ANOTHER LOOK AT THE ATOM

LINE SPECTRA
IF YOU DIP THE END OF A HEAT-
RESISTANT WIRE INTO A SALT
WATERSOLUTION AND THEN PLACE IT
IN THE FLAME OF A BURNER, A
YELLOW LIGHT IS EMITTED
WHEN THIS LIGHT IS PASSED
THROUGH A PRISM, A SPECTRUM IS
FORMED THAT CONTAINS ONLY A FEW
COLRS INCLUDING THE YELLOW SEEN
IN THE BURNER FLAME
A SPECTRUM THAT CONTAINS ONLY
CERTAIN COLORS, OR WAVELENGHTS
IS XALLED A LINE SPECTRUM.
A LINE SPECTRUM IS QUITE
DIFFERENT FROM THE CONTINUOUS
SPECTRUM OF SUNLIGHT OR THE
LIGHT FROM A FILAMENT BULB
SAMPLES OF ALL ELEMENTS EMIT LIGHT
WHEN THEY ARE VAPORIZED IN AN
INTENSE FLAME OR WHEN ELECTRICITY IS
PASSED THROUGH THEIR GASEOUS STATE.
THE ATOM SOMEHOW ABSORB ENERGY
AND THEN GIVE THE ENERGY OFF IN
THE FORM OF LIGHT
FOR EVERY ELEMENT, THE EMITTED
LIGHT CONTAINS ONLY CERTAIN
WAVELENGTHS GIVING EACH
ELEMENT A UNIQUE LINE SPECTRUM.
THE LINE SPECTRUM IS ALSO
REFERRED TO AS THE ATOMIC
EMISSION SPECTRUM OF THE
ELEMENT.
AN ATOMIC EMISSION SPECTRUM OF
AN ELEMENT IS A KIND OF ATOMIC
FINGERORINT THAT IS EXTREMELY
USEFUL IN IDENTIFYING LEEMENTS
THE YELLOW LIGHT EMITTED BY SALT IS
CHARACTERISTICS OF SODIUM. THIS IS AL
SO PRODUCED BY SODIUM- VAPOR LAMPS
WHICH ARE WIDELY USED FOR STREET
LIGHTINGS
THE DIFFERENT COLORS SEEN IN
NEON LIGHTS ARE PRODUCED BY
USING DIFFERENT GASES OR VAPOR IN
THE LIGHTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, NEON ITSELF GIVES
OFF A RED LIGHT AS DOES HYDROGEN.
NITROGEN EMISSION IS ORANGE
WHILE MERCURY IS BLUE
THE BOHR
MODEL OF THE
HYDROGEN ATOM
HOW DO SCIENTISTS EXPLAIN THE FACT
THAT EACH ELEMENT IS CAPABLE OF
EMITTING ITS OWN CHARACTERISTIC
WAVELENGTHS OF RADIATION?
IS THERE SOME CONNECTION
BETWEEN THE WAVELENGTHS AN
ELEMENT EMITS AND IYS ATOMIC
STRUCTURE?
IT WAS THE DANISH PHYSICIST NIELS
BOHR WHO FIRST SAW THE CONNECTION.
IN 1911 BOHR ATTENDED A LECTURE GIVEN
BY ERNEST RUTHERFORD.
DURING HIS TALK, RUTHERFORD
DESCRIBED HIS NEW PLANETARY
MODEL OF THE ATOM WITH ITS
NUCLEUS AND CIRCLING ELECTRONS.
BOHR REALIZED HOW PLANK’S IDEA
OF QUNTIZATION CAN BE APPLIED TO
THIS MODEL TO EXPLAIN THE LINE
SPECTRA OF ELEMENTS.
BOHR STARTED WITH THE SIMPLEST ATOM,
A HYDROGEN ATOM, WHICH HAS ONLY ONE
ELECTRON. BOHR POSTULATED THAT TO
GET SPECTRAL LINES, THE ENERGY OF THE
ELECTRON IN THE ATOM MUST BE
QUANTIZED.
IN TERMS OF RUTHERFORD’S PLANETARY
MODEL, THIS MEANS THAT THE ELECTRON
IS ALLOWED TO HAVE ONLY CERTAIN
ORBITS CORRESPONDING TO DIFFERENT
AMOUNT OF ENERGY.
BOHR LABELED EACH
ENERGY LEVEL AND
CONSEQUENTLY EACH
ORBIT BY A QUANTUM
NUMBER, N. FOR THE
LOWEST ENERGY LEVEL,
OR GROUND STATE, N=1
THIS ENERGY LEVEL
CORRESPONDS TO THE ORBIT
CLOSEST TO THE NUCLEUS.
WHEN THE ELECTRON ABSORBS
THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF
ENERGY, IT JUMPS TO A LEVEL OF
HIGHER ENERGY CALLED
EXCITED STATE.
THE EXCITED STATES HAVE
QUANTUM NUMBERS N=2,
N=3, N=4 AND SO FORTH. THE
EXCITED STATES
REPRESENT LARGER
ORBITS WITH THE
ELECTRON FURTHER FROM
THE NUCLEUS.
TO EXPLAIN
HYDROGEN’S SPECTRAL
LINES, BOHR PROPOSED
THAT WHEN RADIATION
IS ABSORBED, AN
ELECTRON JUMPS FROM
THE GROUND STATE TO
THE EXCITED STATE.
RADIATION IS EMITTED
WHEN THE ELECTRON
FALLS BACK FROM THE
HIGHER ENERGY LEVEL
TO A LOWER ONE.
THE ENERGY OF THE
ABSORBED OR EMITTED
RADIATION EQUALS THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
THE TWO ENERGY
LEVELS INVOLVED.
BOHR WAS ABLE TO USE
THIS MODEL AND
PLANK’S EQUATION TO
CALCULATE THE
FREQUENCIES
OBSERVED IN THE LINE
SPECTRUM OF
HYDROGEN.
ALTHOUGH THE BOHR
MODEL WORK WELL FOR
HYDROGEN, IT COULD NOT
EXPLAIN THE SPECTRA OF
ATOMS WITH MORE THAN
ONE ELECTRON, EXCEPT IN
A RATHER MORE
APPROXIMATE WAY.
BECAUSE THE BOHR MODEL
INTRODUCED THE IDEA OF
QUANTIZED ENERGY LEVELS
FOR ELECTRONS IN ATOMS,
IT REPRESENTA AN
IMPORTANT INITIAL STEP IN
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
CURRENT MODEL FOR
ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE.
HEISENBERG’
S
UNCERTAINTY
PRINCIPLE
(WERNER HEISENBERG)
THE POSITION AND THE
MOMENTUM OF A MOVING
OBJECT CANNOT
SIMULTANEOUSLY BE
MEASURED AND KNOWN
EXACTLY.
THERE IS AN INHERENT
LIMITATION TO KNOWING
BOTH WHERE A PARTICLE
IS AT A PARTICULAR
MOMENT AND HOW IT IS
MOVING IN ORDER TO
PREDICT WHERE IT WILL
BE IN THE FUTURE
THIS LIMITATION IS
INHERENT IN THE DUAL
NATURE OF MATTER AND
ENERGY AND BECOMES
CRITICAL IN DEALING
WITH SMALL PARTICLE
LIKE ELECTRONS
HOWEVER, WITH
ORDINARY SIZED OBJECTS
LIKE CARS OR AIRPLANES
OR EVEN CHEETAHS, IT IS
INCONSEQUENTIAL
TO UNDERSTAND THIS
PRINCIPLE, CONSIDER
HOW YOU DETERMINE THE
LOCATION OF AN
OBJECT.TO LOCATE A SET
OF KEYS IN A DARK ROOM,
YOU CAN USE
FLASHLIGHT.
YOU SEE THE KEYS WHEN
THE LIGHT BOUNCES OFF
THEM AND STRIKE YOUR
EYES
LIKEWISE, TO LOCATE AN
ELECTRON, YOU MUST
STRIKE IT WITH A PHOTON
OR ANOTHER PARTICLE
WHICH THEN BOUNCES
BACK TO SOME
DETECTION DEVICE.
BECAUSE THE ELECTRON
HAS SUCH A SMALL MASS,
THE COLLISIN MOVES IT IN
SOME UNPREDICTABLE WAY.
SO IN THIS CASE, THE VERY
ACT OF MEASUREMENT
CHANGES IN SOME WAY THAT
WHICH YOU ARE TRYI NG TO
MEASURE
ONE OF THE PROBLEMS
WITH THE BOHR MODEL IS
THAT THERE IS NO WAY TO
OBSERVE OR TO MEASURE
THE ORBIT OF AN ELECTRON
IN AN ATOM.
INDEED, THE UNCERTAINTY
PRINCIPLE STATES THAT IT
IS NOT EVEN APPROPRIATE
TO THINK INTERMS OF
ELECTRON MOVING IN WELL-
DEFINED ORBITS BECAUSE
THERE IS NO WAY TO THIS
THIS IDEA.
A NEW
APPROACH TO
THE ATOM:
PROBABILITY
AND ORBITALS
*THE ENERGY OF AN
ELECTRON IS QUANTIZED
*ELECTRONS EXHIBIT
WAVELIKE BEHAVIOR
*IT IS IMPOSIBLE TO KNOW
THE EXACT POSITION AS
WELL AS MOMENTUM OF AN
ELECTRON AT ANY GIVEN
INSTANT
SCIENTISTS HAVE DEVELOP THE
QUANTUM-MECHANICAL MODEL OF AN
ATOM WHICH INCLUDES ALL OF THE
PREVIOUS IDEAS.
THE QUANTUM MECHANICAL MODEL
EXPLAINS THE PROPERTIES OF ATOMS
BY TREATING THE ELECTRON AS A
WAVE THAT HAS QUANTIZED ITS
ENERGY.
ALTHOUGH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE
TO DESCRIBE THE THE
EXACT POSITIONS OF
ELECTRONS OR TO
DESCRIBE HOW THEY ARE
MOVING, THE MODEL
DESCRIBE THE PROBABILITY
THAT ELECTRONS COULD BE
FOUND IN CERTAIN
LOCATIOS AROUND THE
PROBABILITY
AND
ORBITALS
THE PROBABILITY OF
FINDING AN ELECTRON IN
VARIOUS LOCATIONS
AROUND THE NUCLEUS
CAN BE PICTURED IN
TERMS OF A BLURRY
CLOUD OF NEGATIVE
CHARGE.
THE CLOUD IS MOST DENSE WHERE
THE PROBABILITY OF OF FINDING THE
ELECTRON IS HIGHEST. THE CLOUD IS
LEAST DENSE WHERE THE
PROBANILITY OF FINDING THE
ELECTRON IS LOWEST.
THE DENSITY OF
AN ELECTRON
CLOUD IS
REFERRED TO AS
ELECTRON
DENSITY.
THOSE REGIONS OF HIGH
PROBABILITY ARE SAID
TO HAVE HIGH ELECTRON
DENSITY. CONVERSELY,
REGIONS OF LOW
PROBABILITY ARE SAID
TO HAVE LOW ELECTRON
DENSITY
THE PROBABILITY OF
FINDING ELECTRONS IN
CERTAIN REGION OF AN
ATOM IS DESCRIBED AS
ORBITALS.
AN ATOMIC ORBITAL IS A REGION
AROUND THE NUCLEUS OF OF AN
ATOM WHERE AN ELECTRON WITH A
GIVEN ENERGY IS LIKELY TO BE
FOUND
ORBITALS HAVE CHARACTERISTICS
SHAPE, SIZE AND ENERGIES. BUT
ORBITALS DO NOT DESCRIBE HOW THE
ELECTRON ACTUALLY MOVES.
THE PROBABILITY OF FINDING THE
ELECTRON IS THE SAME FOR ALL
POINTS ON THE SURFACE, AND THERE
IS A 90-PERCENT CHANCE OF FINDING
THE ELECTRON WITHIN THE SPHERE.
THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT
KINDS OF ORBITALS, EACH HAVING A
DIFFERENT FUNDAMENTALSHAPE.
THESE DIFFERENT KINDS
OF ORBITALS ARE
DESIGNATED BY THE
LETTERS S,P,D ANF F.
ALL S ORBITALS ARE
SPHERICAL IN
SHAPEWHEREAS P
ORBITALS ARE DUMBBELL
SHAPE.
THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY THAT AN
ELECTRON HAS DETERMINES THE
KINF OF ORBITALS IT OCCUPIES.
ORBITALS
AND
ENERGY
THE MAIN OR PRINCIPAL
ENERGY LEVELS IN AN
ATOM ARE DESIGNATED
BY THE QUANTUM
NUNMBER N WHICH IS
CALLED THE PRINCIPAL
QUANTUM NUMBER
JUST AS PROPOSED IN THE
BOHR MODEL, THE ENERGY
OF THE LECTRON INCREASES
AS N INCREASES FROM 1 TO 2
TO 3 AND SO FORTH. UNLIKE
BOHR MODEL HOWEVER,
EACH PRINCIPAL ENERGY
LEVEL IS DIVIDED INTO ONE
OR MORE SUBLEVEL
THERE IS A DISTINCT AND
IMPORTANT PATTERN OF
THESE SUBLEVELS. THE
NUMBER OF SUBLEVELS
IN EACH PRINCIPAL
ENERGY LEVEL EQUALS
THE QUANTUM NUMBER N
FOR THAT ENERGY LEVEL.
THUS, THERE IS NO SUB
LEVEL WHEN N= 1, TWO
SUBLEVELS WHEN N=2,
THREE SUBLEVELS WHEN
N=3, AND SO FORTH.
EACH PRINCIPAL ENERGY
LEVEL CONSISTS OF ONE
OR MORE SUBLEVELS AND
EACH SUBLEVEL CONSIST
OF ONE OR MORE
ORBITALS.
THE FIRST ENERGY LEVEL
N= 1 CONSIST OF ONLY
ONE SUBLEVEL. THE
SUBLEVEL CONTAINS A
SINGLE ORBITAL WITH ITS
CHARACTERISTIC
SPHERICAL SHAPE.
THE SUBLEVEL IS
THEREFORE CALLED THE
1S SUBLEVEL AND ITS
ORBITAL IS CALLED THE
1S ORBITAL.
THE SECOND PRINCIPAL
ENERGY LEVEL N=2
CONSIST OF TWO
SUBLEVELS– THE 2S AND
2P SUBLEVELS. THEY ARE
CALLED THE 2S AND 2P
SUBLEVELS BECAUSE OF
THE KIND OF ORBITALS
THEY CONTAIN.
THE 2S SUBLEVEL
CONSISTS OD A SINGLE S
ORBITAL, WHICH IS
CALLED THE 2S ORBITAL.
LIKE THE 1S ORBITAL, THE
2S ORBITAL IS SPHERICAL
IN SHAPE. THE 2S ORBITAL
HOWEVER IS LARGER
THAN THE 1S ORBITAL.
AN ELECTRON IN A 2S
ORBITAL IS FREE TO
ROAM OVER A LARGER
SPACE BECAUSE IT HAS
MORE ENERGY.
THE 2P SUBLEVEL IS
SLIGHTLY HIGHER IN
ENERGY THAN THE 2S
SUBLEVEL. THE 2P
SUBLEVEL CONSIST OF
THREE P ORBITALS OF
EQUAL ENERGY.
EACH 2P ORBITAL IS
DUMPBELL SHAPE AND
EXTENDS FROM THE
NUCLEUS TO 90 DEGREES
ANLGE FROM EACH OF THE
OUTER TWO ORBITALS. IT IS
CONVENIENT TO LABEL
THESE ORBITALS 2PX , 2PY AND
2PZ BAESD ON THE AXES
ALONG WHICH THEY LIE.
THE THIRD PRINCIPAL
ENERGY LEVEL N=3 HAS
THREE SUBLEVELS THE 3S,
3P AND 3D. THE 3S SUBLEVEL
IS COMPOSED OF A SINGLE
3S ORBITAL.THE 3P
SUBLEVEL, WHICH IS
HIGHER IN ENERGY THAN
THE 3S SUBLEVEL IS
COMPOSED OR THREE
EQUAL ENERGY P ORBITALS.
THE