The Quantum Mechanical Model of the Atom

Energy Is Quantized
After Max Planck determined that energy is released and absorbed by atoms in certain fixed amounts
known as quanta, Albert Einstein took his work a step further, determining that radiant energy is also
quantizedhe called the discrete energy packets photons. Einsteins theory was that electromagnetic
radiation (light, for example) has characteristics of both a wave and a stream of particles.

The Bohr Model of the Atom
In 1913, Niels Bohr used what had recently been discovered about energy to propose his planetary model
of the atom. In the Bohr model, the neutrons and protons are contained in a small, dense nucleus, which
the electrons orbit in defined spherical orbits. He referred to these orbits as shells or energy levels
and designated each by an integer: 1, 2, 3, etc. An electron occupying the first energy level was thought
to be closer to the nucleus and have lower energy than one that was in a numerically higher energy level.
Bohr theorized that energy in the form of photons must be absorbed in order for an electron to move
from a lower energy level to a higher one, and is emitted when an electron travels from a higher energy
level to a lower one. In the Bohr model, the lowest energy state available for an electron is the ground
state, and all higher-energy states are excited states.

Chemistry Inorganic Chemistry Molecular Structure Bohr's Model of the Atom
Bohr's Model of the Atom
The Rutherford model had a major drawback, it could not explain why electrons do not fall into the
nucleus by taking a spiral path.
It was in concurrence with the electromagnetic theory that states "if a charged particle undergoes
accelerated motion, then it must radiate energy (lose) continuously".
The objections of Rutherford atomic model was contested by Niels Bohr atomic model in 1913. Niels Bohr
proposed the quantum theory of an atom. The theory was based on the quantum theory of radiation.
Bohr retained the main postulates of Rutherford planetary model and did some medication on the basis
of quantum physics. Hence, Bohr atomic model is also known as Rutherford-Bohr atomic model.
He depicts the atom as a tiny, spherical body which consists nucleus at center and negatively charged
particles (electrons) revolving around nucleus in a certain path known as orbit. He proposed some new
postulate with same basis concepts of Rutherford theory.
Bohr's Atomic Model
In order to explain the stability of an atom, Niels Bohr gave a new arrangement of electrons in the atom
in 1913. According to Niels Bohr, the electrons could revolve around the nucleus in only 'certain
orbits' (energy levels), each orbit having a different radius.
When an electron is revolving in a particular orbit or particular energy level around the nucleus, the
electron does not radiate energy (lose energy) even though it has accelerated motion around the nucleus.
Niels Bohr Atomic Theory
An atom is made up of three particles, electrons, protons and neutrons. Electrons have a negative charge
and protons have a positive charge whereas neutrons have no charge. They are neutral. Due to the
presence of equal number of negative electrons and positive protons, the atom as a whole is electrically
neutral.
The protons and electrons are located in a small nucleus at the center of the atom. Due to the presence
of protons, the nucleus is positively charged.
The electrons revolve rapidly around the nucleus in fixed circular paths called energy levels or shells. The
'energy levels' or 'shells' or 'orbits' are represented in two ways: either by the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
or by letters K, L, M, N, O and P. The energy levels are counted from center outwards.
Each energy level is associated with a fixed amount of energy. The shell nearest to the nucleus has
minimum energy and the shell farthest from the nucleus has maximum energy.
There is no change in the energy of electrons as long as they keep revolving with the same energy level.
But, when an electron jumps from a lower energy level to a higher one, some energy is absorbed while
some energy is emitted.
When an electron jumps from a higher energy level to a lower one, the amount of energy absorbed or
emitted is given by the difference of energies associated with the two levels. Thus, if an electron jumps
from orbit 1 (energy E1) to orbit 2 (energy E2), the change in energy is given by E2 - E1.
The energy change is accompanied by absorption of radiation energy of E =E2 E1 =h where, h is a constant
called 'Planck's constant' and is the frequency of radiation absorbed or emitted. The value of h is 6.626 x
10-34 J-s. The absorption and emission of light due to electron jumps are measured by use of
spectrometers.
Rutherford Model of the Atom
We know that an atom is composed of electrons, protons and neutrons. These fundamental particles are
arranged in a regular manner to form a stable atom. The negatively charged particles, electrons are placed
in fixed energy levels which are known as orbitals around the nucleus. The nucleus is placed at the center
of the atom and comprised of protons and neutrons. Overall an atom is a neutral entity due to a similar
number of electrons and protons in it. But this picture of the atom was not known earlier. Different
scientist gave their contribution in the development of atomic models.

The discovery of cathode rays proved the presence of negatively charged particles which are known
as electrons. Similarly, the existence of anode rays proved another fundamental particle of an atom that
is known as a proton. That time concept of radioactivity was well known and studied by various scientists.
The existence of the nucleus was proved by Rutherford with the help of a Rutherford atomic model. He
worked on Gold foil by bombardment of alpha particles and proved the existence of a mass body at the
center of the atom. Lets discuss the earlier models like Thomsons model and then will discuss the study
of Rutherford on atomic structure.
Thomson Model
On the basis of the results of cathode ray and anode ray experiments, J.J. Thomson purposed the first
atomic model in 1904 with the discovery of electrons.
He assumed the atom as a tiny, spherical and neutral body which is made up of positively and negatively
charged particles. These positively charged particles which were later termed protons, are distributed
equally in the atom and the negatively charged particles (electrons) are embedded in these particles just
like in a plum-pudding. Hence Thomson's atomic model is also known as "plum-pudding model".
Later, with the detection of radioactive rays by Henry Becquerel and the discovery of radioactivity by
Marie and Pierre Curie, Rutherford found out the nature of the radioactive [Math Processing Error], [Math
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But the plum-pudding model failed to explain the atomic spectrum. By 1911 the main particles of the
atom had been discovered. The atom consisted of particles called protons and electrons. However, the
arrangements of these particles in the atom was not clear. In 1904 J.J. Thomson suggested the "plum
pudding" model.
Later in 1911, Rutherford tested Thomson's theory by using "Gold foil experiment". He suggested that the
so-called "plum pudding model" put forward by J. J. Thomson was incorrect. In the gold foil experiment,
he bombarded a beam of alpha particles at a thin metal foil. A decade earlier, Rutherford identified and
named alpha particles as one of the types of radiation given off by radioactive elements like polonium,
uranium etc. Now we know that alpha particles are fast moving and positively charged Helium nuclei.
He observed that the atom consists predominantly of empty spaces with a heavy positively charged body
at the center, concentrated into a very small volume to the rest of the atom and maximum part of atom
is empty. He purposed the Rutherford atomic model also known as planetary model of the atom, in which
nearly all the mass of the atom is concentrated at the center, around which the light, negatively charged
particles, called electrons, circulate at some distance, much like planets revolving around the Sun.
He gave his model on the basis of an experiment. He was expecting the experiment result according to
the Thomson plum-pudding model. No doubt, Thomson's theory was the building block of atomic
structure. But it couldn't explain the atomic spectrum and other properties of the atom. There was no
concept of neutron also. But Rutherford's experiment gave some different results and showed a new
picture of the atomic structure.

ATOM AND ATOMIC THEORY, In ancient Greek philosophy the word atom was used to describe the
smallest bit of matter that could be conceived. This "fundamental particle," to use the present-day term
for this concept, was thought of as indestructible; in fact, the Greek word for atom means "not divisible."
Knowledge about the size and nature of the atom grew slowly throughout the centuries when people
were content merely to speculate about it.
With the advent of experimental science in the 16th and 17th centuries (see Chemistry; Science), progress
in atomic theory quickened. Chemists soon recognized that all liquids, gases, and solids can be analyzed
into their ultimate components, or elements (see Elements, Chemical). For example, salt was found to be
composed of two distinct and different elements, sodium and chlorine, which are joined together in an
intimate form known as a chemical compound. Air was discovered to consist of a mixture of the gases
nitrogen and oxygen. Water was symbolized as HOH, meaning that it consists of two atoms of hydrogen
for every atom of oxygen.

Dalton's Theory
John Dalton, a British schoolmaster and chemist, was fascinated by the patchwork puzzle of the elements.
Early in the 19th century he made studies of the way in which the various elements combine with one
another to form chemical compounds. Other scientists, among them the English physicist Sir Isaac
Newton, had already speculated that the smallest units of a substance are atoms. Dalton was regarded as
the founder of atomic theory because he made the theory quantitative. He showed how these atoms link
together in definite proportions. Subsequent investigations proved that the smallest unit of a chemical
substance such as water is a molecule. Each molecule of water consists of a single atom of oxygen and
two atoms of hydrogen joined by an electrical force called a "chemical bond." See Chemical Reaction.
All atoms of any given element behave in the same way chemically. Thus, from a chemical viewpoint, the
atom is the smallest entity to be considered. The chemical properties of the various elements are quite
different; their atoms combine in many different ways to form a multitude of different chemical
compounds. Some elements, such as the gases helium and argon, are inert, that is, they fail to react with
other elements. Unlike oxygen, which has a diatomic molecule (two atoms combined in a single molecule),
helium and other inert gases are monatomic elements, with a single atom per molecule. See Noble Gases.

Avogadro's Law
The study of gases attracted the attention of the Italian physicist Amadeo Avogadro, who in 1811
formulated an important law bearing his name (see Avogadro's Law). This law states that equal volumes
of different gases contain the same number of molecules when compared under the same conditions of
temperature and pressure. Given these conditions, two identical bottles, one filled with oxygen and the
other with helium, will contain exactly the same number of molecules. Twice as many atoms of oxygen
will be present, however, because oxygen is diatomic.