PHYSICS OF THE

ATOM
C.Crichlow

MODELS OF THE ATOM

An atom is the smallest indivisible particle that
makes up all matter.
Over the years since the nineteenth century,
scientists have presented varying views of the
atom.

MODELS OF THE ATOM

THOMSON

RUTHERFORD

BOHR

CHADWICK

The atom was neutral .

Therefore, the negative
charges must be
balanced with positive
charges.

He proposed the nuclear

or planetary model of
the atom. The majority
of the atom he said was
made up of free space
that had no charge

He wanted to explain all

the things that
Rutherford failed to
make clear and using
quantum theory, he
worked out the
following:

Building on Rutherfords
theory that positive
charges ( protons) could
not account for the
mass of the nucleus.
Chadwick went in
search of the neutral
particle with the mass
about that of a proton
(neutron).

He established the
plum pudding model of
the atom.

99.9% of the mass was

concentrated in a small
region of positive charge
at the center of the
atom that he termed the
nucleus.

Electrons occupied
particular shells or
orbits based on their
energy levels.
An electron circled the
nucleus in its allowed
orbit without losing
energy.

An experiment
conducted by two
German scientists in
1930 yielded the
following results:
When Beryllium was hit
with alpha particles,
high energy radiation
was emitted.

He suggested that
electrons were
embedded in a diffuse
sphere of positive
charges.

Electrons were found

orbiting the space
around the nucleus( like
a tiny solar system)

Each shell can hold a

specific number of
electrons. Every atom
has a specific electron
configuration.

The radiation consisted

of particles which were
about equal the mass of
a proton but contained
no charge.

This model was not

satisfactory as it did not
account for electrons
leaving the atom with
ease.

The model was superior

to Thomsons but did
not address how the
electrons were arranged
in orbit and why they
did not fall into the
nucleus as classical
theory suggests.

The outer shell is known

as the valence shell and
this is the one involved
in electron transfer and
bonding

The atom therefore as it

is viewed today has 1) a
tiny nucleus which
contains protons and
neutrons. 2)
Electrons that move
around the nucleus in
definite shells. 3) It is

THE GEIGER-MARSDEN
EXPERIMENT

This experiment helped Rutherford to formulate his planetary model of the atom.

The apparatus was set up as shown above where - particles (a helium nucleus that contains 2
protons and 2 neutrons) are directed onto a thin metal foil.

Results show that most of the alpha particles passed through the foil without being deflected.
Therefore, atoms are made up of mostly free space.
A few particles were deflected through small angles.
Even a fewer number of particles were deflected through 90 degrees or more. They behaved as if
they had approached an area of dense positive charge and were therefore repelled.
This led to the conclusion that an atom contains a small region of positive charge (protons &
neutrons).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuU4Ayom4b0

STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM

DIAGRAM

MASS AND CHARGE

Particle Relativ
e mass
electron

An atom is normally neutral and

stable as it contains the same
number of protons and
electrons.

Relativ
e
charge

1/1840

-1

proton

+1

neutron

Mass of an electron in kg?

Mass of a proton in kg?
Charge of an electron in
Coulombs?

STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM

Atomic Number, Mass number & Isotopes
In
an atom the equation represents the
relationship between atomic number, mass
number and neutron number.
A nucleon/ mass number
Z proton/atomic number
N neutron number
Each atom is identified using a standard notation.
. Activity: write the notation of a Carbon 12 atom.

STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM

ISOTOPES
An isotope is an atom which has variations to its
mass number. These atoms have the same atomic
number but varying mass numbers i.e. they have
varying number of neutrons.
E.g. Carbon has 3 isotopes- the Carbon-12,
Carbon-13 and carbon-14 atom.

PERIODIC TABLE

The periodic table relates atoms in order of their proton number. E.g. A Boron atom
has five protons but a Carbon atom, found after Boron has 6 protons, one more than
Boron.
Going down a column (group), the number of electrons in the outer shells are the
same.

RADIOACTIVITY
This is the process whereby an unstable atom
spontaneously decays to become more stable
thereby emitting what is termed radioactive
particles.
One of the pioneers of radioactivity was Marie
Curie.

RADIOACTIVITY- MARIE CURIE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vTRrZU-LKQ

RADIOACTIVITY- Types of
Radioactive Emissions
There are 3 types of radioactive emissions.
These are ( alpha), ( gamma) and ( beta) emissions.

-particles
These are helium nuclei containing 2 protons and 2 neutrons.
-particles
These particles can be deflected in a magnetic field but in the opposite direction to an
alpha particle. They are therefore opposite in charge to these particles and were found to
be fast-moving electrons.
- radiation
This high energy radiation has a wave like nature and is part of the electro-magnetic
spectrum.

RADIOACTIVITY- Ranges of
Radioactive emissions
METHOD

Determine the background radiation count using the rate meter with no
source present
Place a pure alpha source less than 5cm from the G-M tube.
Record the rate meter reading.
Place a sheet of paper between the source and the G-M tube and record
the new rate meter reading. Repeat with thick sheets of paper.
Repeat the above steps with a pure Beta source, many sheets of paper and
sheets of aluminum of different thickness.
Repeat with a gamma source and include sheets of lead of varying
thickness.

RADIOACTIVITY- Ranges of
Radioactive emissions
RESULTS

-particles are stopped by thick sheets of paper.

-particles are stopped by between 5mm and 1
cm of Aluminum.
- radiation are not completely stopped by even
10cm of lead.

RADIOACTIVITY-Detecting
Radiation in a cloud chamber
A cloud chamber is a device that allows us to see
the paths of radioactive particles. The sunlight
entering the chamber allows the tracks to be seen
clearly from above.
A cloud chamber

Tracks of Alpha particles

Tracks of alpha particles are thick and straight.
They are bold as many water droplets form around the many ions
that are formed around the particle tracks.
They are straight as alpha particles have a large mass and
momentum.

Tracks of Beta particles

Tracks of Beta particles are thin, bent and
tortuous.
Their tracks are faint as they possess less ionizing
power.
These particles are easily deflected by electrons
of atoms in the air.

Gamma radiation tracks

Gamma radiation produces secondary tracks.
The figure on the right below shows a comparison
of all 3 track types in the cloud chamber.

Effects of Magnetic and Electric

Fields on Radioactive Emissions.
MAGNETIC FIELDS

Gamma radiation which carries no

charge is unaffected by magnetic
fields. This radiation passes undeflected.
A magnetic field strong enough to
cause a deflection in alpha particles will
bend Beta particles into circular tracks
of very small radius as in the figure to
the right.

Effects of Magnetic and Electric

Fields on Radioactive Emissions.
ELECTRIC FIELDS
Alpha particles are deflected
towards the negatively
charged plate as they are
positively charged.
Beta particles are deflected
towards the positively charged
plate as they are negative.
Gamma radiation passes undeflected as this radiation is
uncharged.

The effect of an electric field on

radioactive emissions

NUCLEAR REACTIONS

Parent nuclide

+
Daughter nuclide

Alpha particle

When a parent nuclide emits an alpha particle,

the atomic number, Z, decreases by 2 and the
mass number, A, decreases by 4.

NUCLEAR REACTIONS

Parent nuclide

()

Daughter nuclide

Beta particle

When a parent nuclide emits a Beta particle this means that

a neutron spontaneously changes into a proton and an
electron ( a beta particle). The beta particle is ejected from
the nucleus. The change from a neutron to a proton
increases atomic number by 1 but the mass number stays
the same.

()

()

 SUMMARY
-particles

-particles

-radiation

Charge

+2

-1

None

Mass
( compared to a
proton)

1/1840

None

It is stopped by

5 cm of air or a
sheet of paper

mm of
aluminum

Several cm of
lead

Penetrative
power (relative

100

10, 000

Ionizing power
(relative)

10,000
(strongest)

100

1 (weakest)

Magnetic field
deflection

Yes

Yes

No

Electric field
deflection

Yes

Yes

No

RANDOM NATURE OF
RADIOACTIVE DECAY

Radioactive decay is a random process.

At any instant, an atom may decay.
There is however, no pattern to radioactive decay.
The decay process is independent of the
conditions outside of a nucleus.
An activity that can demonstrate the random
nature of radioactive decay is the dice activity. Pg.
341 in text.
Results from this experiment give what is called a
radioactive decay curve.

RANDOM NATURE OF
RADIOACTIVE DECAY

HALF -LIFE
The

Half-life () is the time at which half of the

original number of radioactive nuclei will decay.
Half-life is specific to each radioactive element
and therefore, elements can be identified based
on their half life.

HALF-LIFE
=
Where is the initial activity of the source and is
the activity after n half-lives.
Do question # 2, pg. 346.

RADIOISOTOPES
These are radioactive isotopes, which have an
unstable atomic nucleus (due to the balance
between neutrons and protons).
They emit radioactive energy and particles when
they change to a more stable form.E.g. carbon14.

APPLICATIONS OF
RADIOISOTOPES
Tracers: When a small amount of radioactive
substance is added to a sample, the radioactive
substance acts like a tag as it can be traced.
C-14 dating.
Tracers are used medically to find tumors or clots.
They are used in chemical processes to highlight
varying stages.
They are used in industry esp. in the oil industry to
trace leaks.
https://
www.idph.state.ia.us/eh/common/pdf/radiological_hea
lth/radioisotopes.pdf

RADIATION SAFETY
Proper care must be taken when handling
radioactive samples.
No sample must enter the body through any
body orifice or cuts.
Radioactive sources should be handled with
tongs
Never point a source at anyone, including
yourself.
Safe storage.
Lead shields may also be used.

SUMMARY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJgc28csgV0

NUCLEAR ENERGY

NUCLEAR ENERGY
Nuclear
energy is released when nuclear reactions take

place.
Nuclear reactions involve either the splitting of large nuclei to
create smaller nuclei (Fission) or the bringing together of
light small nuclei to form a larger nuclei (Fusion).
A great deal of energy is released in these nuclear reactions.
This energy is characterized by Einstein's equation:
The change in energy produced by a nuclear reaction is related
to a change in mass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc2XnvSN2HY

Nuclear energy
Uranium-235 is the only naturally occurring nucleus that
can undergo fission.
The neutrons released from each fission reaction can
bombard other Uranium atoms and therefore leads to
more fissions causing a chain reaction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBdVK4cqiFs

PROS & CONS OF NUCLEAR

POWER USE
PG. 351 IN TEXT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96ejyj68IqE

END