ATOMIC

MODELS
INTRODUCTION:

English Chemist ,Dalton in 1803 put forward an

atomic theory, known as Dalton’s Atomic Theory
according to which all the matter is composed of
extremely small indivisible particles named Atoms
(Greek : atom = cannot be cut i.e., indivisible)
However, this concept of indivisibility of atom did
not hold long and it was proved false by the
experiments conducted by brilliant research
workers like J.J. Thomson (1897), Rutherford
(1911), Neil Bohr (1912), Chadwick, Mosley and
others that the atom itself has a complex structure,
i.e., the atom consists of several particles, called
sub atomic particles like electrons, protons,
neutrons, positron, neutrino, meson etc. Out of
these, electrons, protons and neutrons are very
important. The atom, of course, remains
indivisible in all physical and chemical changes.
Discovery of Electron
Production of Cathode Rays.
Plucker in 1852 took a cylindrical hard glass tube
(called discharge tube) fitted with metal discs
which act as electrodes. He then pumped out most
of the air of the tube to lower the pressure to about
0.01 atmosphere and passed a high voltage of
10,000 volts into the tube On doing so he found
that electricity begins to flow through the
electrodes and rays of light are emitted by the air
left in the tube If the pressure is reduced to about
10-6 atmosphere, the rays of light seem to leave the
cathode (negative electrode) at right angles and
with large velocities, the walls of the glass tube
begin to glow with greenish light. The rays leaving
the cathode were called Cathode Rays by Goldstein
in 1876. When these rays fall on the walls of the
tube, they fluoresce with a greenish light. Of
course, the colour produced depends on the
composition of the glass of the tube.
 Cathode Rays are simply electrons moving
with velocity of nearly 1/16th velocity of the light.

Characteristic Properties Of Cathode

Rays :
1. Cathode Rays (electrons) travel in straight
lines.
2. Cathode Rays consist of negatively charged
energetic particles because they are attracted
towards the positive plate of the electric field.
3. Cathode Rays ionize the gas through which
they pass and affect the photographic plate.
4. The negatively charged particles are called
electrons. Electrons have particle properties.
5. The properties of electrons are independent
of the materials of the electrodes and the type
of gas in the discharge tube.
Note: From these observations, it can be
concluded that electrons are present in all forms
of matter and are common or universal
constituents of all atoms.
Discovery of Proton
In 1886 German physicist, E .Goldstein took
a discharge tube provided with a cathode
perforated with extremely fine holes and
observed that when a large potential
difference was applied between the
electrodes, luminous streamers or rays were
originated from the anode and passed
through the holes in the cathode, i.e., these
rays travel from anode to cathode. This
shows that these rays carry positive charge
on them. These rays are called positive rays,
since they seem to originate from anode.
These rays are also called canal rays,
because they are produced by the passage
through canals or holes in the cathode.
Characteristics Properties of
Anode Rays
1. Anode rays travel from anode toward the
cathode in a straight line.
2. Anode rays consists of positively charged
particles because they are attracted
towards the negative plate of the electric
field.
3. The positively charged Hydrogen ion is
called a PROTON.
4. The charge to mass ratio for positive ions
is very much smaller than e/m from
electron
Discovery of Neutrons

Up to 1932 it was postulated that an atom

is composed of only protons and electrons,
and that the mass of an atom is due to the
mass of protons present in the nucleus,
since mass of electrons is negligible. Mass
of each proton is equal to 1.00759 atomic
mass unit (amu.).

Rutherford noticed that the atomic

masses of different atoms could not be
explained if it is supposed that the atom
is composed only of protons and electrons
and, he predicted in 1920 that some kind
of neutral particles having mass equal to
protons must be present in an atom.

It was in 1932 that Chadwick discovered

these neutral particles for which he was
awarded the Noble Prize in Physics in
1935. He obtained these neutral particles
by bombarding light nuclei like Li and Be
with a~ particles.

The particles released from Be as a result

of the incidence of alpha particles on it
are uncharged and have the same mass
as protons, Chadwick called them
neutrons on account of their neutral
nature.
4Be + 2He4 = 6C12 +0n1
9

NOTE : the neutrons resulting from the

bombardment of Be with a~ particle on
falling on paraffin wax interact elasticity
with hydrogen atoms. As a result of this,
neutrons stop and protons are ejected
from paraffin.

Rutherford’s Experiment~
Discovery of Nucleus

In 1911, Rutherford, the British scientist,

performed some experiments for studying
the scattering of particles by thin metal
foil. Here, it may be mentioned that an a
particle is a helium nucleus which
consists of two units of positive charge
and its mass is equal to 4. Hence, it is
represented by the symbol
+2a or +2He .
4 4

In his experiment, he produced a narrow

beam of a~ particles from a radioactive
substance like radium placed in a lead
block and directed it at a thin sheet of
gold foil of thickness of 0.00004 cm. A
movable circular screen coated with ZnS
was placed on the other side of the foil.
This screen helped in detecting the
direction in which the a~ particles moved.
When these particles struck the
Screen, a flash of light was observed.

Rutherford observed that most of the a~

particles passed through the foil without
any deflection from their path and struck
the screen at its centre, causing
illuminations. A few of them were
deflected at some angles (900 or wider
angles) after passing through the foil.
Very few (not more than one in 10,000)
turned back on their original path.

# Observations of
Rutherford’s Experiment

1. Most of the a~ particles passed

through the foil without deflection
suggested that most of the space in an
atom was empty. The negatively
 charged electrons could not affect the
movement of the a~ particles.
2. A few a~ particles were deflected
through some angles suggested that
the center of the atom must have a
heavy positively charged body which
repels positively charged a~ particle.
3. Very few a~ particles are bounced
back on their original path without
undergoing any deflection suggesting
that the nucleus is rigid and
positively charged.

# Conclusions of
Rutherford’s Experiment

1. Most of the space in an atom is

empty.
2. a~ particles encounter a heavy
positively charged massive body
inside the atom (like charges repel
each other).
 3. The volume occupied by the
positively charged massive body
(nucleus) is very small as
compared to the total volume
occupied by the atom.

NOTE:
1. Atom contains a central part
called nucleus.
2. The nucleus of an atom is
positively charged.
3. The mass of the atom is mainly
concentrated within its nucleus.

# Limitations of Rutherford
Model of Atom
1. Whenever a charged body revolves, it
gives out radiations and loses its
energy. As a result, the electrons
should come closer and closer to the
nucleus and ultimately the electron
 must fall into the nucleus and destroy
the atom. Thus, the atom should not
exist.
2. ‘When gases under low pressure are
subjected to electric discharge, line
spectra are produced. Rutherford’s
model fails to account for this
phenomenon.
Nature of Wave Emitted By
Electron:
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE
Proposed By: MAXWELL

When electrically charged particles moves

under acceleration, alternate electrical and
magnetic fields are produced and transmitted
in the form of waves called electromagnetic
waves or radiations.
NOTE:
 1. These fields (electric and magnetic) travel
in the planes perpendicular to each other
and both are perpendicular to the
direction of propagation of
electromagnetic waves.
2. Electromagnetic waves travel in vacuum.
They do not require any medium (in
vacuum, their speed is equal to the speed
of light, i.e., 3 x108 m/sec).
Particle Nature of
Electromagnetic Radiation:
Plank’s Quantum Equation
A particle occupies a well~ defined position
in space which cannot be simultaneously
occupied by another particle, the particle is
localized in space. If there is more than one
particle in given space, their sum is equal
to the number of individual particles, two
particles do not interfere.
Black Body Radiations:
If the substance being heated is a black
body, which is a perfect absorber and
perfect radiator of energy and can emit and
absorb all frequencies, the radiations are
called black body radiations.

OBSERVATIONS:

Max Plank proposed that the energy of the

radiation is not continuous and it cannot
have random value. The energy of
radiation can only have one discrete value.
The discrete value of energy is called
QUANTISED ENERGY.

Quantum of Energy:

The smallest quantity of energy that can be

absorbed or emitted in the form of
electromagnetic radiation is called
quantum.
1. The energy is radiated or absorbed by a
body not continuously but
discontinuously in the form of small
packets called QUANTUM.
2. In the case of light, the quantum is
called a photon.

Plank’s Quantum Equation

𝐸 = ℎ × 𝑐/𝜆
OR
E=nhv
(where h = 6.626 x 10_34 J sec)
Type equation here.
 Bohr’s Model of
Atomic Structure
(For Hydrogen Atom ONLY)
GIVEN BY: NEILS BOHR
Main Postulates of Bohr’s Model:
1. The electron in the hydrogen atom
moves around the nucleus in a fixed
circular path called Orbit or Shell.

2. The atom is stable because the

electrostatic force between the nucleus
and the electron is balanced by the
centrifugal force of moving electron.

3. The e_ can move only in those orbits for

which its angular momentum is an
integral multiple of the quantity h/2𝜋.

𝑚𝑉𝑟 = 𝑛 𝑥 ℎ/2𝜋
 4. The energy of the electron is constant as
long as it does not change its orbit.
5. When the electron absorbs energy it
jumps from an orbit of lower energy to
an orbit of higher energy.
6. The energy is emitted when the electron
returns to lower energy state from a
higher energy state.
7. The change of energy ( ∆𝐸) when the
electron moves from one orbit to another
orbit is given by:

∆𝐸 = E2 – E1
𝑂𝑅
h v = E2 – E1
OR
h x c/𝜆 = E2 – E1

.
Application of Bohr’s Model:
(For Hydrogen and Hydrogen like
species containing one electron)

1. Radius of various orbits:

r n = 0.529 x n2/z 𝐴°
OR
r n = 0.0529 x n2/z nm
0.529 = 𝑎°

2. Energy of an electron:
E n = RH x z2/n2
OR
En = -2.18 x 10-18 x z2/n2 J/atom
OR
En = -13.6 x z2/n2 e V/atom
3. Velocity of an Electron:
V = 2.19 x 106 x z/n m sec-1
LIMITATION OF BOHR’S MODEL:
1. Bohr’s theory explained the spectra of
atomic hydrogen but could not
explain the spectra of other atoms
with more electrons.
2. Zeeman effect (splitting of a spectral
line into many fine lines in a magnetic
field) and Stark effect (splitting of
spectral line into many fine lines in an
electric field) was not explained by
Bohr’s Theory).
3. Bohr’s theory did not provide any
explanation for the chemical
combination between different atoms.
WAVE MECHANICAL MODEL
OF STRUCTURE OF ATOM

1. Dual Nature of Electron and de

Brogglie’s Equation:
Proposed By: Louis de Broglie
(1924)
It states that the wavelength of an electron is
inversely proportional to its momentum.
MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSION:
de Broglie’s equation is derived by using
Einstein’s equation, Plank’s Quantum Theory
and Wave Theory of Light.
E = mc2 (Einstein’s e q n)
E= hv (Plank’s e q n)
v = c/𝜆
From 1 and 2
h v = mc2
 From 3
H x c/𝜆 = mc2
h/𝜆 = mc
OR
h/𝜆 = mv
h/𝜆 = 𝑝 (momentum)Type equation here.
ℎ
𝜆=
𝑝
1
𝜆=
𝑝
NOTE: It is clear from the above equation that
the value of 𝜆 decreases with the increase in
either mass (m) or velocity (v) or both. The
wavelength of many fast moving objects like an
airplane or a cricket ball is very less because of
their high mass.
2. Heisnberg Uncertainity Principl:
PROPOSED BY: WARNER
HEISENBERG (1927)

It states that it is impossible to measure

the exact position and exact momentum of
a body as small as an electron
simultaneously.
MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSION:
ℎ
∆𝑥. ∆𝑝 ≥
4𝜋
ℎ
∆𝑥. 𝑚∆𝑣 ≥
4𝜋
ℎ
∆𝑥. ∆𝑣 ≥
4𝜋𝑚

If the position is known quite accurately

and ∆𝑥 is very small, ∆𝑣 becomes very
large and vice versa
QUANTUM NUMBERS
To specify an electron in an atom, four
identification numbers are required and
these identification numbers are called
Quantum Numbers.

Types of Quantum Numbers:

1. Principal Quantum Number (n)

(shell)
2. Azimuthal Quantum Number (l)
(sub shell)
3. Magnetic Quantum Number (m)
(orbital)
4. Spin Quantum Number (s) (spin
of electron)
1. Principal Quantum Number:
Given by: Neils Bohr
It represents the name, size and energy of
the shell to which an electron belongs.
Value of n lies between 1 and infinity
Type equation here. n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 …………..
Type equation here.

NOTE: The number of electron in a

particular shell is equal to 2n2.

2. Azimuthal Quantum Number:

Given by: Sommerfeld
It represents the name of the sub shell,
shape of orbital and orbital angular
momentum.
Value of l lies between 0 to n-1 in a
particular nth shell.

Sub shell and value of l

s=0
p=1
d=2
f=3
 3. Magnetic Quantum Number:
Given by: Linde
It represents the orientation of an
electron cloud. Under the influence of
magnetic field each sub shell is
further divided into orbital.
Value of m: All integral value from –l
to +l including zero.
3. Spin Quantum Number:
Given by: Goudsmit and Uhlenbeck
It represents the direction of electron
spin around its own axis.

1. For clockwise spin/spin up

1
electron ±2 =

2. For anticlockwise spin / spin

1
down electron=∓ 2
Note: Each orbital can accommodate max two
electrons of opposite spin or a spin pair.