Fundamental Particles

 Three fundamental particles make up atoms:

Particle Mass (amu) Charge

Electron (e-) 0.00054858 -1

Proton (p,p+) 1.0073 +1

Neutron(n,n0) 1.0087 0

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The Discovery of Protons
 1913 – H.G.J. Moseley
Realized that the atomic number
defines the element:
 Each element differs from the
preceding element by having one more
positive charge in its nucleus
 Along with a number of observations made
by Rutherford and some other physicists,
this led to the discovery of the proton
 The elements differ from each other by
the number of protons in the nucleus
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The Discovery of Neutrons
 1932 – James Chadwick
recognized existence of massive neutral
particles which he called neutrons
(Nobel prize in physics in 1935)
 The atomic mass of an element is mainly
determined by the total number of
protons and neutrons in the nucleus
 The atomic number of an element is
determined by the total number of
protons in the nucleus

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 Mass Number and Atomic Number
 Mass number – A
 Atomic number – Z
 Z = # protons
 A = # protons + # neutrons
 # protons = # electrons

 The way we typically write this:

A
Z E
37
17 Cl
37
Cl

full nuclide symbol short nuclide symbol

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Isotopes
 Atoms of the same element but with
different masses
 The same element means that the
number of protons is the same,
 then different masses mean that
the number of neutrons differs

H
1
1
2
1H 3
1H
protium deuterium tritium
(or hydrogen)
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Isotopes: Example
16
O 235
U

17
O
238
U

18
O

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Experimental Detection of Isotopes

 1919-1920 – Francis Aston

Designed the first mass-spectrometer
(Nobel prize in chemistry in 1922)
 Factors which determine a particle’s
path in the mass spectrometer:
 accelerating voltage, V

 magnetic field strength, H

 mass of the particle, m

 charge on the particle, q

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 Mass Spectrometry & Isotopes
 Mass spectrum of Ne+ ions
 This is how scientists determine the masses
and abundances of the isotopes of an element

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 Mass Spectrometry & Isotopes
 Let’s calculate the atomic mass of Ne
using the mass-spectrometry data

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 Atomic Weight Scale
 A unit of atomic mass (atomic mass unit) was
defined as exactly 1/12 of the mass of a 12C atom
 Two important consequences of such scale choice:
 The atomic mass of 12C equals 12 a.m.u.
 1 a.m.u. is approximately the mass of one atom
of 1H, the lightest isotope of the element with
the lowest mass.
 The atomic weight of an element is the weighted
average of the masses of its isotopes

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Isotopes and Atomic Weight
 Naturally occurring chromium consists
of four isotopes. It is
4.31% 50Cr, mass = 49.946 amu
83.76% 52Cr, mass = 51.941 amu
9.55% 53Cr, mass = 52.941 amu
2.38% 54Cr, mass = 53.939 amu
Calculate the atomic weight of chromium

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 Isotopes and Atomic Weight

 Naturally occurring Cu consists of 2 isotopes. It is

69.1% 63Cu with a mass of 62.9 amu, and 30.9% 65Cu,
which has a mass of 64.9 amu. Calculate the atomic
weight of Cu to one decimal place.

 A.W.(Cu) = (62.9 amu  0.691) + ( 64.9 amu  0.309) =

= 63.5 amu

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 Electromagnetic Radiation
 Any wave is characterized by 2 parameters:
 Wavelength () is the distance between two
identical points of adjacent waves, for
example between their crests
It is measured in units of distance (m, cm, Å)
 Frequency () is the number of wave crests
passing a given point per unit time (for
example, per second)
It is measured in units of 1/time, usually s-1
1 s-1 = 1 Hz (Hertz)

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Electromagnetic Radiation
 The speed at which the wave propagates:

c=
 The speed of electromagnetic waves in
vacuum has a constant value:

c = 3.00108 m/s
 This is the speed of light
 Given the frequency of the
electromagnetic radiation, we can
calculate its wavelength, and vice versa

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Electromagnetic Radiation
 Max Planck
(Nobel prize in physics in 1918)
 Electromagnetic radiation can also be
described in terms of “particles” called
photons
 Each photon is a particular amount of
energy carried by the wave
 Planck’s equation relates the energy of
the photon to the frequency of radiation:

E=h
(h is a Planck’s constant, 6.626·10-34 J·s)
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Electromagnetic Radiation
 What is the energy of green
light of wavelength 5200 Å?

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