Atoms

History of the Atom

  • John Dalton

    John Dalton
    Proposed an ¨atomic theory¨ with spherical solid atoms based upon measurable properties of mass.
  • Dalton's Model

    He came up with this Atomic theory as a final result of his investigation into gases. He discovered that certain gases can only be combined in certain proportions, even if two different compounds shared same element or group elements.
  • William Crookes

    William Crookes
    Discovered cathode rays had the following properties: travel in straight lines from the cathode; cause glass to fluoresce; impart a negative charge to objects they strike; are deflected by electric fields and magnets to suggest a negative charge; cause pinwheels in their path to spin indicating they have mass.
  • J.J. Thomson

    J.J. Thomson
    Used a CRT(Cathode Ray Tube) to experimentally determine the charge to mass ratio of an electron.
  • J.J Thomson's Model

    J.J Thomson's Model
    Thomson's model of atomic structure is often called the plum pudding model. He postulated that the negatively charged electrons, he had recently discovered, were scattered throughout a cloud of positive charge, like the plums in plum pudding.
  • Ernest Rutherford

    Ernest Rutherford
    Using alpha particles as atomic bullets, probed the atoms in a piece of thin gold foil . Established that the nucleus was: very dense,very small and positively charged. He also assumed that the electrons were located outside the nucleus.
    Gold Foil Experiment: This experiment was determined to find out the structure of an atom.
  • Rutherford Model

    Rutherford Model
    This model can also be called nuclear atom, or planetary model of the atom. What this model describes is that it describes the atom as a positive charged core called nucleus, tiny ,dense, in which all mass is concentrated.
  • James Chadwick

    James Chadwick
    Using alpha particles discovered a neutral atomic particle with a mass close to a proton. Thus was discovered the neutron.
  • Niels Bohr

    Niels Bohr
    Developed an explanation of atomic structure that underlies regularities of the periodic table of elements. His atomic model had atoms built up of sucessive orbital shells of electrons.
  • Borh Model

    Borh Model
    The atom consists of a nucleus with electrons orbiting at specific energy levels. Absorbed photons cause electrons to jump between energy levels.
  • Quantun Mechanical Model

    Quantun Mechanical Model
    Electrons are defined as standing waves. The electron probability distribution gives the areas in which the probability of electron presence is high.