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History of Atomic Theory Notes

This document provides a summary of the development of atomic theory from ancient Greek philosophers to modern quantum mechanics. It begins with Democritus in 400 BC who first proposed that matter is made of indivisible "atomos." This idea was rejected for over 2000 years until the late 19th century when discoveries were made through experiments including: J.J. Thomson's discovery of the electron in 1897; Rutherford's gold foil experiment in 1911 which showed the atom has a small, dense nucleus; and Chadwick's discovery of the neutron in 1932. The modern atomic model developed through Bohr's 1913 solar system model of electrons in orbits around the nucleus and developments in wave mechanics and quantum mechanics including Schrodinger's wave equation in

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656 views22 pages

History of Atomic Theory Notes

This document provides a summary of the development of atomic theory from ancient Greek philosophers to modern quantum mechanics. It begins with Democritus in 400 BC who first proposed that matter is made of indivisible "atomos." This idea was rejected for over 2000 years until the late 19th century when discoveries were made through experiments including: J.J. Thomson's discovery of the electron in 1897; Rutherford's gold foil experiment in 1911 which showed the atom has a small, dense nucleus; and Chadwick's discovery of the neutron in 1932. The modern atomic model developed through Bohr's 1913 solar system model of electrons in orbits around the nucleus and developments in wave mechanics and quantum mechanics including Schrodinger's wave equation in

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Earliest Atomic Theory

Democritus

This is the Greek philosopher Democritus who began the


search for a description of matter more than 2400 years
ago.
1. His theory- Matter could not be divided into smaller
and smaller pieces forever, eventually the smallest
possible piece would be obtained.
2. This piece would be indivisible.
3. He named the smallest piece of matter atomos,
meaning not to be cut. Coined the word atom
4. To Democritus- atoms were small, hard particles that
were all made of the same material but were different
shapes and sizes.
5. Atoms were infinite in number, always moving and
capable of joining together.

400 BC

The Greek philosophers of the time- Aristotle


and Plato, had a more respected, and
ultimately wrong theory of what comprised
matter as seen to the right.

Plato
Aristotle

Aristotle and Plato favored the earth - fire - air - water approach to the
nature of matter.
Their ideas held sway because of their eminence as philosophers.
The atomos (atom) idea was buried for approximately 2000 years.

Carried out a series of experiments with


the cathode ray tube- see above.
A cathode ray is a stream of electrons.
Used in old TVs to make the picture.

Discovers the Electron in 1897

Robert Millikan

1868-1923

Conducts the Oil Drop Experiment in 1909


Calculates the charge on an electron ase- = -1.602 x 10-19 coulomb (C) of charge

1. In 1932, Sir James Chadwick


confirmed the existence of Neutron.
2. A Neutron has no charge but its
mass nearly equals that of the
proton, thats why it was so difficult
to discovery.

Discovered the Neutron 1932

The Atomic Theory


John Dalton 1766-1844
1. Wrote New System of Chemical
Philosophy - 1808
2. All bodies are constituted of a vast number
of extremely small particles, or atoms of
matter bound together by a force of
attraction.
3. The ultimate particles of all homogeneous
bodies are perfectly alike in weight, figure,
etc. -atoms of the same element are alike.

1803

John Daltons - The Atomic Theory

A brief history, to
follow, of how
chemist studied how
the atom was put
together- its make-up,
starting with...

J. J. Thomson
Plum Pudding Model of Atom 1904

Plum Pudding was a popular English


dessert at the time. You may want to think
of it as- The Chocolate Chip Cookie
Dough model.

1.

He proposed a model of the


atom that is sometimes called
the Plum Pudding model.

2.

Atoms were made from a


positively charged substance
with negatively charged
electrons scattered about, like
raisins in a pudding.

1911

His Observations1. Most of the positively charged bullets passed right through the gold atoms in the
sheet of gold foil without changing course at all.
2. Some of the positively charged bullets, however, did bounce away from the gold
sheet as if they had hit something solid. He knew that positive charges repel
positive charges.

Ernest Rutherford

1871-1937

Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden

1908

Rutherfords experiment Involved firing a stream of tiny positively charged particles at a


thin sheet of gold (Au) foil ONLY 2000 atoms thick.

Below- A repeat of what Rutherford Observed from his Gold Foil Experiment
1.

Most alpha (2He4) particles (positive charge) went straight through the
gold foil. Indicates the atom is pretty much empty space.

2.

Some were deflected at large angles to the sides. Indicates a positive


nucleus.

3.

Some were even deflected straight backward. Indicates a dense nucleus.

Rutherfords Gold Foil Experiment Conclusions


1.

This could only mean that the gold atoms in the sheet were mostly open space.
Atoms were not a pudding filled with a positively charged material.

2.

Rutherford concluded- that an atom had a small, dense, positively charged


center that repelled his positively charged bullets.

3.

He called the center of the atom is the nucleus

4.

The nucleus is very small, tiny, compared to the entire atom as a whole.

5.

Rutherford reasoned that all of an atoms positively charged particles were


contained in the nucleus. The negatively charged particles were scattered
outside the nucleus around the atoms edge.

If an oxygen atom had a


total radius of 100 km-the nucleus would be a
sphere 1 meter in diameter
in the middle.

e +
e

- - +
- -

e
+e +
+
+e
e e
+ e + e

1803 John Dalton


pictures atoms as
tiny, indestructible
particles, with no
internal structure.

1897 J.J. Thomson, a British

1911 New Zealander

1913 In Niels Bohr's

1926 Erwin Schrodinger

scientist, discovers the electron,


leading to his "plum-pudding"
model. He pictures electrons
embedded in a sphere of
positive electric charge.

Ernest Rutherford states


that an atom has a dense,
positively charged nucleus.
Electrons move randomly in
the space around the nucleus.

model, the electrons move


in spherical orbits at fixed
distances from the nucleus.

develops mathematical
equations to describe the
motion of electrons in
atoms. His work leads to
the electron cloud model.

1904 Hantaro Nagaoka, a

1924 Frenchman Louis

Japanese physicist, suggests


that an atom has a central
nucleus. Electrons move in
orbits like the rings around Saturn.

de Broglie proposes that


moving particles like electrons
have some properties of waves.
Within a few years evidence is
collected to support his idea.

1932 James
Chadwick, a British physicist,
confirms the existence of
neutrons, which have no
charge. Atomic nuclei contain
neutrons and positively charged
protons.

Bohr Model of the Atom 1913


Solar System Model

In 1913, the Danish scientist Niels Bohr


proposed an improvement.
In his model, he placed each electron
in an energy level.
This model of the atom may look
familiar to you. This is the Bohr model.
In this model, the nucleus is orbited by
electrons, which are in different
energy levels.
1.

A model uses familiar ideas to


explain unfamiliar facts observed in
nature.
a) A model can be changed as new
information is collected.

The Wave Nature of the Electron


In 1924, Louis de Broglie 1892-1987 postulated that if
light can act as a particle, then a particle might have
wave properties.
De Broglie took Einsteins equation
and rewrote it aswhere m = mass of an electron
v = velocity of an electron

ABOVE AND LEFT:

Shows constructive
and destructive
interference of
electron waves.

The Wave Nature of the Electron


Clinton Davisson 1881-1958
and

Lester Germer 1886-1971


Electron Wave Model - 1927

1. Todays atomic model is based on the


principles of wave mechanics.
2. According to the theory of Wave
Mechanics- electrons do not move about
an atom in a definite path, like the planets
around the sun.

The Wave Model

Electron Cloud
A.

ELECTRON CLOUD - A space in which


electrons are likely to be found.

B.

Electrons move about the nucleus


billions of times in one second.

C.

Electrons are moving around in random


patterns known as- probability.

D.

Location of electrons depends upon how


much energy the electron has.

I. Electrons with the lowest energy are found in the energy level closest to the
nucleus.
II. Electrons with the highest energy are found in the outermost energy levels,
farther from the nucleus.

Quantum Mechanics Todays Model of the Atom and


How Electrons Fit Around the Nucleus

Developed by-

Erwin Schrodinger 1887-1961


Developed the wave equation in 1927.
1. Uses mathematical equations of wave motion to
generate a series of wave equations to describe
electron behavior in an atom.
2. The wave equations or wave functions are
designated by the Greek letter Complicated
and beyond the scope of Chemistry-A, wait until later
in life.

wave function

mass of electron

potential energy at x,y,z

d2
d2
d2
82m

+

+
2 +

(E-V(x,y,z)(x,y,z) = 0
2
2
2
dx
dy
dz
h

how changes in space

total quantized energy of


the atomic system

Periodic Law
The physical and chemical
properties of the elements are
a periodic functions of their
atomic numbers (number of
Protons).

Periodic Table
An arrangement of the
elements in order of their
atomic numbers so that
elements with similar
properties fall in the same
group.

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