Atomic Theory

Name: Akeela Mc Allister

Aaliyah Trotz
Class: 10 Science
Date: 18th November 2022
Teacher: Miss Bovell

What is atomic theory ?

Atomic theory is the theory that all matter is made up of tiny indivisible particles called
atoms. According to modern interpretations of the theory, the atoms of each element are
effectively identical, but differ from those of other elements, and unite to form
compounds in fixed proportions.
Ancient philosophical speculation that all things can be accounted for by innumerable
combinations of hard, small, indivisible particles ,called atoms, of various sizes but of
the same basic material; or the modern scientific theory of matter according to which the
chemical elements that combine to form the great variety of substances consist
themselves of aggregations of similar subunits (atoms) possessing nuclear and electron
substructure characteristic of each element.
With the advent of quantum mechanics and the Schrödinger equation in the 1920s,
atomic theory became a precise mathematical science. Austrian physicist Erwin
Schrödinger devised a partial differential equation for the quantum dynamics of atomic
electrons, including the electrostatic repulsion of all the negatively charged electrons
from each other and their attraction to the positively charged nucleus. The equation can
be solved exactly for an atom containing only a single electron (hydrogen), and very
close approximations can be found for atoms containing two or three electrons (helium
and lithium, respectively).

How Scientists impacted the atomic

theory
John Dalton’s Atomic Theory
Although the concept of the atom dates back to the ideas of Democritus, the English
meteorologist and chemist John Dalton formulated the first modern description of it as the
fundamental building block of chemical structures. Dalton also believed atomic theory could
explain why water absorbed different gases in different proportions: for example, he found
that water absorbed carbon dioxide far better than it absorbed nitrogen. Dalton hypothesized
this was due to the differences in the mass and complexity of the gases' respective particles.
Indeed, carbon dioxide molecules (CO2) are heavier and larger than nitrogen molecules (N2).
Dalton made three theories:
 Dalton proposed that each chemical element is composed of atoms of a single, unique
type, and though they cannot be altered or destroyed by chemical means, they can
combine to form more complex structures (chemical compounds).

 All atoms of an element are alike in mass and other properties, but the atoms of one
element differ from all other elements,

 For each compound, different elements combine in a simple numerical ratio.

 Dalton's theory has not proven to be correct under all circumstances. The first rule was
proven incorrect when scientists divided atoms in a process called nuclear fission (the
reaction of when the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller nuclei).
The second rule was proven incorrect by the discovery that not all atoms of the same
element have the same mass; there are different isotopes (atoms that have the same atomic
number but same mass number). However, these failures do not justify discarding the atomic
theory. It correctly explains the law of conservation of mass: if atoms of an element are
indestructible, then the same atom must be present after a chemical reaction and, and the
mass must be constant. Dalton’s atomic theory also explains the law of constant composition:
if all the atoms of an element are alike in mass and if atoms unite in fixed numerical ratios,
the percent composition of a compound must have a unique value without regards to the
sample analyzed. The atomic theory led to the creation of the law of multiple proportions.

The law of multiple proportions

The law of multiple proportions states that if two elements form more than one compound
between them, the masses of one element combined with a fixed mass of the second element
form in ratios of small integers. The illustration of the third rule of the atomic theory
correctly depicts this law.

Discovery of electrons
They were discovered when Joseph John Thomson made observations that
cathode rays, which are a type of radiation emitted by the negative terminal known as a
cathode, passes electricity through nearly-evacuated glass tubes. The radiation crosses
the evacuated tube to the positive terminal, the anode. J.J Thompson concluded that
cathode rays are negatively charged particles that are located in all atoms. After he
discovered the electron he proposed the plum pudding model of an atom, which states
that the electrons float in positively charged material.
 Discovery of protons
The proton was discovered by Ernest Rutherford in the early 1900’s. during this
period his research resulted in a nuclear reaction which led to the first ‘splitting’ of the
atom. He performed experiments studying the inner structure of atoms using alpha
particles. Rutherford knew that alpha particles are significantly more massive than
electrons and positively charged. He predicted that particles in an alpha beam would
largely pass-through matter unaffected, with a small number of particles slightly
deflected. The particles would only be deflected if they happened to come into contact
with electrons. He shot a beam of alpha particles at a piece of gold foil. This experiment
produced results that contradicted Rutherford's hypothesis. Rutherford observed that the
majority of the alpha particles went through the foil; however, some particles were
slightly deflected, a small number were greatly deflected, and another small number
were thrown back in nearly the direction from which they had come.

Discovery of neutrons
 By 1920, physicists knew that most of the mass of the atom was located in a
nucleus at its center, and that this central core contained protons. In May 1932 James
Chadwick announced that the core also contained a new uncharged particle, which he
called the neutron. Rutherford had discovered the atomic nucleus in 1911. However, it
seemed there must be something in the nucleus in addition to protons. For instance,
helium was known to have an atomic number of 2 but a mass number of 4. Some
scientists thought there were additional protons in the nucleus, along with an equal
number of electrons to cancel out the additional charge. In 1920, Rutherford proposed
that an electron and a proton could actually combine to form a new, neutral particle, but
there was no real evidence for this, and the proposed neutral particle would be difficult
to detect. Around 1930, several researchers, including German physicist Walter Bothe
and his student Becker had begun bombarding beryllium with alpha particles from a
polonium source and studying the radiation emitted by the beryllium as a result.
Chadwick had noticed some odd features of this radiation, and began to think it might
instead consist of neutral particles such as those Rutherford had proposed.
Frederic and Irene Joliot-Curie preformed and experiment when beryllium hit a
paraffin wax target and knocked loose protons from hydrogen atoms. Joliot-Curie
believed that this was because of high energy gamma photons, but Chadwick thought
that explanation didn’t fit. Photons, having no mass, wouldn’t knock loose particles as
heavy as protons from the target, he reasoned. In 1932, he tried similar experiments
himself, and became convinced that the radiation ejected by the beryllium was in fact a
neutral particle about the mass of a proton. He also tried other targets in addition to the
paraffin wax, including helium, nitrogen, and lithium, which helped him determine that
the mass of the new particle was just slightly more than the mass of the proton.
Chadwick also noted that because the neutrons had no charge, they penetrated
much further into a target than protons would. This discovery completed the atomic
model.