Electrical Engineering Materials and

Technology (Eeng 3111)

Why do we study Electrical Materials?

To select appropriate materials in the innovation ,

fabrication and manufacturing of electrical machines,
electrical and electronic equipment, instruments and
devices.
 Some of electrical and electronic
systems are
Transformers Missile guidance systems
Generators Communication systems
Motors Power systems
Computers Ammeters and voltmeters
ADC/DACs Oscilloscopes
Signal Processors Deflection meters
Televisions Spectrum analyzers
Radios Industrial control systems
Mobiles Etc.
Core Course Objectives:

After successful completion of the course, students will

be able : -

Describe atomic models of matters

Explain the electrical/physical properties of conductors,
superconductors, semiconductor, dielectric and magnetic
materials.
Develop quantitative descriptions of the electrical/physical
properties of electrical materials.
Describe the applications of electrical materials.
Explain the manufacturing processes of electrical materials.
 Chapter One
Review of Atomic Theory of Matter

Why do we study atomic theory?

To understand that every matter is made of atoms.
To understand the physical, chemical and electrical
properties of materials.
Models of Atoms

Until the final years of the nineteenth century, the accepted

model of the atom resembled that of a billiard ball - a small, solid
sphere.
(1) Thomson's Model
In 1897, J. J. Thomson dramatically changed the modern view
of the atom with his discovery of the electron.

Thomson's work suggested that the atom was a divisible"

particle.

J.J. Thomson suggested the "plum pudding" model. In this

model the electrons and protons are uniformly mixed throughout
the atom:
 Thomson's notion of the electron came from his work with the
cathode ray tube.

For years scientists had known that if an electric current was

passed through a vacuum tube, a stream of glowing material could
be seen; however, no one could explain why.
 Thomson found that, the mysterious glowing stream would bend
toward a positively charged electric plate.

Thomson theorized, the stream was in fact made up of small

particles, pieces of atoms that carried a negative charge.

These particles were later named electrons.

(2) Rutherford's Model

In 1908, Rutherford performed a series of experiments with
radioactive alpha particles(positively charged particles).

Rutherford fired tiny alpha particles at solid objects such as gold foil.

He found that while most of the alpha particles passed right through
the gold foil, a small number of alpha particles passed through at an
angle and some bounced straight back like a tennis ball hitting a wall.
 Fig. Interpreting Rutherford's Gold Foil Experiment

Rutherford's experiments suggested that gold foil, and matter

in general, had holes in it!

These holes allowed most of the alpha particles to pass

directly through, while a small number bounced straight back
because they hit a solid object.
 Rutherford suggested that the atom consisted of a small, dense
core of positively charged particles in the center (or nucleus) of
the atom, surrounded by electrons.

The nucleus was so dense that the alpha particles would

bounce off of it, but the electrons were so tiny, and spread out at
such great distances, that the alpha particles would pass right
through this area of the atom.

Rutherford's atom resembled a tiny solar system with the

positively charged nucleus always at the center and the electrons
revolving around the nucleus. (Planetary model)
 The planetary model of the atom assumed that the
electrostatic attraction between the central nucleus and the
electron is exactly balanced by the centrifugal force created by
the revolution of the electron in its orbit.

If this balance were not present, the electron would either

fall into the nucleus, or it would be flung out of the atom.
 If the electron moves in a circular orbit of radius, r, with a
constant linear velocity, v, then it will be subject to two forces.

1) Acting inwards will be the force of electrostatic attraction

described by Coulomb's law:

q1q 2
F
4 0 r 2

Where, ql and q2 are the

positive and negative
charges, in this case each
having the value of the Rutherfords planetary atomic model
charge, e, on the electron
and 0 is the permittivity of
free space.
2) Acting outwards there will be the usual centrifugal force
given by mv2/r, where m is the electron mass and v2/r is its
radial acceleration.

The orbit of the electron will settle down to a stable value

where these two forces just balance each other, that is,
when 2 2
mv e

r 4 0 r

The Rutherfords atom model is based on treating the

electron as a particle having a fixed mass and charge obeying
Newtonian mechanics.
 The difficulty with this model is that, it is inconsistent with a well
established fact of classical electrodynamics.

Electrodynamics states that whenever an electric charge undergoes a

change in velocity or direction (which must happen if the electron circles
around the nucleus), it must continually radiate energy.

The radiated energy would come from the kinetic energy of the
orbiting electron; as this energy gets radiated away, there is less
centrifugal force to oppose the attractive force due to the nucleus.

The electron would quickly fall into the nucleus, following a trajectory
that became known as the death spiral of the electron.

According to classical physics, no atom based on this model could exist

for more than a brief fraction of a second.
Some Facts about Atoms:

An atom has positively charged particles called protons.

Protons carry an equal, but opposite, charge to electrons, but protons are
much larger and heavier than electrons.

In 1932, James Chadwick discovered a third type of subatomic

particle, which he named the Neutron.

Neutrons help stabilize the protons in the atoms nucleus.

Neutrons do not have any electrical charge; they are electrically neutral.

Atoms are electrically neutral because the number of protons

(+ charges) is equal to the number of electrons (- charges) and
thus the two cancel out.

As the atom gets larger, the number of protons increases, and so does the
number of electrons (in the neutral state of the atom).
 Atoms of different elements are distinguished from each other by
their number of protons (the number of protons is constant for all
atoms of a single element; the number of neutrons and electrons
can vary under some circumstances).

To identify this important characteristic of atoms, the term

atomic number (z) is used to describe the number of protons in an
atom. For example, z = 1 for hydrogen and z = 2 for helium.

Another important characteristic of an atom is its weight, or

atomic mass.

The weight of an atom is roughly determined by the total

number of Protons and neutrons in the atom.

While protons and neutrons are about the same size, the electron
is 1,840 times smaller than the two.
 Thus, Classical theory of atoms explains that an atom
consists of: -
- Nucleus central part of it which is composed of
Protons - Positively charged
- 1.6012x10-19 e
- 1840 times mass of electron
Neutrons zero charge
approx. equal to mass of protons
- Electrons Negatively charged
- revolves around the nucleus
- 1.6012x10-19 e
- 1.907x10-31 kg
Bohrs Model

Rutherfords view of the atom consisted of a dense nucleus

surrounded by freely spinning electrons.

In 1913, Niels Bohr suggested that the planetary model

could be saved if one new assumption were made:

certain special states of motion of the electron,

corresponding to different orbital radii, would not result in
radiation, and could therefore persist indefinitely without the
electron falling into the nucleus.

Thus, Niels Bohr proposed another modification to the

theory of atomic structure based on a phenomenon called
line spectra.
 Electromagnetic Spectrum

It explains the frequency ( wavelength) range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

rays
X rays
Ultra Violet rays
Visible rays
Infrared rays
Radio waves
- Microwaves
- Long waves
It explains in what conditions spectral lines are emitted when a matter is heated.

It explains how continuous spectrum of colors are emitted.

 When normal white light, such as that from the sun, is passed
through a prism, the light separates into a continuous spectrum
of colors:

Continuous (white light) spectra

Bohr knew that when pure elements were excited by heat or

electricity, they gave off distinct colors rather than white light.

This phenomenon is most commonly seen in modern-day

neon lights, tubes filled with gaseous elements.
 When light from an excited element is passed through a prism,
only specific lines (or wavelengths) of light can be seen.

These lines of light are called line spectra.

For example, when hydrogen is heated and the light is passed

through a prism, the following line spectra can be seen:

Hydrogen line spectra

Neon line spectra

 To Bohr, the line spectra phenomenon showed that atoms
could not emit energy continuously, but only in very precise
quantities (he described the energy emitted as quantized).

Because the emitted light was due to the movement of

electrons, Bohr suggested that electrons could not move
continuously in the atom (as Rutherford had suggested) but only
in precise steps.

Bohr hypothesized that electrons occupy specific energy

levels. When an atom is excited, such as during heating,
electrons can jump to higher levels.

When the electrons fall back to lower energy levels, precise

quanta of energy are released as specific wavelengths (lines) of
light.
 Thus he had to change some habitual representations of
classical physics.

Bohr has formulated three postulates (sometimes the first and

the second postulates are combined, then Bohr's theory of atom
is reduced to two postulates):

1. The electrons in atom rotate around particular stationary

orbits only.
The motions on these orbits correspond to stationary states
of atom, which do not vary in time without exterior actions.
Rotating on stationary orbits, the electrons do not radiate
energy.

2. Allowed, discrete values of energy of an electron correspond

to stationary states of atom.
 This postulate was called the quantization rule of orbits.

It affirms that when the electron is going on a stationary orbit, it

should have discrete values of a moment of motion:
nh
mvr = nh/2, r
2mv
where, n = 1,2,3,
h = planks constant = 6.62x10-34
The most important aspect of this assumption was its use of the
variable integer n; this was the first application of the concept of the
quantum number to matter.

The larger the value of n, the larger the radius of the electron
orbit, and the greater the potential energy of the electron.
3. The radiation or uptake of energy by atom occurs only at
transition of an electron from one stationary orbit to another.
Thus ,quantum of light energy (photon) is radiated or is
emitted.

The energy of a quantum is equal to a difference of energies of

an electron on the relevant stationary orbits: frequency of a light,
energy of an electron on m and n orbits.

Under Bohr's theory, an electron's energy levels (also called

electron shells) can be imagined as concentric circles around
the nucleus.
 Normally, electrons exist in the ground state, meaning they
occupy the lowest energy level possible (the electron shell
closest to the nucleus).

When an electron is excited by adding energy to an atom, the

electron will absorb energy, "jump" to a higher energy level, and
spin in the higher energy level.

After a short time, this electron will spontaneously "fall" back to

a lower energy level, giving off a quantum of light energy.

Key to Bohr's theory was the fact that the electron could only
"jump" and "fall" to precise energy levels, thus emitting a limited
spectrum of light.
 Thus what Bohr was saying, in effect, is that the atom can exist
only in certain discrete energy states: the energy of the atom
is quantized.
Bohr noted that this quantization nicely explained the observed
emission spectrum of the hydrogen atom.

Not only did Bohr predict that electrons would occupy specific energy
levels, he also predicted that those levels had limits to the number of
electrons each could hold.

Under Bohr's theory, the maximum capacity of the first (or innermost)
electron shell is two electrons.

For any element with more than two electrons, the extra electrons will
reside in additional electron shells.
 Bohr's postulates have quantum character, but the stationary
electronic orbits and allowed levels of energy of atom are
determined by methods of a classical mechanics and
electrodynamics.

Therefore Bohr's theory has appeared usable to calculations

only of monovalent atoms.

Bohr's theory does not give an opportunity to calculate

intensity of spectral lines, which is interlinked to probabilities of
electronic transitions.

The introduction of quantum rules for definition of orbits and

levels of electrons was not logically justified by Bohr.

Thus, quantum theory of atoms was discovered which could

explain some phenomenon of atoms.
 Questions
Explain clearly the following atomic models:
a. Rutherfords model
b. Bohrs model
Describe experiments made in the above
models.
What are the drawbacks or limitations of
these models?