GOLDEN AGE INSTITUTE

CLASS 12th PHYSICS

CH – 12th Atom

INTRODUCTION : The first model of atom was proposed by J. J. Thomson in 1898. According
to this model, the positive charge of the atom is uniformly distributed throughout the volume of the
atom and the negatively charged electrons are embedded in it like seeds in a watermelon. This
model was picturesquely called plum pudding model of the atom.

However subsequent studies on atoms, as described in this chapter, showed that the distribution of
the electrons and positive charges are very different from that proposed in this model.

ALPHA-PARTICLE SCATTERING AND RUTHERFORD’S NUCLEAR MODEL OF

ATOM

Ernest Rutherford was interested in knowing how the electrons are arranged within an atom.
Rutherford designed an experiment for this.

In this experiment, fast moving alpha (α)-particles were made to fall on a thin gold foil.

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• He selected a gold foil because he wanted as thin a layer as possible. This gold foil was about
1000 atoms thick.
• α-particles are doubly-charged helium ions. Since they have a mass of 4 u, the fast-moving α-
particles have a considerable amount of energy.
• It was expected that α-particles would be deflected by the sub-atomic particles in the gold atoms.
Since the α-particles were much heavier than the protons, he did not expect to see large
deflections.
• The scattered alpha-particles were observed through a rotatable detector consisting of zinc
sulphide screen and a microscope.
• The scattered alpha-particles on striking the screen produced brief light flashes or scintillations.
These flashes may be viewed through a microscope and the distribution of the number of
scattered particles may be studied as a function of angle of scattering.

The following observations were made :

(i) Most of the fast moving α-particles passed straight through the gold foil.

(ii) Some of the α-particles were deflected by the foil by small angles.

(iii) Surprisingly one out of every 12000 particles appeared to rebound.

Rutherford concluded from the α-particle scattering experiment that :

(i) Most of the space inside the atom is empty because most of the α-particles passed through the
gold foil without getting deflected.

(ii) Very few particles were deflected from their path, indicating that the positive charge of the
atom occupies very little space.

(iii) A very small fraction of α-particles were deflected by 180°, indicating that all the positive
charge and mass of the gold atom were concentrated in a very small volume within the atom.

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On the basis of his experiment, Rutherford put forward the nuclear model
of an atom, which had the following features:

(i) There is a positively charged centre in an atom called the nucleus. Nearly all the mass of
an atom resides in the nucleus.

(ii) The electrons would be moving in orbits about the nucleus just as the planets do
around the sun.

(iii) The size of the nucleus is very small as compared to the size of the atom. Rutherford’s
experiments suggested the size of the nucleus to be about 10–15 m to 10–14 m.

(iv) Electrostatic force of repulsion between the alpha-particle and the positively charged
nucleus.

𝟏 (𝟐𝒆) ( 𝒁𝒆)
The magnitude of this force is F = 𝟒𝝅 𝜺𝒐 𝒓𝟐
Drawbacks of Rutherford’s model of the atom

The revolution of the electron in a circular orbit is not expected to be stable. Any particle
in a circular orbit would undergo acceleration. During acceleration, charged particles
would radiate energy. Thus, the revolving electron would lose energy and finally fall into
the nucleus. If this were so, the atom should be highly unstable and hence matter would
not exist in the form that we know. We know that atoms are quite stable.

Alpha-particle trajectory

The trajectory traced by an a-particle depends on the impact parameter, b of collision. The
impact parameter is the perpendicular distance of the initial velocity vector of the a-particle
from the centre of the nucleus

The fact that only a small fraction of the number of incident particles rebound back indicates
that the number of a-particles undergoing head on collision is small. This, in turn, implies that
the mass and positive charge of the atom is concentrated in a small volume. Rutherford
scattering therefore, is a powerful way to determine an upper limit to the size of the nucleus.

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Electron Orbits

The electrostatic force of attraction, (Fe) between the revolving electrons and the nucleus
provides the requisite centripetal force (Fc) to keep them in their orbits. Thus, for a dynamically
stable orbit in a hydrogen atom.

Fe = Fc

𝟏 𝒁𝒆𝟐 𝒎𝒗𝟐
=
𝟒𝝅 𝜺𝟎 𝒓𝟐 𝒓
Thus the relation between the orbit radius and the electron velocity is

𝑍𝑒 2
r= ………..(i)
4𝜋𝜀0𝑚𝑣 2
for hydrogen atom Z = 1

The kinetic energy (K) and electrostatic potential energy (U) of the electron in hydrogen
atom are

𝟏 𝒁𝒆𝟐
K = mv = 2 using (i)
𝟐 𝟖 𝝅 𝜺𝟎 𝒓

(𝒁𝒆)(−𝒆) 𝒁𝒆𝟐
U=- =-
𝟒 𝝅 𝜺𝟎 𝒓 𝟒𝝅𝜺𝟎𝒓

(The negative sign in U signifies that the electrostatic force is in the –r direction.)

Thus the total energy E of the electron in a hydrogen atom is

𝒁𝒆𝟐 𝒁𝒆𝟐
E=K+U= -
𝟖 𝝅 𝜺𝟎 𝒓 𝟒𝝅𝜺𝟎𝒓

𝒆𝟐
E=-
𝟖 𝝅 𝜺𝟎 𝒓

The total energy of the electron is negative. This implies the fact that the electron is bound to the
nucleus. If E were positive, an electron will not follow a closed orbit around the nucleus.

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ATOMIC SPECTRA

A spectrum is define as the characteristic wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation that is emitted or

absorbed by an object or substance , atom or molecule.

Emission Line Spectrum

When an atomic gas or vapour is excited at low pressure, usually by passing an electric current
through it, the emitted radiation has a spectrum which contains certain specific wavelengths only.
A spectrum of this kind is termed as emission line spectrum and it consists of bright lines on a
dark background.

Absorption Spectrum

When white light passes through a gas and we analyse the transmitted light using a spectrometer
we find some dark lines in the spectrum. These dark lines correspond precisely to those
wavelengths which were found in the emission line spectrum of the gas. This is called the
absorption spectrum of the material of the gas.

BOHR MODEL OF THE HYDROGEN ATOM

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Postulates of Bohr Atomic Model

( i ) Bohr’s first postulate was that an electron in an atom could revolve in certain stable orbits without
the emission of radiant energy, contrary to the predictions of electromagnetic theory. According to this
postulate, each atom has certain definite stable states in which it can exist, and each possible state has
definite total energy. These are called the stationary states of the atom.

(ii) Bohr’s second postulate defines these stable orbits. This postulate states that the electron revolves
around the nucleus only in those orbits for which the angular momentum is some integral multiple of
h/2π where h is the Planck’s constant (= 6.6 · 10–34 J s). Thus the angular momentum (L) of the orbiting
electron is quantised. That is

𝒏𝒉
L = 𝟐𝝅
(iii) Bohr’s third postulate incorporated into atomic theory the early quantum concepts that had been
developed by Planck and Einstein. It states that an electron might make a transition from one of its
specified non-radiating orbits to another of lower energy. When it does so, a photon is emitted having
energy equal to the energy difference between the initial and final states. The frequency of the
emitted photon is then given by

hv = Ei - Ef
Where Ei and Ef are the energies of the initial and final states and Ei > Ef.

The radius of nth possible orbit thus found is

𝒏𝟐 𝒉 𝟒𝝅𝜺𝟎
rn =
𝒎 𝟐𝝅 𝒆𝟐

The total energy of the electron in the stationary states of the hydrogen atom is given by

𝒎𝒆𝟒 𝟐.𝟏𝟖𝒙𝟏𝟎− 𝟏𝟖
En = - 𝟐 = - J
𝟖𝒏𝟐 𝜺𝟎𝟐 𝒉 𝒏𝟐
𝟏𝟑.𝟔
En = - eV
𝒏𝟐

The negative sign of the total energy of an electron moving in an orbit means that the
electron is bound with the nucleus. Energy will thus be required to remove the electron
from the hydrogen atom to a distance infinitely far away from its nucleus (or proton in
hydrogen atom).

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ENERGY LEVELS

• The energy of an atom is the least (largest negative value) when its electron is revolving in an orbit
closest to the nucleus i.e., the one for which n = 1.
• For n = 2, 3, ... the absolute value of the energy E is smaller, hence the energy is progressively larger
in the outer orbits.
• The lowest state of the atom, called the ground state, is that of the lowest energy, with the electron
revolving in the orbit of smallest radius, the Bohr radius, a0. The energy of this state (n = 1), E1
is –13.6 eV. Therefore, the minimum energy required to free the electron from the
ground state of the hydrogen atom is 13.6 eV.
It is called the ionisation energy of the hydrogen atom.
• At room temperature, most of the hydrogen atoms are in ground state. When a hydrogen atom
receives energy by processes such as electron collisions, the atom may acquire sufficient energy to
raise the electron to higher energy states. The atom is then said to be in an excited state.
• for n = 2 ; the energy E2 is –3.40 eV. It means that the energy required to excite an electron in
hydrogen atom to its first excited state, is an energy equal to

hv = E2 – E1 = – 3.40 eV – (–13.6) eV = 10.2 eV.

Similarly, E3 = – 1.51 eV and E3 – E1 = 12.09 eV, or to excite the hydrogen atom from its ground
state (n = 1) to second excited state (n = 3), 12.09 eV energy is required, and so on.

• From these excited states the electron can then fall back to a state of lower energy, emitting a photon
in the process. Thus, as the excitation of hydrogen atom increases (that is as n increases) the value
of minimum energy required to free the electron from the excited atom decreases.

THE LINE SPECTRA OF THE HYDROGEN ATOM

According to the third postulate of Bohr’s model, when an atom makes a transition from the higher
energy state with quantum number ni to the lower energy state with quantum number nf (nf < ni),
the difference of energy is carried away by a photon of frequency Vif such that

hvif = Eni – Enf

Since both nf and ni are integers, this immediately shows that in transitions between different
atomic levels, light is radiated in various discrete frequencies.

The various lines in the atomic spectra are produced when electrons jump from higher
energy state to a lower energy state and photons are emitted. These spectral lines are
called emission lines.

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But when an atom absorbs a photon that has precisely the same energy needed by the electron in
a lower energy state to make transitions to a higher energy state, the process is called
absorption.

Thus if photons with a continuous range of frequencies pass through a rarefied gas and then are analysed
with a spectrometer, a series of dark spectral absorption lines appear in the continuous spectrum. The
dark lines indicate the frequencies that have been absorbed by the atoms of the gas.

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DE BROGLIE’S EXPLANATION OF BOHR’S SECOND POSTULATE OF QUANTISATION

Of all the postulates, Bohr made in his model of the atom, perhaps the most puzzling is his second
postulate. It states that the angular momentum of the electron orbiting around the nucleus is quantised
that is ,

Ln =mvr = nh / 2π n =1,2,3…

Why should the angular momentum have only those values that are integral multiples of
h/2π ?

Louis de Broglie argued that the electron in its circular orbit, as proposed by Bohr, must be seen as a
particle wave. In analogy to waves travelling on a string, particle waves too can lead to standing waves
under resonant conditions.

we know that when a string is plucked, a vast number of wavelengths are excited. However only those
wavelengths survive which have nodes at the ends and form the standing wave in the string. It means
that in a string, standing waves are formed when the total distance travelled by a wave down the string
and back is one wavelength, two wavelengths, or any integral number of wavelengths. Waves with other
wavelengths interfere with themselves upon reflection and their amplitudes quickly drop to zero.

Thus de Broglie hypothesis provided an explanation for Bohr’s second postulate for the
quantisation of angular momentum of the orbiting electron. The quantised electron
orbits and energy states are due to the wave nature of the electron and only resonant
standing waves can persist.

Limitations of Bohr atomic model

(i) The Bohr model is applicable to hydrogenic atoms (Hydrogenic atoms are the atoms consisting
of a nucleus with positive charge +Ze and a single electron). It cannot be extended even to
mere two electron atoms such as helium. The analysis of atoms with more than one electron was
attempted on the lines of Bohr’s model for hydrogenic atoms but did not meet with any success.
Difficulty lies in the fact that each electron interacts not only with the positively charged nucleus but also
with all other electrons.

The formulation of Bohr model involves electrical force between positively charged nucleus and electron.
It does not include the electrical forces between electrons which necessarily appear in multi-electron
atoms.

(ii) While the Bohr’s model correctly predicts the frequencies of the light emitted by hydrogenic atoms,
the model is unable to explain the relative intensities of the frequencies in the spectrum. In emission
spectrum of hydrogen, some of the visible frequencies have weak intensity, others strong. Why?
Experimental observations depict that some transitions are more favoured than others.

Bohr’s model is unable to account for the intensity variations. Bohr’s model presents an
elegant picture of an atom and cannot be generalised to complex atoms. For complex
atoms we have to use a new and radical theory based on Quantum Mechanics, which
provides a more complete picture of the atomic structure.

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