CSEC Physics

Nuclear Physics

Subtopic: Historical Theories of the Atom

1. Democritus: A Greek philosopher (470 BC) who suggested that matter was made of tiny,
indivisible particles. These particles were called the atom. Between the atoms that made up
matter, it was believed that empty spaces exists.

2. John Dalton (1766-1844): responsible for the BILLIARD BALL MODEL. Dalton suggested an
‘indestructible particle’ theory, which suggested that mass of an atom cannot be lost. Even if
atoms react with other atoms or collide with other atoms, they remain whole and in tact.

3. Sir Joseph Thomson (1856-1940): responsible for the PLUM PUDDING MODEL (also called the
RAISIN BUN MODEL). Thomson suggested that the atom had negative charges scattered
through-out a positively charged substance. His conclusion was based off experiments involving
the CATHODE RAY TUBE. During this experiment, cathode rays were directed through a tube, in
which they were deflected away from a negatively charged plate and towards a positively
charged plate.

Figure 1 – Basic structure of a cathode ray tube.

Figure 2 – Cathode ray experiment performed by J.J. Thomson

4. Earnest Rutherford (1871-1937): Responsible for the PLANETARY MODEL of the atom.
Rutherford proposed that the atom consisted of electrons orbiting a nucleus. He believed the
electrons were kept in orbit around the nucleus because of a force of attraction between a
 positively charged nucleus and a negatively charged electron. Rutherford’s model was based on
an experiment (The Geiger-Marsden Experiment), performed by his two colleagues. This is also
known as the GOLD FOIL EXPERIMENT. In this experiment, alpha particles (which are positive)
were accelerated towards a this gold foil. Most alpha particles went straight through the foil,
and a few were reflected backwards, indicating there were small areas of positive charge in the
gold foil atoms.

Figure 3 – Gold Foil Experiment (Geiger-Marsden Experiment)

5. James Chadwick (1891-1974): Confirmed the existence of the neutron, building on Rutherford’s
planetary model. He performed an experiment in which he accelerated alpha particles towards
beryllium. After striking the beryllium, chargeless rays were produced which then accelerated
towards a paraffin sheet. These rays caused positive charges to exit the paraffin and enter and
ion collection chamber. Based on the law of conservation of momentum, for protons to be
displaced from the paraffin, the “rays” had to be neutral charges with the same mass as a
proton. Hence, neutrons….

Figure 4 – Chadwick’s experiment using an ionization chamber

6. Niels Bohr (1885-1962) : Proposed the shell model, in which electrons move around the
nucleus in a circular pattern, within orbits that are associated with a particular energy level. This
model came from the understanding of electromagnetic energy. A moving charge (i.e. electron
circling a nucleus) gives off electromagnetic energy, causing a loss of energy. This loss of energy
would eventually cause a collapsing atom, in which electrons eventually stopped moving at the
positively charged nucleus. Bohr’s proposed model addresses the problem of the collapsing
atom.