MODELS OF ATOM

Atomic Theory Timeline

Dalton’s Atomic Theory (1808)

John Dalton proposed that all matter is composed of very small things which he called
atoms. This was not a completely new concept as the ancient Greeks
(notably Democritus) had proposed that all matter is composed of
small, indivisible (cannot be divided) objects. When Dalton proposed
his model electrons and the nucleus were unknown. His model was
created solely on experiments that were macroscopic, or seen with the
unaided eye.
1. Atoms are tiny, invisible particles.
2. Atoms of one element are all the same.
Dalton viewed atoms
3. Atoms of different elements are different.
as tiny, solid balls. 4. Compounds form by combining atoms.

J. Jonah Jameson Thomson (1897)

He discovered electrons. However, the atomic nucleus had not been discovered
yet and so the “plum pudding model” was put
forward in 1904. In this model, the atom is made up
of negative electrons that float in a “soup” of positive
charge, much like plums in a pudding or raisins in a
fruit cake. In 1906, Thomson was awarded the
Nobel Prize for his work in this field. However, even
with the Plum Pudding Model, there was still no
understanding of how these electrons in the atom
were arranged.

Ernest Rutherford's model of the atom (1911)

Rutherford carried out some experiments which led to
a change in ideas around the atom. His new model described
the atom as a tiny, dense, positively charged core called a
nucleus surrounded by lighter, negatively charged electrons.
Another way of thinking about this model was that the atom
was seen to be like a mini solar system where the electrons
orbit the nucleus like planets orbiting around the sun. A
simplified picture of this is shown alongside. This model is sometimes known as the planetary
model of the atom.
Niels Bohr’s Model (1913)
 Niels Bohr improved on Rutherford’s
model.
 He proposed that electrons move
around the nucleus in specific layers,
or shells.
There were, however, some problems with
Rutherford's model: for example it could not explain
the very interesting observation that atoms only emit
light at certain wavelengths or frequencies. Niels Bohr solved this problem by proposing that the
electrons could only orbit the nucleus in certain special orbits at different energy levels around
the nucleus.

James Chadwick’s Model (1932)

 Chadwick discovered
neutrons.
 Working with Rutherford,
he discovered particles
with no charge.
 He called these particles
neutrons. Neutrons are
also found in the nucleus

Rutherford predicted (in 1920) that another kind of

particle must be present in the nucleus along with the proton. He predicted this because if there
were only positively charged protons in the nucleus, then it should break into bits because of the
repulsive forces between the like-charged protons! To make sure that the atom stays electrically
neutral, this particle would have to be neutral itself. In
1932 James Chadwick discovered the neutron and
measured its mass.

The Modern Model

 The new atomic

model has
electrons moving
around the
nucleus in a
cloud.
 It is impossible to
know where an electron is at any given time.

Electrons are in constant motion around the

nucleus, protons and neutrons jiggle within the nucleus,
and quarks jiggle within the protons and neutrons.
Where the cloud is most dense, the probability of finding
the electron is greatest, and conversely, the electron is
less likely to be in a less dense area of the cloud. Thus,
this model introduced the concept of sub-energy levels.