Unit Five -90- Chapter Thirteen

Atomic Spectra
Overview:

Atom is a Greek work means the indivisible.

Thompson (1898):

• He Calculate the specific charge of electron

e
.
me

• He establish a model for the atom where:

a) The atom is a solid positively

charged substance in which negative

electrons were immersed.

b) Since the atom is neutral, then the sum of the negative charge

is equal to the positive charge.

Rutherford’s Experiment (1911):

By bombarded a thin gold plate (10-4 cm) with

alpha particles (He24):

• Most of the particles penetrated through

the plate without deflection, which means

that most of atom is vacuum.

• A small percentage deviated, which mean that

such particles came near bodies with similar

charge.

• A small percentage recoiled which indicated

collision with a relatively big object.

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Rutherford’s Model for atom:

• The atom consists of a positive nucleus in

which most of the mass of the atom is centered.

• The atom dynamic, where the electrons moves

swiftly around the nucleus.

• The atom is electrically neutral, where the

number of electrons outside the nucleus is equal

to the number of the positively charged

particles inside the nucleus.

• Most of the size of the atom is empty space, which means that the size

occupied by the nucleus and the electrons is a small portion of the total

size of the atom.

Challenges to Rutherford’s model:

I) Stability of the atom:

• Atom is stable where the attraction between the positively charged

nucleus and the negatively charged electros is counteracted by the

centrifugal force due to the motion of the electrons in circular orbits

around the nucleus.

• This explanation is undermined Maxwell – Hertz’s theory.

Maxwell – Hertz’s theory:

A Charged particle under acceleration emits electromagnetic radiation.

Conclusion:

• According to Rutherford’s model, the electron rotates the nucleus in

circular path, which means that the electron moves with centripetal

acceleration.

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• According to Maxwell – Hertz’s theory, the electron must emits

electromagnetic radiation, and lose its energy, to rotate in spiral path till it

fall in the nucleus.

II) Atomic spectra for elements:

• Since the electrons rotate the

nucleus, then the atom must

emits electromagnetic waves

with all wavelength (continues

spectra).

• The experimental observation

found that the electromagnetic

radiation is in form of discrete

nature (line spectra) occurring

wavelength characteristics the

element.

Bohr’s Model for atom:

Bohr’s model depends on the Rutherford’s findings

in three items:

• At the center of the atom there is a positively

charged atom.

• Negatively charged electrons move around the

nucleus in shells, each shell has energy value, and the electron does not

emits radiation as long as it remain in its shell.

• The atom is electrically neutral, since the number of electrons around the

nucleus equals the number of positive charges in the nucleus.

Then Bohr add another three items:

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• If an electron moves from outer shell of

energy E2 to inner shell of

energy E1, it emit the

difference of energy E2 -E1 in

form of photon of energy hν.

• The electric force (Coulomb’s

force) and the mechanical

force (Newton’s force) are at

work in the atom.

• The radius of the shell can be estimated by

considering that the wave accompanying to the

electron from integer number of standing wave.

Example:

• The length of the energy level is 2 π r

• It contains integer number of wavelength which equal

to the principal number (n)

• Then 2 π r = n λ

Emission of light from Bohr’s atom:

• When Hydrogen atom stimulated by gain energy, its electron moves to

higher energy level, and the excitation differ from

atom to another, where the

electron may move to any

higher energy level (n=2,

n=3 or … n=7)

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• Electron remains at the exited level for short time lifetime (nearly 10-8

sec) then it moves to the lower level.

• When the electron return to the lower level it emit photon of energy hν

=E2 – E1.

• The liner spectrum of hydrogen consists of five series.

Liner spectrum of hydrogen gas:

Leyman’s series:

• The electron moves from any higher

energy level to the level K (n=1).

• This series lies in the ultraviolet range.

Balmer’s series:

• The electron moves from any higher

energy level to the level L (n=2).

• This series lies in the visible range.

Paschen’s series:

• The electron moves from any higher energy

level to the level M (n=3).

• This series lies in the shortest wavelength of

infrared range.

Bracket’s series:

• The electron moves from any higher energy level to the level N (n=4).

• This series lies in the middle of the infrared range.

Pfund’s series:

• The electron moves from any higher energy level to the level O (n=5).

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• This series lies in the longest wavelength of infrared range.

Spectrometer:

It is an apparatus used to decompose light

to its visible and invisible components.

Structure:

• Source of rays: a light source in front

of slit at the focal point of a convex

lens, the width of the slit can be

controlled by screw.

• Analytical device: Prism placed

on a turntable.

• Telescope: telescope consists of convex lens as objective lens face the

prism, and another convex lens as eye piece.

Mechanism:

• To obtain pure spectrum, the slit is bright by white light to fall in the

prism with angle adjusted to the minimum deviation.

• The prism analysis the light into its components, producing parallel beam

for each color, which are not parallel to the other colors.

• The objective lens focuses the rays of each color at the focal plane, and

by using the eye piece the pure spectrum can be observed.

Spectra:

Spectra can be classified according to its nature into continuous and line

spectrum.

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Continuous spectrum:

• It consists of all wavelengths in a continuous manner. And that required

huge number of atoms such as solid liquid or gas.

Line spectrum:

• It is occurring at specified frequencies and not continuously. And that

required small number of atoms such as gas under low pressure.

Also, spectra can be classified according to its source into absorption and

emission spectrum.

Emission spectrum:

• It is the spectrum resulting from the transfer of excited atoms from a high

level to lower level.

Absorption spectrum:

• It is the spectrum resulting from the transfer of atom from ground state to

higher level, absorbing one or more of the wavelength, which are the

same wavelength emit by the emission spectrum for the same element.

Fraunhofer lines:

• It is absorption spectrum of the elements in the sun, which help to detect

that sun consists of hydrogen and helium.

X-ray:

• It is electromagnetic waves, between ultraviolet rays and gamma rays.

• It has high frequency, high energy and short wavelength (10-13 – 10-8 m).

• It had been discovered by Rontgen.

Properties of X-ray:

• It can penetrate media easily.

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• It can ionize gases.

• It diffracts in crystals.

• It affects sensitive photographic plates.

Coolidge tube:

• It is used to produce X-ray.

• Electrons emit from the hot filament.

• Due to the high potential between the

filament and the metallic target the electrons

gain large amount of energy.

• When the electrons impact with the target, its

energy produce x-ray.

Spectrum of X-ray:

It consists of:

• Continuous spectrum: Consists of all wavelengths within certain range,

regardless of the target material.

• Line spectrum: corresponding to certain

wavelengths characteristic of the target

material; called the characteristic X-ray

radiation.

Continuous radiation:

• The velocity of the colliding electrons

decrease due to scattering and collision

with the electrons of the target atom.

• According to Maxwell – Hertz theory, the decrease of electrons velocity

leads to emission of electromagnetic waves.

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• Since the electron loses its velocity gradually, therefore the radiation

contains all the wavelengths producing continuous radiation.

• This radiation is called the soft radiation, bremsstrahlung or braking

radiation.

Characteristic radiation:

• It required high potential difference, and it may not produce at low

potential difference between the filament and the target.

• Under high potential difference the electron impact with the inner

electron of the atom, casing to release or to move to higher energy level.

• An electron form higher level replaces the releasing electron (or the

exited one) and the difference of its energy produces the characteristic

radiation.

• It does not depend of the potential difference, but it depend on the kind of

target material, where the increase of its atomic number leads to increase

the frequency of radiation, and decrease the wavelength.

• Its wavelength can be calculated from the relation:

∆E=hν
C
ΔE =
λ

Important applications of x-ray:

• It diffract by passing through the

material atoms, which act as diffraction

grating, casing the x-ray to form bright

and dark fringes, similar to double slit experiment:

 Therefore It used to study the crystalline structure of materials.

• It has high penetrating power:

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 Therefore It used to detect defects in metallic structures.

 And in imaging bones and fractures and some other medical diagnosis.

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