“Atomic Structure”

 The History of Atomic Theory

 Who are these men?
In this lesson, we’ll learn
about the men whose quests
for knowledge about the
fundamental nature of the
universe helped define our
views.
 Democritus 400 BC
 This is the Greek
philosopher Democritus
who began the search for
a description of matter
more than 2400 years ago.
 He asked: Could matter
be divided into smaller
and smaller pieces
forever, or was there a
limit to the number of
times a piece of matter
could be divided?
Atomos
 His thought: Matter could
not be divided into smaller
and smaller pieces forever,
eventually the smallest
possible piece would be
obtained.
 This piece would be
indivisible.
 He named the smallest
piece of matter “atomos,”
meaning “not to be cut.”
Atomos
 To Democritus, atoms
were small, hard
particles that were all
made of the same
material but were
different shapes and
sizes.
 Atoms were infinite in
number, always
moving and capable of
joining together.
 This theory was
ignored and forgotten
for more than 2000
years!
 Why?
 The eminent
philosophers of
the time,
Aristotle and
Plato, had a
more
respected,
(and ultimately
Aristotle and Plato favored the earth, fire, air
wrong) theory. and water approach to the nature of matter.
Their ideas held way because of their
eminence as philosophers. The atomos idea
was buried for approximately 2000 years.
But the ideas of Democritus did agree with
later scientific theory, but did not explain
chemical behavior, and was not based on
the scientific method – but just philosophy
 Dalton’s Model
(experiment based!)
 In
the early 1800s,
the English
Chemist John
Dalton performed a
number of
experiments that
eventually led to
the acceptance of
the idea of atoms. John Dalton
(1766 – 1844)
 Dalton’s Theory
 He deduced that all
elements are composed of
atoms. Atoms are
indivisible and
indestructible particles.
 Atoms of the same element
are exactly alike.
 Atoms of different elements
are different.
“Billiard ball” model  Compounds are formed by
the joining of atoms of two
or more elements.
This theory
became one
of the
foundations
of modern
chemistry.
 Structure of the Atom

One change to Dalton’s atomic

theory is that atoms are divisible
into subatomic particles:
Electrons, protons, and neutrons are
examples of these fundamental
particles
There are many other types of
particles, but we will study these three
Discovery of Electron

In 1897, the

English scientist
J.J. Thomson
provided the first
hint that an atom
is made of even
J.J. Thomson
smaller particles.
 Experiment
Thomson studied
the passage of
an electric
current through a
gas.
As the current
passed through
the gas, it gave
off rays of
negatively
charged
 Gas at
low pressure
Cathode
rays To vacuum
pum p
Cathode Anode
– +

High voltage
– +

Discharge tube experim ent-Production of cathode rays

Cathode ray discharge tube

 Properties of Cathode Rays:
1. It travels in a straight line.
2. It causes phosphorescence.
3. It effects on Photographic plate.
4. It produces heat in the body on which it falls.
5. It ionises the gas through which it passes.
6. A light object placed in the path of the rays is kicked away.
7. It penetrates through thin sheet of a metal.
8. They produce X-rays when allowed to strike a metal surface.
9. The rays are negatively charged & are deflected by electric field.
Properties of cathode rays
They are material particles as they produce mechanical motion in a small
paddle wheel
Properties of cathode rays
They are deflected from their path by electric and magnetic fields
 Where did
they come
Thomson from?

surprised,
because the
atoms of the gas
were uncharged.
Where had the
negative charges
come from?
Thomson concluded that the
negative charges came from within
the atom.

A particle smaller than an atom had

to exist.

The atom was divisible!

Thomson called the negatively
charged “corpuscles,” today known
as electrons.

Since the gas was known to be

neutral, having no charge, he
reasoned that there must be
positively charged particles in the
atom.

But he could never find them.

 Modern Cathode Ray Tubes

Television Computer Monitor

Cathode ray tubes pass electricity

through a gas that is contained at a
very low pressure.
 Charge to Mass Ratio of Electron

J.J. Thomson carried out a number of experiments to

find out charge and mass of the electron. Charge of
the electron was found to be 1.602 X 10 –19 coulomb.
Mass of the electron was found to be 9.1 X 10 –28g.

charge(e)
= 1.758820 X 1011 C kg 1
mass(me)
 Mass of the Electron
Mass of the
electron is
9.11 x 10-28 g

The oil drop apparatus

1916 – Robert Millikan determines the mass

of the electron: 1/1840 the mass of a
hydrogen atom; has one unit of negative
charge
 Eugen Goldstein in 1886 observed
what is now called the “proton” -
particles with a positive charge, and
a relative mass of 1 (or 1840 times
that of an electron)
 1932 – James Chadwick confirmed
the existence of the “neutron” – a
particle with no charge, but a mass
nearly equal to a proton
 Subatomic Particles
Particle Charge Mass (g) Location

Electron
(e-) -1 9.11 x 10-28 Electron
cloud
Proton
(p+) +1 1.67 x 10-24 Nucleus
Neutron
(no) 0 1.67 x 10-24 Nucleus
 What should a Model look
like?Scientific models
may not always
look like the actual
object. A model is
an attempt to use
familiar ideas to
describe unfamiliar
things in a visual
This is a painting of a young way.
woman by Pablo Picasso. Does
it actually look like a young
woman?
 Thomson Model
 Model of J.J. Thomson:
 Electrons are embedded within spherically
distributed, positive charge (so-called “plum
pudding” model)
 Both the positive charge and the mass of the atom
would be more or less uniformly distributed over
its size
Can a Model be Changed?

A model can be changed as new

information is collected.
From the early Greek concept to
the modern atomic theory,
scientists have built upon and
modified existing models of the
atom.
 Rutherford’s Gold Foil
Experiment
 In1908, the English
physicist Ernest
Rutherford was hard
at work on an
experiment that
seemed to have little
to do with unraveling
the mysteries of the
atomic structure.
 Ernest Rutherford’s
Gold Foil Experiment - 1911

Alpha particles are helium nuclei -

The alpha particles were fired at a thin
sheet of gold foil
 Particles that hit on the detecting
screen (film) are recorded
Rutherford’s experiment Involved firing
a stream of tiny positively charged
particles at a thin sheet of gold foil
(2000 atoms thick)
 Most of the positively
charged “bullets” passed
right through the gold
atoms in the sheet of gold
foil without changing
course at all.
 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.
 Rutherford’s problem:
In the following pictures, there is a target
hidden by a cloud. To figure out the shape of
the target, we shot some beams into the cloud
and recorded where the beams came out. Can
you figure out the shape of the target?

Target Target
#1 #2
 The Answers:

Target #1 Target #2
 Rutherford’s Experiment - Results

A beam of  particles aimed at

thin gold foil.

• Most of the particles passed

Most of the space is empty
through.

• A few came back Presence of concentrated mass at

the centre
• Others deflected at various Repulsion between two +vely
angles charged particles

“ Like firing shells at paper handkerchief with few of them

coming back.” - Ernst Rutherford
 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.
 Rutherford concluded that an atom had a small,
dense, positively charged center that repelled
the positively charged “bullets.”
 He called the center of the atom the “ nucleus”
 The nucleus is tiny compared to the atom as a
whole.
Rutherford
 Rutherford reasoned
that all of an atom’s
positively charged
particles were
contained in the
nucleus. The
negatively charged
particles were
scattered outside the
nucleus around the
atom’s edge.
 The Rutherford Model
 “Planetary Model”
Atom consist of two parts:
 Nucleus: Almost the whole
mass of the atom is
concentrated in this small region
 Extra nuclear part: This is the
space around the nucleus
in which electrons are revolving
at high speeds in fixed path
 Sizes
 nuclei ~ 10-14 m (calculated
from fraction of -particles
that scatter more than 900
in a foil of given thickness)
 atom ~ 10-10 m (from the
mass density and number
of atoms in a mole –
Avogadro’s number)
 The Rutherford Model
A) The nucleus is very small - positively
charged - with the electrons outside the
nucleus.
B) A new question arises. If the electron is
negatively charged, won't the attraction for
electrons by the nucleus cause the electron to
fall into the nucleus and therefore atoms
should collapse.
They don't. Why not?
Rutherford attempts to explain his
experimental results.
A) He knew about the solar system - the
attraction of the planets by the sun -
universal gravitation. Yet planets are not
pulled into the sun. They are in motion
around the sun and this motion prevents
them from being pulled into the sun.
So Rutherford puts the electron in
motion around the nucleus.
There is a BIG difference between
electrons and the nucleus and the sun
and the planets. WHAT IS THAT???

An electron in an orbit experiences an

acceleration. According to the laws of
electricity, this moving negative charge in
the vicinity of a positive charge will
radiate energy - as it accelerates, it loses
energy. What happens then?
 Difficulties with the Rutherford
Model
 Since electron travels
in a circular orbit, it is
constantly
accelerated (even
though its speed is
constant.) Thus, the
electron emits EM
radiation, which
carriers away energy.
The energy of the
atoms is reduced and
hence the electron
moves closer to the
Thus, classically, the
Rutherford Atom is
Unstable
Concept of atomic mass and atomic number

Atomic number(Z) = number of protons

Entire mass of the atom is

concentrated at the centre

Mass number(A)=number of protons + number of neutrons

 Concept of atomic mass and atomic number

For example:
23
11 Na
Mass number=number of protons + number of neutrons
=23

Atomic number =number of protons

=11
Concept of atomic mass and atomic number

We express weight of an atom in terms of atomic mass

unit (a.m.u).

Mass of a proton=Mass of neutron

=1 a.m.u(approx)

Hence, Mass number=Atomic weight (expressed in a.m.u)

 Isotopes

Atoms of the same element can

have different numbers of
neutrons.
Thus, different mass numbers.
These are called isotopes.
 Isotopes
FrederickSoddy (1877-1956)
proposed the idea of isotopes in
1912
 Isotopesare atoms of the same element
having different masses, due to varying
numbers of neutrons.
Soddy won the Nobel Prize in
Chemistry in 1921 for his work with
isotopes and radioactive materials.
 Naming Isotopes
We can also put the mass
number after the name of the
element:
carbon-12
carbon-14
uranium-235
Isotopes are atoms of the same element having
different masses, due to varying numbers of
neutrons.
Isotope Protons Electrons Neutrons Nucleus
Hydrogen–1
(protium) 1 1 0
Hydrogen-2
(deuterium) 1 1 1

Hydrogen-3 1 1 2
(tritium)
 ISOBARS AND ISOTONES:

Isobars:
Isobars are the atoms of different elements having the same mass number
But differ in their atomic numbers and hence different neutron number.

Example:

Isobar of A=3, 3
H 3 He
1 2

Isobar of A=14, 14
C 14
N
6 7
Isotones:
These are the nuclei having same neutron number and different
Z and A values.

Example:
H
3 4
He
1 2
Electromagnetic radiation
Electric field
Z component

Direction of
X
Y propagation

Electric and magnetic fields are

perpendicular to each other
Magnetic field component
Characteristics of a wave
Light is an oscillating
electro-magnetic field.

Oscillating electric field

generates the magnetic
field and vice-versa.

(i)Wavelength: It is represented by lamda. λ

.
Units:
m, cm(10-2m), nm(10-9m), pm(10-12m) or A0(10-10m).
Characteristics of a wave

(ii) Frequency: The number of waves passes through

a given point in 1 second.
It is represented by  . 
Its unit is Hertz or second-1 .

(iii) Velocity: The linear distance travelled by a crest or a

trough in one second. Its unit is cm s -1.

(iv) Wave number: The number of

waves present in 1 cm length.
 1
It is represented by  . Its unit is cm -1.
λ
Electromagnetic spectrum
The arrangement of all type of electromagnetic radiation in order of their increasing
Wavelength or decreasing frequency is called a complete electromagnetic spectrum.
Planck’s Quantum Theory:

 Diffraction & Interference can be explained by wave nature of electromagnetic

radiation.
 But the following observations could not be explained by wave nature of EM
radiation.

• Black body radiation

• Photo-electric effect
• Variation of heat capacity of solids as a function of temperature
• Line spectra of atoms

Blackbody Radiation
 A blackbody is an object which totally absorbs all radiation that falls on it
 Any hot body (blackbodies included) radiates light over the whole
spectrum of frequencies
 The spectrum depends on both frequency and temperature
 At a given temperature, intensity of radiation emitted increases with
decrease of wavelength, reaches a maximum value & then starts
decreasing with further decrease of wavelength.
Spectrum of Blackbody Radiation

Plot of intensity of the blackbody radiation

versus wavelength for various temperatures
Planck’s Quantum Postulate

 A blackbody can only emit radiation in discrete

packets or quanta, i.e., in multiples of the minimum
energy: Max Planck

Eh Max Planck (1858-1947) is

generally regarded as the
father of quantum theory

Where, h is known as Planck’s constant

h6.625X10 34 Js
(Joule = kg m2 / sec2)
 Photoelectric Effect
When a beam of light is exposed to a metal surface, electrons are ejected out from
that. This phenomenon is called photoelectric effect.
 Experimental Observations

 The electrons are ejected from the metal surface as soon as the beam of light
strikes the surface, i.e., there is no time lag between the striking of light beam
& the ejection of electrons from the metal surface.

 The number of electrons ejected is proportional to the intensity or brightness

of light.

 Only light with a frequency greater than a certain threshold will produce a current.

 Current is proportional to the intensity of the incident light.

When blue light is shone on the emitter plate,
a current flows in the circuit
But for red light, no current flows in the circuit
 Problems with Wave Theory of Light

The wave theory of light is unable to explain these

observations

For waves, energy depends on amplitude

and not frequency

This implies that a current should be produced

when say, high-intensity red light is used
 Einstein’s Explanation
(1905)
Light consists of particles, now known as photons

A photon hitting the emitter plate will eject an electron

if it has enough energy Albert Einstein won a Nobel Prize for
his work on the photoelectric effect
and not his theory of relativity!

Greater the energy possessed by the photon, greater

will be transfer of energy to the electron & greater the
kinetic energy of the ejected electron.

Means kinetic energy of the ejected electron is

proportional to the frequency of the electromagnetic
radiation.

Since the striking photon has energy equal to h & the

minimum energy required to eject the electron is h ,
then the difference in energy h h is transferred
as the kinetic energy of the photoelectron.
hh 12mev2
The Wave – Particle Duality
OR