Smah Riki

Mr. Kapp
Honors English 10B Period 4
1 February 2018
Earth-Shattering Discoveries at the “Atomic” Level

The modern understanding of the atomic model takes into account things such as

quantum mechanics, the simultaneous presence of the same electron within the same atom, and

several other factors that an ordinary person couldn’t possibly comprehend! However, just like

everything we know about this world, the birth of such a complex model started with simple

steps — in this case, simple assumptions made by the philosopher Democritus. Similar to the

many philosophers of his time, Democritus often times wondered if there was a basic unit of

matter which everything was composed of. Contrary to Aristotle’s widely-accepted belief that

everything was composed of four elements, Democritus theorized that small particles called

atomos made up everything in the universe. Even though most of his theory is considered false in

the modern era, Democritus’ concept of a “building block” to everything is what set into motion

the several experiments that would later yield a more accurate model of the atom. Without the

help of John Dalton, J.J. Thomson, Ernest Rutherford, and finally Erwin Schrödinger, the

modern atomic model would be nothing more than a mere dream.

Almost two millennia after Democritus set forth his theory, John Dalton (1766-1844)

proposed the first atomic model that was not only backed up with evidence, but was also widely

accepted. Basing his claims off of the several experiments he conducted in his lifetime, Dalton’s

model stated that “[a]ll matter is made of atoms, [which] are indivisible and ​indestructible (N.

De Leon, Class 101 Notes).” Dalton combined the several discoveries made before him

(especially Lavoisier's ​Law of Conservation of Mass*) with Democritus’ principle that

everything is made of a basic unit, creating a model that laid out the core essentials of the atom.

As evident by future experiments, John Dalton was incorrect in saying that atoms were the

smallest particles to ever exist. However, by setting forth a model that confirmed the existence

and bare functions of atoms, Dalton engendered more experiments, and as a result paved the way

to more accurate models. ​*Law of Conservation of Mass: Matter cannot be created, nor can it be

destroyed. It can only be rearranged.

Inspired by Dalton’s findings, J.J. Thomson (1856-1940) provided the next atomic

breakthrough in the fields of Chemistry and Physics. Thomson experimented with the Cathode

Ray Tube in 1897, within which a beam of light shot from one end of the tube (called a cathode)

to the other (Gonzales, 2017). After conducting various experiments, Thomson noticed that when

he exposed the cathode ray to a magnet, the direction of the light changed accordingly. This

observation led Thomson to discover negatively charged particles that were in fact ​smaller ​than

atoms, and he decided to name them “corpuscles” (although the modern word for these particles

is “electrons.”). However, Thomson pondered, if atoms

were only made of electrons, they wouldn’t have a neutral

charge. There must be ​something ​that cancels out the

negative charges of the electrons. As a result, Thomson

proposed a new model for the atom: The Plum Pudding

Model. This model consisted of a container of pudding

with bits and pieces of plums scattered all over the

pudding. The plums represented the electrons found in the atom, whereas the pudding

represented the positively charged portion of the atom that canceled out the electrons’ negative
charges. Using a model such as this, Thomson was able to postulate a possible way electrons

could exist within an atom. Positive and negative charges cancel each other out, after all, so it

only made sense to fill up an entire atom with positively charged “jello.”

Not long after, Thomson’s student Ernest Rutherford proposed yet another

groundbreaking atomic model. In 1911, Rutherford and his assistant performed the Gold Foil

experiment, a test in which Rutherford fired very tiny alpha particles (smaller than an atom)

straight through a thin sheet of gold foil (Zumbdal, ​Chemistry​). The gold foil in question was

barricaded with a surrounding wall, every part of which was motion sensitive. Rutherford

theorized that if Thomson’s model was indeed correct, then the alpha particles would pass

through the gold foil with little (if any) deviations from their original path and trigger the motion

sensors directly behind the gold foil. Although most of the alpha particles slipped right through

the foil, some of them faced severe deviations and ended up hitting the surrounding wall at

angles of either 45°, 135°, or even a full 180° reflection. Upon examining the data, Rutherford
figured that the Plum Pudding model’s key flaw was in assuming that a space of positive matter

provided the positive charge to counter the electrons’ negative charge. Using his newfound

knowledge, Rutherford theorized that there existed a central core within the atom which, with its

positive charge, canceled out the negative charges of electrons. (as evident by the deviations of

the alpha particles). Therefore, Rutherford proposed another model: The Planetary Model.

Similar to the way our solar system operates, Rutherford’s model included a positively charged

center (called the nucleus) with negatively charged electrons orbiting it. This naturally made

sense to other scientists because if our Solar System worked in a similar fashion, why couldn’t

our atoms?

The fundamental error with Rutherford’s model, however, was that he was breaking one

of the fundamental laws of thermodynamics: energy cannot be created, nor can it be destroyed. If

an electron orbited around the nucleus in a fashion similar to our solar system, the electron

would be losing energy in the process of doing so. Without adequate energy, the electron would

begin to slow down, and eventually succumb to the nucleus’s overwhelming attractive forces.

Atoms of the real world do not collapse and outright fail, so there was something fundamentally

flawed with Rutherford’s model.

In order to solve this problem, Erwin Schrödinger (1887-1961) proposed the Quantum

Model, a model which we use to this date because of its

accuracy. Schrödinger proposed that, rather than orbiting

the nucleus of the atom, what if the electrons were

teleporting throughout the atom? In order to explain this,

Schrödinger drew an atom with a nucleus, but replaced

the surrounding electrons with a cloud. The could’s color intensity indicated an electron’s

probability of being in that region, with the strongest intensity representing the selected

electron’s likeliest spot (Zumbdal, ​Chemistry​). Using this model, Schrödinger explained why

atoms can retain their stability while simultaneously following Rutherford’s model. He was able

to solve the energy problem from within Rutherford’s Planetary Model, and with a combination

of other (far more complicated) discoveries, Schrödinger established the modern atomic model.

Democritus’s theory was ultimately disproved, but his contribution is the reason why so

many developments to the atomic model were possible. Dalton’s model solidified the initial

theory that everything was composed of very small particles, and Thomson and Rutherford

further enhanced that concept by proposing the existence of even smaller particles within an

atom. Finally, Schrödinger tied up the loose ends by proposing the Quantum Model, a model in

which the electron’s movement could only be predicted! Science is rapidly achieving a level of

understanding that many of our ancestors could never fathom, and with the help of great

scientists such as these, we’ll be sure to progress even further beyond our “atomic” level of

understanding.
Bibliography
- “Modern Atomic Theory: Models.” ​Development of the Atomic Theory​,
www.abcte.org/files/previews/chemistry/s1_p6.html​.

- Dirac, Paul A.M. “Erwin Schrödinger - Biographical.” ​Nobelprize.org​,

www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1933/schrodinger-bio.html​.

- “Dalton's Atomic Model.” ​Brilliant Math & Science Wiki​,

brilliant.org/wiki/daltons-atomic-model/.

- De Neon, N. “Dalton's Atomic Theory.” ​Dalton's atomic theory​,

www.iun.edu/~cpanhd/C101webnotes/composition/dalton.html​.

- “Modern Atomic Theory: Models.” ​Development of the Atomic Theory​,

www.abcte.org/files/previews/chemistry/s1_p5.html​.

- Howard, Damien. “J.J. Thomson's Cathode Ray Tube (CRT): Definition, Experiment &
Diagram.” ​Study.com​, Study.com,
study.com/academy/lesson/jj-thomsons-cathode-ray-tube-crt-definition-experiment-diagr
am.html.
-
- “J.J. Thomson.” ​Biography.com​, A&E Networks Television, 20 Sept. 2017,
www.biography.com/people/jj-thomson-40039​.

As a side note, these citations weren’t necessarily done my me. I simply inputted my sources into
citationmachine.com, the website that generated all of these MLA-styled citations for me.