Models of the Atom

Particle model of matter:

All matter is composed of tiny
particles called atoms. The
combination of the types of
particles in a substance
determines what kind of matter it
is .
Models of the Atom Through Time:
500 BC: Democritus
Democritus inferred that all matter is
composed of small, indestructible particles
he named atomos. He taught that there
was an infinite number of them, and that
atoms differed in their size, shape, and
weight. He also thought that different
substances were made up of different
kinds of atoms.
400 BC: Aristotle
Aristotle didn’t believe
in atoms. He thought
all matter was
composed of a
combination of four
elements- air, fire,
water and earth.
His model was, of
course, accepted for
the next 2000 years.
1803: John Dalton
After experimenting with
gases, especially
hydrogen, methane
and oxygen, Dalton
rediscovered the
particle theory of
matter.
Dalton was able to infer 4 things about matter and
atoms:
1. Atoms of one element have masses that are
different from atoms of other elements
2. Atoms of the same element are identical
3. An atom of one element cannot be changed
into an atom of another element
4. Atoms of different elements can be combined
and /or rearranged to form new substances.
Like Democritus, Dalton thought an atom was a
tiny, irreducible sphere that could not be
destroyed.
1890: JJ Thomson
Excited by the discovery of X-rays a couple
of years earlier, Thomson played around
with radioactive waves and discovered
that atoms have electrical charges. Not
only that, he discovered that those
charges come from small particles which
make up part of the atom. He called the
particles electrons.
Thomson thought that
atoms consisted of
positively-charged main
+
bodies, and attached to
---
these were the
negatively-charged + ---
electrons (plum pudding +
model). He was wrong --- +
about the details, but his
discovery that atoms can
be broken down into even
smaller parts earned him
science immortality.
1909: Earnest Rutherford:
A student of Thompson,
Rutherford designed a
very famous experiment
that proved that the atom
is mostly empty space:
he bombarded a very thin
piece of gold leaf with
alpha particles. Although
some alpha particles
were reflected, most
passed through, proving
that a dense nucleus was
at the center of the atom,
but not much else.
Rutherford’s model of the Atom
1912: Niels Bohr
Bohr improved Rutherford’s
model by noticing that
energy levels in atoms
went up and down by
specific, “pre-set”
amounts. He suggested
that electrons move
around the nucleus of an
atom like planets around
the sun, and that they
move from orbit to orbit
as they gain and lose
energy.
This model of the atom is
still the most famous of all
models, and though it is
not the most accurate, it
predicts chemical
reactions very well. (It is
important to remember,
though, that atoms
probably do not really
look like this.)
1920-present: Particle-Wave models
Since Bohr, most scientists have tried to describe
atoms using mathematical models instead of
physical ones. Generally, in these modern
models, they keep the nucleus where Rutherford
and Bohr left it, and try to describe the location
and movement of electrons, which can best be
described as a “cloud” which surrounds the
nucleus. Even more recent theories suggest
that matter, at its most basic level, isn’t even
made of particles at all, but consists of really tiny
fields of vibrating energy.
Wave Model of Atoms:
According to modern physicists, the location
and/or motion of electrons cannot be known for
sure. The best we can do is to talk about the
probability of some event occurring or some
particle existing at a given location.
Structure of a Bohr Atom:
Electron- negative charge (-)

Neutron-no charge

Proton- positive charge (+)