Unit 3 - Atomic Structure

Chapter 5
Prof.devender singh Roorkee
Earliest Model
450 BC – Democritis, a
Greek philosopher, first
uses the word “atomos”
which means indivisible
Definition of atom
today – Smallest
particle of an element
that still retains
properties of that
element
Late 1700’s

Lavoisier – Law of Conservation of Matter

Proust – Law of Constant Composition

This says that the same compound from

any source always contains the same
elements in the same proportion by mass
First Atomic Theory
John Dalton
Proposed in 1803
Compilation of other people’s
work and a little of his own
Still true except for one part
Good biography:
http://www.slcc.edu/schools/h
um_sci/physics/whatis/biogra
phy/dalton.html
Dalton’s Atomic Theory

Each element is composed of tiny atoms

Each element’s atoms are the same and
unique
Atoms are only rearranged in any
chemical reaction
A compound has the same number and
kind of atom.
The Atom Today

Since 1981 we have “seen” atoms with

a scanning tunneling microscope.
Uses a fine tip and a stable
environment to trace the electronic
field and image it on a computer
Lots of galleries on the Web:
A Good Example
Discovery Atomic Structure

Early research comes from physicists’

work on electricity
“Electricity” is property of “electron”, which
is amber
In ancient Greece, pieces of amber were
rubbed and static electricity discharged
Ben Franklin did early research in late
1700’s
Great Experimenter
His work

Discovered two kinds of charges, positive

and negative
Opposite charges attract
Like charges repel
Objects pick up charges
They discharge when touched to ground
Lightning

He felt that
lightning was
static
electricity on a
larger scale.
http://news.nationalgeograp
hic.com/news/2006/05/0504
_060504_lightning_video.ht
ml
Electricity Research after Franklin

Physicists liked to zap things in the mid-

1800’s
Cathode Ray Tube was device used by
many (diagram)
Same device used as TV screen
Cathode Ray Tube
How it Works

Metal is electrified in an evacuated tube

All metals gave a greenish ray going to
the positive electrode
Ray could be attracted by a positive
charge, repelled by a negative charge.
It could actually make a paddle wheel
move - particle
Discovery of the Electron
JJ Thomson – Cavendish Lab - 1896
Used cathode ray tube to determine amount of
deflection
Determined that particle has a negative charge
Determined the charge to mass ratio of the
particle
Animation: http://highered.mcgraw-
hill.com/sites/0072512644/student_view0/chapte
r2/animations_center.html#
Finding the Charge of an Electron

American physicist – Robert

Millikan
Famous Oil Drop Experiment
(handout)
See animation
Millikan Oil Drop Experiment
Explanation

Drops of oil are sprayed into a chamber

X-rays cause electrons to be formed and
they cling to oil (in varying numbers)
Drops pass through a set of electric plates
which can have a charge put on them
Millikan adjusted charge to balance the
charge on each drop
Found the greatest common factor
Conclusion

Charge on an electron is 1.60 X 10-19

Coulombs
Mass of an electron is 9.11 X 10-19 grams
Virtually without mass
Discovery of Radiation

Henri Becquerel accidentally discovered

radiation in 1896
Photographic plate wrapped and put in
drawer for weekend gets exposed
Rock was “radiating” something
Rock was pitchblende which contains
radium
Characteristics of radiation

Spontaneously emitted by some elements

Studied by Marie and Pierre Curie
They discovered several elements
(uranium, radium, and polonium)
Atom emits radiation and then changes
This gave clues to what atom is actually
made of
Marie and Pierre Curie
Good site
http://www.aip.org/history/curie/
Further Research on Radiation

Ernst Rutherford is brought to Cavendish

Lab in early 1900’s
Studied radioactivity
Analyzed nature of radiation
Handout
Three Kinds of Radiation
Magic Bullet

Alpha Particle chosen

Right size
Could be detected afterwards
Helium nucleus – 2 protons and 2
neutrons
+2 charge
Gold Foil Experiment
Rutherford got grad
students to design set up
Geiger and Marsden
Wanted to confirm
Thomson’s “Plum
Pudding” model of the
atom – electrons stuck in
positive pudding
Handout
Plum Pudding Model
Rutherford’s Experiment
Explanation

Find a source of alpha particles

Aim them at thin gold foil (like bullets at
tissue paper)
Check to see where they come out by
counting fluorescent spots
Results

Most went through

Very small number were deflected almost
straight back
Only explanation was that all matter was
concentrated into a dense nucleus
Nucleus had a positive charge
Electrons traveled in empty space around
the nucleus
Modern Atomic Theory

Three major particles – protons, electrons,

and neutrons
Now there are many subatomic particles
(nuclear physics)
Proton also discovered with the cathode
ray tube in 1900
Neutron discovered last by Chadwick in
1935
Summary of Particles
PROTON NEUTRON ELECTRON

+1 NONE -1

LARGE LARGE VERY SMALL

NUCLEUS NUCLEUS OUTSIDE

NUCLEUS
Planetary Model
Proposed by Rutherford
Electron orbits nucleus like a planet
around the sun
Atoms are neutral so
#protons = #electrons
Charge on electron: 1.602 X 10-19 C is
simplied to “1”
Mass of proton: 1.67 X 10-24 g is
simplified to 1 amu (atomic mass unit)
Atomic Number

Defined by Henry Mosely (1887-1915)

Student of Rutherford
Unique for each element
Number of protons in the nucleus
What is atomic number of
nitrogen? Uranium?
Isotopes

Means “type or form”

All atoms of the same element have the
same number of protons
There may be different types of the same
elements, called isotopes
Vary in number of neutrons, mass
Try Carbon-12 and Carbon-14
Characteristics of Isotopes

Varying masses
Same chemical and
physical properties
Some may be
unstable, and
therefore radioactive
Symbol

Carbon-12
12 is mass number,
# protons + # neutrons
Also written
12
C
6

Mass # - Atomic # = # of neutrons

Atomic Mass

Mass of an isotope in amu’s is simply the

mass number
Most elements have several common
isotopes
Mass on periodic table must reflect this,
that is why there are decimals
Weighted average calculation (like
grades)
Calculation

Multiply the mass of each isotope by its

abundance as a decimal
Add each of these to get weighted
average
Try one
Mass Spectrometer

Inject gaseous form of element

Strip electrons (positive charge)
Sort by size with a magnetic field
Computer counts the isotope and gives a
readout
Mass Spectrometer
Animation

http://www.colby.edu/chemistry/OChem/DEMO
Computer Printout