chadwick’s experiment using an ionization chamber


    6. Niels Bohr (1885-1962) : Proposed the shell model, in which electrons move around the
    nucleus in a circular pattern, within orbits that are associated with a particular energy level. This
    model came from the understanding of electromagnetic energy. A moving charge (i.e. electron
    circling a nucleus) gives off electromagnetic energy, causing a loss of energy. This loss of energy
    would eventually cause a collapsing atom, in which electrons eventually stopped moving at the
    positively charged nucleus. Bohr’s proposed model addresses the problem of the collapsing
    atom.

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