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Dalton Model
British Chemist, John Dalton's scientific philosophy stated that individual elements consist of small atoms and different elements have atoms of different mass. Dalton pictured atoms as very small, microscopic balls. At the time, Dalton did not conclude that the atoms could be further broken down. -
Thomson Model
British scientist J.J. Thomson's updated study conveyed atoms as a positively-charged sphere with electrons scattered throughout the sphere, much like a muffin with scattered toppings. -
Nagaoka Model
Hantaro Nagaoka was a Japanese physicist who conveyed his atom model as a large positive sphere with electrons revolving around the it. This view is much like planets revolving around the sun. -
Rutherford Model
Ernest Rutherford, a physicist from Britain, simply proposed the idea that an atom is a small sphere with electrons orbiting aimlessly around a positively charged nucleus, similar to a fruit with seeds. Although much less complex than previous studies, it portrayed a realistic view of an atom at the time. -
Bohr Model
Danish physicist Niels Bohr believed that electrons were not randomely scattered around the nucleus as the previous scientists believed. His study made him believe that electrons were in moving "shells" and that atoms absorb or give off energy when the electrons transfered from one shell to another. -
Modern Model
With the many work of scientists in the 1920's, the current model of the atom was created. The current and most accurate model shows electrons forming a negatively charged cloud around the nucleus. -
Chadwick Model
British physicist James Chadwick was the first to observe the neutron. He observed that the neutron had the approximate mass of its protons without any electrical charge. Without the neutron, it would be unknown why the atom had a higher mass than its protons and electrons combined. After Chadwick, models of atoms became more accurate and understandable.
