INTRODUCTION:
An atom is the smallest unit of matter that retains all of the chemical properties of an element.
They are submicroscopic, meaning they are so small they cannot be seen with a microscope.
Simply put, atomic structure refers to the structure of the atom. Scientist have discovered that
atoms are made up of smaller and different particles, called Sub-atomic particles. These different
particles, known as protons, neutrons, and electrons.
IMPOTANCE:
The Sub-atomic particles are arranged in a similar way in all atoms.
Protons and neutrons come together in the center of the atom to form the nucleus. As protons
are positively charged and neutrons have no charge, the overall charge of a nucleus is positive.
Electrons circle the nucleus, and have a negative charge.
Properties of Sub-atomic particles:
Protons: Protons are positively charged particles
found inside the nucleus of an atom. They help to identify the
atom - different elements will have a different number of
protons in the nucleus
Neutrons: Neutrons are also found in the
nucleus of the atom. They have no charge and contribute to
the atomic mass.
Electrons: Electrons are negatively charged
particles that circle the nucleus of the atom. They circle so fast
that they create what's called an electron cloud around the
nucleus. Their mass is so small, it is deemed insignificant. As
such, they do not contribute to the mass of an atom.
Nucleus: The nucleus is the middle of the
atom, and is made up of protons and neutrons. This is the
bundle of particles that the electrons circle.
Atomic models
In the 18th and 19th centuries, many scientists attempted to explain the structure of the atom
with the help of atomic models. Each of these models had its own merits and demerits and was
pivotal to the development of the modern atomic model. The Chadwick, Rutherford and
Thomson won Nobel prizes for their work. . Their ideas and experiments have helped us to
understand the structure of the atom.
Rutherford’s Model of an Atom
Rutherford conducted an experiment bombarding the alpha
(α)-particles on a gold foil. He observed the trajectory of the
alpha (α)-particles after passing through an atom and drafted
some postulates of the experiment, which are:
Most of the space in an atom is empty as the particles
passed through the gold foil without any hindrance
The positively charged center is called the Nucleus,
and all the mass of an atom resides in the center. The
particles deflected 1800 after bombarding the nucleus
The electrons orbit the center in a defined path
The size of the nucleus is small compared to the total size of the atom
These were the postulates given by Rutherford using scattering of alpha (α)-particles on a gold
foil experiment.
Observations:
Most of the alpha particles passed through the gold foil Deflected.
A small fraction of the (α)-particles was deflected by small angles.
A very few (α)-particles bounced back ( deflected by nearly 180’)
Thomson’s Model of an Atom
The electron was discovered by J.J. Thomson in 1897. The
existence of protons was also known, as was the fact that
atoms were neutral in charge. Since the intact atom had no
net charge and the electron and proton had opposite charges.
J.J. Thomson developed what became known as the "plum
pudding" model in 1904. Plum pudding is an English
dessert similar to a blueberry muffin. In Thomson's plum
pudding model of the atom, the electrons were embedded in
a uniform sphere of positive charge, like blueberries stuck
into a muffin. The positive matter was thought to be jelly-like, or similar to a thick soup. The
electrons were considered somewhat mobile. As they got closer to the outer portion of the
atom, the positive charge in the region was greater than the neighboring negative charges, and
the electron would be pulled back toward the center region of the atom.
However, this model of the atom soon gave way to a new model developed by New Zealander
Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) about five years later. Thomson did still receive many honors
during his lifetime, including being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1906 and a
knighthood in 1908.
