Hundred Years Of Atom

K.P.Satheesh
satheeshsithara@gmail.com

I could see farther than others because I stood on the

shoulders of giants - Newton

Dalton

Thomson

Rutherford

These were the giants for Niels Bohr who were

the great predecessors of atomic theory

Dalton's Main Postulates

All matter is made up of atoms which are

indivisible and indestructible
All atoms of a given element are identical in
mass size etc.
Compounds are formed by combination of
different kind of atoms
Chemical reaction is a rearrangement of atoms
Atoms combine with each other in a fixed
simple whole number ratio

Shortcomings of Dalton's theory

Atoms are actually divisible even though they

participate as a whole in chemical reactions
Isotopes and Isobars exist which do not obey
Dalton's postulates
In complicated organic compounds atoms do
not combine in a simple whole number ratio
Spontaneous nuclear reactions exist

All the defects above was identified only after 1896

and Daltons theory remained intact upto 1896

First clue for the divisibility of atom

Becquerel and curies were

the pioneers. 1903 Nobel
Prize for Physics

Atom divides itself

spontaneously
without any
external influences

Discovery of the Electron (1897)

Cathode ray tube which lead to the discovery of

cathode rays which were later shown to be
Tiny particles and identified as electrons
forming a fundamental constituent of matter

Sir William Crookes (1832 - 1919)

By using Crooke's
Tube it was shown
That the rays were
Radiant matter
with negative
charge which was
very near to the
ideas of Thomson.
Most of the contemporary European scientists
considered the rays as disturbances in an ether
medium similar to light

Heinrich Hertz's mistake

1857 - 1894

Hertz in Germany passed

these rays through thin gold
foils and they readily passed.
He did not believe that
particles can penetrate
through solids. Also he found
that the rays are not reflected
by electric fields and
concluded they are
uncharged. The mistake was
actually due to the ionized
gases neutralising the plates

Thomson's Contribution in 1897

Thomson managed to create a very high vacuum
in his tube and succeeded in detecting the deflection
of the rays due to the electric field and established
that they are negatively charged.
He also showed that they are deflected by a
magnetic field by creating a uniform magnetic field
using Helmholtz coils.
By adjusting the combined electric and magnetic
fields and balancing them to obtain zero deflection
he could estimate the velocity of these rays by
finding ratio between the fields.
Then by measuring the deflection angle with
electric field alone he could estimate the specific
charge

Based on several experiments it was thus concluded

that the cathode rays are negatively charged particles
which Thomson denoted as corpuscles and they are
also fundamental constituents of matter and atom is
divisible and has an internal structure

From the measurement of specific charge

Thomson concluded that the corpuscles are
At lest two thousand times lighter than the
Hydrogen atom the lightest particle known
At that time.
Extremely small size of the new particle
also explained Hertz's observation that
cathode Rays penetrated the thin gold foil.

Thus for the first time in the history of science time

was ripe enough to create a model for the atom.
History of atom models starts here
In any model building the procedure is to model the
system according to the informations available at that
point of time. Later when more experimental results
Come model will be refined. This actually happened for
Atom models also. Story of atom models for last 100
Years is the story of continuous refinement of the
model of the microscopic structure of matter.

Some people call this as PLUM PUDDING MODEL

Thomson's Atom Model

Knew that atom

consisted of negatively
charged particles.
Matter is electrically
neutral.
To accommodate this
Thomson modelled
atom as negative
particles in a positive
cloud

4.1 Thomsons model (plum

pudding)

(1) An atom in which the negatively charged electrons were located within
a continuous distribution of positive charge.
(2) At its lowest energy state, the electrons would be fixed at their
equilibrium positions.
(3) In excited atoms, the electrons would vibrate about their
equilibrium positions.

Plum pudding

(4) A vibrating electrons emit electromagnetic radiation.

A Thomson hydrogen atom has only one characteristic emission

frequency conflict with the very large number of different frequencies

observed in the spectrum of hydrogen.

Merits and defects

Partly explained the observed periodicity of

elements
Modified version of the model explained
dispersion of light by dilute gases.
Developed methods for estimating the actual
number of electrons in an atom.
At that time spectroscopy was an emerging
science and several results about emission and
absorption spectra of atoms were known. This
could not be explained by Thomson.

Rutherford enters the scene

Geiger and Marsden

After elaborate research

In radioactivity Rutherford
Had sufficient expertise in
creating beam of alpha
Particles and he decided to
Repeat the gold foil
Penetration experiment of
Hertz with alpha particles

This task was entrusted to Geiger and Marsden

and they submitted the experimental data by
1911 to Rutherford.

Nuclear Physics is Born (1911)

By analysing the
scattering data Rutherford
concluded that the large
angle scattering seen in
the data can be explained
only by assuming that
entire mass is
concentrated in a small
region.
Elementary method for obtaining this is to develop a
constraint for the mass of the target to be very high
compared to the projectile using principle of conservation of
momentum and energy

4.2 Rutherfords model

All the positive charge of the atom, and consequently essentially all its mass, are
assumed to be concentrated in a small region in the center called the nucleus

(1) Nucleus radius: Thomson : r = 10 10 m

Rutherford : r = 10 14 m
(2) Maximum deflection angle:

Thomson : = 10 4 rad
Rutherford : = 1 rad

Rutherford Atom model

4.3 The stability of the nuclear atom

The serious difficulties in the previous atomic model:
(1) The charged electrons constantly accelerate in their motion around
the nucleus, radiate energy in the form of electromagnetic
radiation.
The atom would rapidly collapse to nuclear dimension.
(2) The continuous spectrum of radiation is not in agreement with the
discrete spectrum observed in experiments.

4.4 Atomic spectra

An apparatus for
measuring atomic spectra

n2
Balmer (1885) : = 3646 2
ex : n = 3( H ), n = 4( H )
n 4
1
1
1
Ryberg (1890) : = = RH ( 2 2 ) n = 3,4..

2
n
RH = 1.097 10 7 m -1 : Ryberg constant for H
For alkali elements (Li, Na, K,...) :
1
1
1
=
= R[

( m a )2 ( n b)2

Niels Bohr shoulders the challenge

Bohr's Postulates
N Bohr, Philos. Mag. Vol.26, pp.125,
pp.476500, pp.857875, 1913.
1. Atomic electrons move in circular orbits about a
massive nucleus under the influence
of the Coulomb attraction between the electron
and the nucleus,
2. Instead of the infinity of orbits which would be
possible in classical mechanics, an electron can in
fact only move in an orbit for which its angular
momentum L is quantized

3. Even though it is constantly accelerating, an electron moving in such an allowed orbit does not radiate electromagnetic energy.
4. Electrons can only gain or lose energy by jumping from one allowed orbit to another, absorbing or emitting electromagnetic radiation with a
Frequency obeying Plancks law.

These postulates are an unusual mix of

Classical mechanics and old quantum
theory which most of the contemporaries
Of Bohr did not completely accept. But
the unprecedented success of the theory
was appreciated by all.

4.6 Bohrs model

Ze 2
v2
=m
for L = mvr = n , n = 1,2,3...
2
40 r
r
1

n 2
n 2 2
Ze = 40 mv r = 40 mr (
) = 40
mr
mr
n 2 2
r = 40
mZe 2
n
1 Ze 2
v=
=
mr 40 n
2

Potential energy : V =

Ze 2
Ze 2
dr =
2
40 r
40 r

ground state

1
Ze 2
2
Kinetic energy : K = mv =
2
40 2r
Ze 2
mZ 2 e 4
1
Total energy : E = K + V =
=

E
=

(40 ) 2 2r
(40 ) 2 22 n 2

Value of Rydberg constant accuracy 0.001%

=

Ei E f
h
1

Pachen

mZ 2 e 4 1
1
=(
)
(

)
3
2
2
40
4
n f ni

Balmer

Lyman

me 4 Z 2 1
1
=(
)
(

)
3
2
2
40
4 c n f ni
1

= R Z 2 (

1
1

)
2
2
n f ni

me 4
for R = (
)
= RH
3
40 4 c
1

In the Rydberg formula, the transitions to the

groundstate
(i.e., ni = 1, nf = 2, 3, 4, ...) are known as
the Lyman series. All lines in this series are in ultraviolet
region with wavelengths ranging from 1216
to912Angstroms.
On the otherhand, the transitions to the first excited
state (i.e., ni =2, nf = 3, 4, 5, ...) constitute the
Balmer series. Four of these lines are in the visible region
with wave-lengths ranging From 6562 to 4101 Angstroms
while the other lines are in the ultraviolet region. Transitions to the second excited state (i.e., ni = 3, nf = 4, 5,6,
)
constitute the Paschen series and all the wave-lengths
are in the infrared region.

It is interesting to note here that in his First paper, Bohr

had also put forward the celebrated Correspondence
Principle which states that the laws of quantum physics
must reduce to those of classical physics when quantum
numbers such as n become very large.
The incredible thing was that while the proof was given
for large n, the final result is claimed to be true for any
value of n. What luck that it could work!
Later on, when Bohr made acorrection for finite
nuclear mass,i.e., substituted m by the reduced mass
he found that the theoretical and experimental values
of RH agree to within three parts in 100,000!

4.7 Correction for finite nuclear mass

the reduced mass of the system : =
L = vr = n
1
1
= RM Z 2 ( 2 2 )
n f ni

mM
m+M

M
R =
R , RM R , as

m+M
m
m
M
For hydrogen atom :
= 1836
m
1
RM
R
2000
RM =

Another success of the Bohr model was

about star Zeta Puppis. Before Bohr, it had been
Wrongly interpreted as a new series of lines of
hydrogen. It was another triumph for the Bohr model
that it could explain these lines as those belonging to
the spectra of ionized Helium.
It may be noted here that till that time
the spectral lines of ionized helium had not yet been
observed in the laboratory. But as soon as this
was done,the Bohr model was regarded as a
great success.
Yet another triumph was the explanation due to
Mosley about the characteristic K alpha lines of
X-rays using Bohr's theory

I might add here that while the most compelling of

Bohr's results was the derivation of the Balmer formula
of 1885, Bohr claimed throughout his life that he was
unaware of the formula until he was already well along
in the development of his theory. This appears rather
strange given the fact that Balmer's work was
extensively discussed during major international
physics conferences in 1890 as well as in
subsequent years

How was the Bohr model received by the physics

Community?
Sommerfeld immediately wrote a letter to Bohr,
complimenting him for calculating the empirical Rydberg constant in terms of the more fundamental constants, though he was skeptical about the atomic
Model in general.
Einstein too immediately recognized the importance
of Bohr's theory saying it was a major development.

4.8 Atomic energy states

Franck -Hertz experiment (1914): the quantized atomic energy
9.8 eV
Hg

V : accelerating potential
Vr : retarding potential

4.9 eV

Energy level
of Hg vapor

4.8 Interpretation of the quantization rules

Some Mysteries:
Bohrs quantization of the angular momentum?
Plancks quantization of the energy?

Wilson-Sommerfeld quantization rules:

For every physical system in which the coordinates are
periodic functions of time, there exists a quantum condition for
each coordinate. The quantum conditions are
p dq = n h

q : one of the coordinate

pq : the momentum associated with the coordinateq
nq : the integer quantum number

: the integration over one period of the coordinate q

Sommerfeld made significant progress over

the Bohr model. Further, Sommerfeld removed the
degeneracy in the hydrogen atom spectrum by treating
the problem relativistically thereby explaining the fine
structure observed experimentally.
Note that the Bohr model was unable to explain the
Fine structure observed in the spectrum of the
hydrogen atom.
Further, Sommerfeld's approach could explain the Stark
and the Zeeman effects in hydrogen.
After reading these papers, Bohr wrote a letter
to Sommerfeld saying I do
not believe ever to have read anything with more joy
than your beautiful work.

What were the eventual failures of the Bohr-Sommerfeld

approach? While this approach was reasonably successful for atoms with one valence electron, it failed to
explain much of the spectra of atoms containing more
than one electron. Even for the hydrogen atom, the
Bohr model gives incorrect value for the orbital angular momentum of the ground state. Broadly speaking
the Bohr-Sommerfeld approach was fundamentally inconsistent and led to many paradoxes.
The framework they proposed, a classical description
of atoms to which quantization rules were added, was
finally rendered untenable.
Eventually more accurate atom model base on
quantum mechanics emerged.