Transcript Atoms
Atomic Physics
What is the ATOM???
MATTER = ATOM
• All matter is composed of atoms.
• Atoms are the smallest part of an element
that keeps that element’s properties.
• If an atom were the size of a football field, the
nucleus would be the size of a marble and
nearly all of the mass of the atom is in the
nucleus.
• The space around the nucleus and the
electron have very, very little mass. This
means that matter is mostly empty!
The Atom and the nucleus
The nucleus contains most of the mass of the
atom (protons + neutrons). The rest is
mostly empty space!
Democritus
The Greek Understanding
• Democritus (BC 400) and the
“Atomists” debate the “four”
elements (fire, water, earth, and air).
• Democritus concluded that matter
could not be divided into smaller
and smaller pieces forever.
Eventually, the smallest piece of
matter would be found.
• He used the word “atomos” to
describe the smallest possible piece
of matter.
The Dalton Model
• All elements are composed of
indivisible particles.
• Atoms of the same element are
exactly alike (isotopes not
known yet).
• Atoms of different elements are
different.
• Compounds are formed by
joining atoms of two or more
elements.
Thompson’s “Plum Pudding” Model
• Discovered negatively charged
particles coming off a gas known to
be neutral.
• Called these “early” electrons,
corpuscles.
• Predicted that there must be positive
particles (protons) present in equal
number to balance negative charges.
• Proposed atoms were made of
pudding like positive charges, with
negative electrons inside scattered
like plums.
Robert A. Millikan
• Experiments showed that the mass
of an electron is smaller than the
simplest type of hydrogen atom.
• Mass of electron =
9.109 x 10-31kg
• Electron has a negative charge.
Based on what was learned about
electrons,
• Two other inferences were made
about atomic structure:
1. Because atoms are electrically neutral, they
must contain a positive charge to balance
the negative electrons.
2. Because electrons have so much less mass
than atoms, atoms must contain other
particles that account for most of their mass.
Rutherford’s Gold Foil
Experiment
Rutherford’s Model
• Fired tiny positive particles at gold
•
•
•
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foil…most went through without
change of course. What did this
prove?
Some particles bounced back as if
they hit something solid.
Reasoned that they were repelled by
similar charged particles.
Discovered and proved the existence
of the proton.
Reasoned that atoms are mostly
“empty” space, but with a small
dense center with positive charges.
• These deflections were not consistent with Thomson's
model. Rutherford was forced to discard the Plum Pudding
model.
• He reasoned that the only way the alpha particles
(positively charged) could be deflected backwards was if
most of the mass in an atom was concentrated in a
nucleus.
• He thus developed the “Planetary model” of the atom
which put all the protons in the nucleus and the electrons
orbited around the nucleus like planets around the sun.
ATOMIC NUCLEUS
• Atoms are electrically neutral because
they contain equal numbers of protons
and electrons.
• Protons have a positive charge.
• Mass of Proton = 1.673 x 10-27 kg
• 1 amu = 1 atomic mass unit
• The number of protons present
determines the identity of the atom.
• Neutrons are electrically neutral.
• Mass of Neutron = 1.675 x 10 -27 kg
• 1 amu
Mosely
• Determined
electron
neutron
proton
the number of
PROTONS in
elements
Nuclear Forces
• You would expect a nucleus with like
charged protons to repel one another and be
very unstable.
• However, when two protons are extremely
close to each other, there is a strong
attraction between them.
• The short-range proton-neutron, protonproton, and neutron-neutron forces hold the
nuclear particles together.
The Bohr Model
• Amended Rutherford's
“planetary” model in 1913.
• Brought the model in line
with the regular patterns
(spectral series) of light
emitted by real hydrogen
atoms.
• Bohr’s model worked well
explaining simple atoms
like hydrogen, but didn’t
work for more complex
atoms.
•Orbiting electrons of circular orbits had discrete radii
(specific distances from the nucleus). They each had
discrete wavelengths in the emission spectrum.
•Light, he proposed, radiated from atoms only when an
electron made a transition from an outer orbit to one
closer to the nucleus.
• Electrons travel in defined circular orbits around the
nucleus.
• The orbits are labeled by an integer, the quantum
number n. Electrons can jump from one orbit to
another by emitting or absorbing energy.
• The inset shows an electron jumping from orbit n=3
to orbit n=2, emitting a photon of red light with an
energy of 1.89 eV.
The Modern Atomic Model
• Based on wave mechanics, this model
proposes that electrons have NO definite path
in an atom (unlike Bohr’s model).
• The probable location of an electron is based
on how much energy it has. The more energy
an electron has, the farther from the nucleus.
• The small, positively charged nucleus is
surrounded by a large space in which there are
enough electrons to make the atom neutral.
Based on Energy Levels
Draw this
Picture
EXTRA
CREDIT
• Where does the word “electron” come
from and what does it mean?
• Besides being a profound influence in
the world of science, Bohr was a
talented athlete. In what sport did he
excel?
• Who did Democritus study under?
• What does atomism mean?
Works Cited
• http://www.iun.edu/~cpanhd/C101webnotes/modern•
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atomic-theory/rutherford-model.html
http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/quantumzone/f
requency.html
http://www.ips.k12.in.us/s715/science/brunsting/powe
rpoint/chap5/sld001.htm
http://www.howe.k12.ok.us/~jimaskew/pmodel.htm
http://www.bemidjistate.edu/Science/psns/ch9a/sld00
2.htm
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/java/rutherfor
d/