Biophysics, Atoms and Atomic structure

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 Course Nomenclature

• Also called
 Medical physics
 Biomedical physics
 Nuclear physics
 Radiation physics

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 What is biophysics

• Medical physics is the application of physics to medicine.

Electromagnetism
Mechanics
Nuclear physics
Optics
Bio fluids …)
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 What is biophysics

• Bio physics is involved in the development instrumentation used in

 Diagnosis
 Treatment
• The human body is a very complex system.
• Concepts of modeling in physics can by applied to simulate different
activities of the human body systems.
 For example the modeling of the blood flow in the study of the body’s
circulatory system.
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 Application to medical diagnosis

1. Used in measurement of
The body temperature
The blood pressure
The eye pressure
The heart pulse

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Relation between physics

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Biology and medicine

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Application areas of physics in medicine and
biology

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 Application to medical diagnosis

2. In medical imaging
 X-rays radiology
MRI
Optical devices
Rehab
Ultrasound scan,…
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Atomic theory

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A. Democritus 370-460 BC
• Greek Philosopher
• Suggested world was made of two
things – empty space and
“atomos”
• Atomos – Greek word for uncuttable
• Main ideas
Atoms are the smallest possible
particle of matter
There are different types of atoms for
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each material
B. Aristotle

• Matter could be divided into smaller

and smaller pieces forever.
• His views on this his view was accepted
for two thousand years.

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 C. Dalton (England, 1800’s)
1. All elements are composed of atoms and they
are indestructible-like a solid sphere. They
cannot be created or destroyed-LAW OF
CONSERVATION OF MATTER
2. Atoms of the same element are exactly alike.
3. Atoms of different elements are different.
4. Compounds are formed by the joining of atoms
of two or more elements. 2/24/2020 13
 D. Thomson (1897)-England
• Discovered negatively charged electrons
• He was the first scientist to show the atom
was made of even smaller things (particle).

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 E. JJ Thomson

• Used the Cathode ray tube to discover electrons

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 Voltage source
- +
-

Vacuum tube

Metal Disks 2/24/2020 16

 Voltage source
- +

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 Voltage source
- +

 Passing an electric current makes a beam appear to move

from the negative to the positive end
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 Voltage source

• By adding an electric field

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 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source

-
By adding an electric field
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 Voltage source
+

-
 By adding an electric field
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 Thomson’s Experiment

+
Voltage source

-
-
 Adding an electric field cause the beam to move toward the positive
plate.
 Thomson concluded the beam was made of negative moving pieces.
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 F. Ernest Rutherford - 1913

Discovered the
nucleus of a gold atom
with his “gold foil”
experiment

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Using J.J Thomson’s Plum Pudding atomic model, Rutherford
predicted the alpha particles would pass straight though the gold foil.
That’s not what happened.

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Gold Foil Experiment Results
most alpha particles go straight through the gold foil
A few alpha particles are sharply deflected

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 Rutherford’s Conclusion
• The atom is mostly empty space.
• There is a small, dense center
with a positive charge.
• Rutherford discovered the
nucleus in atoms

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Rutherford’s Contribution to
the Atomic Theory

• The atom is mostly empty

space.
• The nucleus is a small, dense
core with a positive charge.

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Gold Foil

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Rutherford’s Atomic Model

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 G. Bohr (1913)-Denmark

• said electrons were in orbits or energy levels around the

nucleus.

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 Energy Levels

• The energy of orbital electrons is

based on its location around
the nucleus.
 Electrons closer to the nucleus
have lesser energy
 The farthest electrons have
more energy.
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 H. Electron Cloud Model

• Cosidered as latest atomic theory

• Electrons travel in regions called “electron clouds”
• You cannot predict exactly where an electron will be found
• Electrons move in

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 Atoms vs. Elements

• Atoms make up elements.

• To be an element, it can ONLY have ONE type of atom.
• The terms are often used interchangeably.
• For example, the Periodic Table of the Elements could also be
written as the …
Periodic Table of Different Types of Atoms.
• Matter, atom and element… ambiguous to differentiate.
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 Atoms

• Atom – smallest particle of an element that can exist alone

• Two regions of an atom
Nucleus
Center of atom
Protons and neutrons
Electron “cloud”
Area surrounding nucleus
containing electrons
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 Atomic Parts

 Protons -positive (+); some mass; in nucleus

 Neutrons -no charge (0); some mass; in nucleus
 Electrons -negative (-); no real mass but do take up most
of the space around an atom

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Fundamental particles

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Describing Atoms

a. Atomic Number = # protons

b. Atomic Mass = # neutrons + # Protons
c. Neutral atom # protons = # electrons
Note:
The number of protons for an atom never changes.
But-the number of neutrons can change
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 Isotopes

• Atoms of the same element with varying number of

neutrons
• Different isotopes have different mass numbers because
the number of neutrons is different

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Isotopes

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Examples of Isotopes

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 Ionization and Excitation
• Ionization is “knocking” an electron out of an atom
– Creates a free electron + ion
– Occurs when radiated with energy above the electron
binding energy
• Excitation is “knocking” an electron to a higher orbit
– When the radiation energy is lower than the binding
energy
• After either ionization or excitation, an atom has higher
energy 2/24/2020 42
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