The Greeks

Realizing that most of what we now know about atom structure has
evolved over a considerable amount of time is crucial. This is frequently
how scientific knowledge is created, with one person building on
another's concepts. We will examine the historical development of our
current understanding of the atom.

In the fifth century BC, two Greek philosophers named Democritus and
Leucippus proposed the concept of atoms. Because they thought that
atoms could not be divided into smaller parts, the Greek term "oov"
(atom) has the meaning "indivisible."

Model
An atomic model, for instance, depicts what an atom's structure may like
based on what is known about how atoms function. It may not
accurately represent the precise makeup of an atom.

Models are frequently condensed. Models are the little toy cars you
might have played with when you were little. They are much smaller and
more simpler than real cars, but they nevertheless give you an excellent
picture of what they look like. It's crucial that we understand that a
model can never be completely precise so that we don't form the wrong
impression of something.

Dalton Model
John Dalton argued that all matter is made up of atoms, which are
incredibly minuscule objects. The ancient Greeks, particularly
Democritus, had claimed that all matter is made up of tiny, indivisible
(cannot be separated) particles, so this idea was not entirely new. When
Dalton first outlined his theory, neither the electrons nor the nucleus
existed.
Thomson’s model
J.J. After the electron was found, The discovery by Thomson in 1897 led
to the realisation that atoms were composed of even smaller particles
than previously believed. In 1904, the "plum pudding model" was
proposed since the atomic nucleus had not yet been found. According to
this theory, the atom is composed of negative electrons that float in a
"soup" of positive charge, similar to raisins in fruit cake or plums in
pudding (Figure 4.3). Thomson received the Nobel Prize for his
contributions to this discipline in 1906. Even with the Plum Pudding
Model, however, the arrangement of these electrons in
the atom remained a mystery.
The next step in creating a precise image of atomic structure was the
discovery of radiation. Marie and Pierre Curie discovered that some
elements (the radioactive elements) release particles that can penetrate
matter similarly to X-rays during the beginning of the 20th century (read
more about this in Grade 11). In 1911, Ernest Rutherford modified the
model of the atom using this observation.

The cubic model and the Saturnian model were two other models for the
atom that were put forth. The electrons were envisioned to be located in
the cube's corners in the cubic model. The electrons were thought to
orbit a massive, hefty nucleus in the Saturnian concept.

Rutherford’s Model
Rutherford conducted some experiments that changed how people
thought about atoms. The atom was depicted in his new model as
having a tiny, dense, positively charged nucleus that was encircled by
lighter, negatively charged electrons. Another approach to consider this
idea is to imagine the atom as a miniature solar system, with the
electrons orbiting the nucleus like planets do the sun. A condensed
representation of this is displayed next to it. The planetary model of the
atom is another name for this theory.
Bohr’s Model
Rutherford's model did have significant drawbacks,
such as the inability to account for the intriguing
discovery that atoms only produce light
at particular wavelengths
or frequencies. By
suggesting that the electrons
could only orbit the nucleus in
specific, particular orbits at various energy
levels around the nucleus, Niels Bohr proposed
an answer to this conundrum.

James Chadwick
Rutherford predicted (in 1920) that there must be an additional particle
in the nucleus in addition to the proton. Because of the repelling
interactions between the similarly charged protons, he anticipated that
this would happen if the nucleus contained exclusively positively
charged protons. This particle would have to be electrically neutral in
order to guarantee that the atom maintains its electrical neutrality.
James Chadwick found the neutron and determined its mass in 1932.

Other Models – Quantum

Even though the Bohr model of the atom is the one that is most
frequently utilised, scientists are constantly coming up with better and
newer theories about what the atom looks like. The advent of quantum
theory was one of the most significant developments in the field of
atomic theory, which studies atoms. The development of quantum
theory involved numerous people, including Schrodinger, Heisenberg,
Born, and many more.