Lec-1, 09 June 2021
Atom and Atomic
Structure
Structure of Matter Structure of NaCl
➢Matter: Any substance which has mass and
occupies space
➢Atom is the smallest particle having
characteristic properties of an element.
➢A molecule is made up of atoms bonded
together.
Element
Atomic Structure
➢Subatomic particles:
Electron, Proton, Neutron
➢Electron: -ve, Mass: 9.10938356 × 10-31 kg,
Charge: -1.602 × 10-19 Coulombs
➢Proton: +ve, Mass: 1.6726219 × 10-27 kg,
Charge: +1.602 × 10-19 Coulombs
➢Neutron: charge neutral, Mass: 1.67493 ×
10−27 kg
Atomic Structure
➢The nucleus contains positively
charged Proton and charge neutral
Neutron.
➢Negatively charged Electrons exist
around a nucleus in definite shells.
➢Overall, an atom is charge neutral.
Atomic Structure
➢Diameter:
➢ Atom: 10−10 m or 0.1nm
➢ Nucleus: 10−15 m or 1fm
Rutherford Atomic Model
According to the Rutherford atomic model (proposed in1911):
1. The positively charged particles and most of the mass of an atom is concentrated in an extremely small
volume. He called this region of the atom as a nucleus.
2. Rutherford model proposed that the negatively charged electrons surround the nucleus of an atom. He also
claimed that the electrons surrounding the nucleus revolve around it in circular paths. He named these
circular paths as orbits.
3. Electrons being negatively charged and nucleus being a densely concentrated mass of positively charged
particles are held together by a strong electrostatic force of attraction.
Total energy of hydrogen atom:
Rutherford Atomic Model: limitation
❖ Limitation: Accelerated electric charges radiate
energy in the form of em waves. An electron
pursuing a curved path is accelerated and
therefore should continuously lose energy,
spiraling into the nucleus in a fraction of a
second.
Bohr atomic model (1913)
➢An atomic electron can circle its nucleus only in
certain stable orbits without radiating any energy.
➢The stationary orbits are attained at distances for
which the angular momentum of the revolving
electron is an integral multiple of the reduced
𝑛ℎ
Planck's constant: 𝑚𝑣𝑟 =
2𝜋
➢Atom emits or absorbs a photon of light when an
electron jumps from one permitted orbit to another.
Niels Bohr
Nobel Prize in Physics 1922
Extranuclear structure
➢Electrons exist around the nucleus in different
energy levels, also called shells or orbits).
➢Shells are represented by principal quantum
numbers n (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ------), also denoted as K, L
M, N O etc.
➢Each shell can have a maximum of 2n2 electrons.
➢A shell may contain fewer than maximum electron
allowed.
Atomic Energy Levels
➢ Electrons of different energy levels possess different energy.
➢ The higher the principle quantum number the higher is the
energy of that level. E2 E1
➢ Energy levels closer to the nucleus have more negative E3
energy.
➢ Electrons closer to the nucleus are tightly bound compared
to that away from the nucleus.
E = E2 - E1
➢ The outer most electrons are loosely bound.
➢ Energy is released as electromagnetic radiation when an
electron is moved from higher to lower energy level.
➢ Energy is absorbed when an electron move from lower to
higher energy levels.
Atomic Ionization
➢ Electron binding energy is the minimum energy
required to remove an electron from an atom.
➢ Complete removal of an orbital electron from a
neutral atom is called Ionization.
➢ Photon (electromagnetic wave) or energetic electron
can ionize an atom.
➢ The atom becomes a positively charged ion as it lose
electron.
Atomic Excitation
➢ Transfer of electron from ground state to higher
energy level is called atomic excitation.
➢ The atom absorbs energy and goes to excited
state.
➢ The excited state is very unstable and it returns to
its ground state soon by emitting energy as
electromagnetic radiation.
Electromagnetic Radiation
➢ The electric and magnetic fields in an electromagnetic wave vary together. The fields are
perpendicular to each other and to the direction of propagation of the wave.
➢ Wavelength (λ) = distance between to consecutive crest (peak).
➢ Frequency (f) = number of waves that pass a fixed point in one second.
➢ Velocity, v = f λ
➢ Velocity at free space = 3x108m/s
➢ When an EM wave travels from one medium into another medium then its frequency
remains the same, but its speed and wavelength change.
Electromagnetic Radiation: Quantum nature
➢ Electromagnetic radiation can exhibit both wave or particle nature.
➢ The energy of electromagnetic waves is quantized rather than continuous.
➢ It contains neither mass nor charge but travels in packets of radiant energy
called photons, or quanta.
➢ Electromagnetic radiation carry energy as discrete quanta known as
photon, Energy of a quanta E=hf
➢ Thus energy could be gained or lost only in integral multiples of some
smallest unit of energy, a quantum.
Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation
➢ Ionizing radiation has enough energy to knock electrons off atoms
that it interacts with.
➢ Example: X-ray, gamma ray, alpha, beta rays etc.
➢ Non-ionizing radiation does not carry enough energy per
quantum (photon energy) to ionize atoms or molecules.
➢ Non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation has sufficient energy only
for excitation
➢ Example: visible light, radio waves, micro waves etc.
There is no specific demarcation line between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation
energy. Photon energies less than 10 electronvolts (eV) may be considered as non-
ionizing.
