Structure of the Atom

Atoms ?
~400 BC: Greek Philosopher Democritus believed that each kind of matter could be subdivided into smaller and smaller bits until one reached the very limit beyond which no further division was possible. atomos = that cannot be cut As of 1900, about 70 different atoms are known elements different chemical properties it is argued that this number is too large to really be an elementary constituant of matter Hints: - Atoms and electromagnetic radiations (not understood but) - Chemistry: the problem of valence. How molecules are formed ? Why some combinations of atoms just dont bind as molecules ? - New phenomena: X-rays, Radioactivity (1896), Henri Becquerel 1852-1908, Nobel Prize in Physics 1903

Inside the atom ?

Scientists are struggling to understand the atom and reproduce experimental results, such as the spectral lines. [Physics of the electrons inside the atom]
Atomic Physics

Also puzzled with a new observed phenomenon: radioactivity. [Physics of the nucleus]
Nuclear Physics

But, around 1900, nobody knows the structure of the atom: a puzzle of evidences that needs to be put together.

Discovery of Radioactivity (1896)

1895: X-rays are interpreted as a chemical process similar to phosphorescence and fluorescence An external source is required to trigger the emission of X-rays

Henri Becquerels idea: look for X-ray emission in known phosphorescent/fluorescent substances. Experimental procedure: wrap a photographic plate with thick black paper, place the substance to be tested on the paper and then expose to sunlight for several hours Sunlight = external source
Sunlight

Substance Photographic Plate Black paper

If X-rays were emitted, they would pass through the paper and fog the plate. Tests are all negative, except for a Uranium Salt.

Becquerel Experiment
Reproducibility: an experimental result should be reproducible End of February, Henri Becquerel is ready to repeat the experiment. But it is cloudy over Paris !!! Put his experimental setup in a drawer till March 1st. When Becquerel develops the plate (not exposed to sunlight), he finds that the fogging is just as intense as when the uranium salt had been exposed to sunlight. No need for external energy source !!! The energy is already available/stored in the material.

Search for elements of similar properties

Pierre 1859-1906 and Marie Curie: Isolation of Radium and Polonium (1898) Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 Marie Curie 1867-1934: Got her PhD in 1903 Also: Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1911)

Radium is so active that it shines brightly in its pure form

Marie Curie about Radium: its active and it radiates

RADIOACTIVITY

She died of Leukemia at 67 (Exposure to radiations)

The atomic models of Thomson and Rutherford

J.J.Thomson 1856-1940
Nobel Prize in Physics 1906

Ernerst Rutherford 1871-1937

Nobel Prize in Physics 1908

Known facts (~1900)

Atoms are neutral Electrons are much less massive than the atom Number of electrons Ne- corresponds to about half the atomic mass number. Example:
Carbon: Atomic Mass Number = 12; Ne-=6 Oxygen: Atomic Mass Number = 16; Ne-=8

Size of the atom ~ 10-10m The atoms can emit and absorb electromagnetic radiations

Thomsons atomic model

Thomsons plum-pudding model of the atom had the positive charges spread uniformly throughout a sphere the size of the atom, with electrons embedded in the uniform background.

Positively charged, so that the whole atom is neutral

In Thomsons view, when the atom is heated, the electrons could vibrate about their equilibrium positions, thus producing electromagnetic radiation. The model fails: cannot reproduce the spectral lines of the Hydrogen atom

Radioactivity ?
1898: Pierre and Marie discover the Radium Emission of -particle 1900: Rutherford and Royds determine the nature of the particles, they are charged Helium atoms

Ernest Rutherford 1871-1937 Nobel Prize in Physics 1908

Geiger and Marsden Experiments

1909: Rutherford, Geiger and Marsden conceive a new technique to probe the structure of matter by scattering -particles from atoms Geiger shows that many -particles are scattered from thin gold-leaf targets at backward angles greater than 90

Analysis / Conclusions
In contradiction with J.J.Thomsons model:
At best, -particles should only be slightly deflected

Large deflections ? (see example 4.1, p129-130)

99.95% of the MASS of the atom lies in a hard, dense nucleus occupying only ~10-15m of the atomic volume.
Rutherford (1911): Considering the evidence as a whole, it seems simplest to suppose that the atom contains a central charge distributed through a small volume, and that a large single deflections are due to the central charge as a whole, and not to its constituents.

Rutherford Scattering

Impact parameter b:

Note:

the nucleus is 105 times smaller than the atom, large deflections do not occur often !!!

Failure of the classical (planetary) atomic model

Atom (neutral) = nucleus (+q) + q electrons Assuming the Hydrogen atom:
The electron is attracted by the nucleus Even in circular motion around the nucleus, the electron loses energy:
Radial acceleration: ar = v2/R Classical e.m. theory: an accelerating charge continuously radiates energy, r decreases

The electron would eventually crash into the nucleus