Andrea Jezabel López González

Atomic models
Atomic models to the different graphical representations of structure and function
of atoms. Atomic models have been developed throughout the history of
humanity based on the ideas that were handled in each era regarding the composition of the
matter.

Atomic Model of Democritus

The 'Atomic Theory of the Universe' was created by the Greek philosopher
Democritus alongside his mentor, Leucippus. At that time the
knowledge was not acquired through experimentation, but rather
through logical reasoning, based on the formulation and the
debate of ideas.
Democritus proposed that the world was made up of very small particles.
small and indivisible, of eternal existence, homogeneous and incompressible, whose only
differences were in shape and size, never in internal functioning. These particles were
they were baptized as 'atoms', a word that comes from the Greek atémnein and means 'indivisible'.
According to Democritus, the properties of matter were determined by the way in which the
atoms were grouped together. Later philosophers such as Epicurus added movement to the theory
random of the atoms.

Dalton's Atomic Model

Between 1803 and 1808, John Dalton, based on the ideas of the Atomists,
according to some historians, presented an atomic model that
it finally resonated with the physicists of the time. To begin with,
Dalton was a scientist and his model was the result of the
conclusions of various experiments conducted with gases. Based on
in the results of his research, Dalton was able to demonstrate that
atoms really exist, something that Democritus had only inferred,
creating one of the most important theories in the history of physics
modern.

Basic principles of Dalton's atomic model

• All matter is made of atoms. Absolutely everything we know is made of
of atoms both on Earth and in the known universe. Each of the elements is
made of atoms.

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• Atoms are indivisible and indestructible. Dalton believed that atoms were the
smaller particles of matter and were chemically indestructible.
• All atoms of a given element are identical. For a given element, all
Their atoms have the same mass and the same characteristics.
• Atoms of different elements vary in mass and properties. Each element has
atoms of different characteristics and mass.
• Compounds are made up of a combination of two or more different types of.
Atoms. A given compound always has the same types of atoms combined.
and in the same proportions.
• A chemical reaction is a rearrangement of atoms. Chemical reactions are the
result of a separation, union, or reorganization of atoms. However, the atoms
The atoms of one element never change into atoms of another element as a result of a reaction.
chemistry.

Thomson's Atomic Model

Thomson thought that electrons were immersed in a
substance with a positive charge that countered the negative charge of
the electrons, since atoms have a neutral charge. Something
similar to having a jelly with raisins floating inside. For this
His atomic model was known as the plum pudding model.
with raisins.

In this model Thompson still called a the

corpuscles of electrons and considered that they were arranged in
non-randomly, in rotating rings. However, the positive part remained in form
undefined. This model created in 1904 never had widespread academic acceptance and
it was quickly dismissed when in 1909 Geiger and Marsden conducted the experiment of the
gold leaf.

Basic principles of Thomson's atomic model

• An atom resembles a sphere with positively charged matter and electrons.
(negatively charged particles) present inside the sphere.
• The positive and negative charge is equal in magnitude and, therefore, an atom has no charge.
as a whole and is electrically neutral.
• To have atoms with a neutral charge, electrons should be immersed in a
substance with a positive charge.
• This model did not have an atomic core.

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Rutherford's Atomic Model

The Rutherford Atomic Model was created by Ernest Rutherford (20
August 1871 - October 19, 1937). He is also called the
planetary model and was developed in 1911.
After Thomson's model which considered that the
electrons were in a positively charged medium, two
assistants of Rutherford, Geiger, and Marsden, conducted in 1909 a
study known as "the gold leaf experiment", which
demonstrated that Thomson's 'plum pudding' model was wrong, as
They showed that the atom had a structure with a strong positive charge.
This experiment, designed and supervised by Rutherford, led to conclusions that
They ended in the atomic model of Rutherford presented in 1911.

The gold leaf experiment

This series of experiments were conducted between
1909 and 1913 in the physics laboratories of the
University of Manchester by a couple of scientists,
Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden, collaborators of
Ernest Rutherford and under his supervision.
The experiment consisted of bombarding with particles
alpha a thin sheet of gold 100 nm thick.
Alpha particles were ions, that is, atoms without electrons, so they only had protons.
and neutrons and consequently a positive charge. If Thomson's model was correct, the
Alpha particles would pass through gold atoms in a straight line.
To study the deflection caused to alpha particles, he placed a fluorescent filter of sulfur.
of zinc around the thin sheet of gold where they could observe that, although some
particles passed through gold atoms in a straight line, but others were deflected in
random directions.

Basic principles of Rutherford's atomic model

• Particles with positive charge are found in a very small volume compared to
with the size of the atom.
• Most of the mass of the atom is found in that small central volume.
Rutherford did not call it 'nucleus' in his early papers, but he did so starting in 1912.
• Electrons with a negative electric charge orbit around the nucleus.
• Electrons rotate at high speeds around the nucleus in circular paths.
which he called orbits.

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• Both negatively charged electrons and the positively charged nucleus

are held together by an electrostatic attractive force.

Bohr Atomic Model

The Bohr atomic model was created by Niels Bohr (October 7th
1885–November 18, 1962). He is also called the model
Rutherford-Bohr atomic model and was developed in 1913.

The Bohr model indicated that electrons orbit around the nucleus,
but in certain permitted orbits with a specific energy
proportional to the Planck constant. These defined orbits are referred to
referred to as energy shells or energy levels. In other words, the energy of an electron
Inside an atom is not continuous, but 'quantized'. These levels are labeled with the
quantum number n that he said could be determined using the Rydberg formula.

This model of energy levels meant that electrons can only gain or lose
energy jumping from one allowed orbit to another and when this happens, it would absorb or emit radiation
electromagnetic in the process.
Basic principles of Bohr's atomic model
• Positively charged particles are found in a very small volume compared to
with the size of the atom and contain most of the mass of the atom.
• Electrons with negative electric charge orbit around the nucleus.
circulars.
• Electrons orbit the nucleus in orbits that have a set size and energy.
Therefore, they do not exist in an intermediate state between the orbits.
• The energy of the orbit is related to its size. The lowest energy is found
in the smallest orbit. The farther the energy level is from the nucleus, the greater
it will be the energy it has.
• Energy levels have different numbers of electrons. The lower it is
The lower the energy level, the fewer electrons it will contain, for example, the level
Level 1 contains up to 2 electrons, level 2 contains up to 8 electrons, and so on.
• Energy is absorbed or emitted when an electron moves from one orbit to another.

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Schrödinger's Atomic Model

Based on a mathematical foundation, he developed two equations.
they intended to find out the probability of finding a particle
inside the atom, as Marx Born had suggested. This it
it would lead to a more precise calculation by coining the term orbital,
that is, region with the highest probability of finding electrons.
To this end, he adopted the contributions of Bohr, a proponent of energy
quantized atomic, in which any orbital change of the electron
it involves the emission or absorption of photons, associated with a differential
energetic. De Broglie supported the wave-particle duality of electrons and admitted the
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.

The Schrödinger equation

The mathematical models of Schrödinger differ from each other, proposing the evolution of
quantum space with or without the time variable (t). In this way, it unveiled the equation
independent of t, where the wave does not move, but acts as an axis for it
structure it does.

Hᴪ = Eᴪ
The contributions of Schrödinger's atomic model aim to clarify the unknown.
known as the wave function. This unknown contains all the theoretical information about the
quantum system and allows us to describe the behavior of the particles that make up the
atom.
The contributions of Schrödinger's atomic model
Schrödinger arrived at what is known as the wave quantum model, asserting duality.
wave-particle of electrons arranged in different energy levels, which describe
stationary waves around the nucleus. Therefore, they could not be classified as particles
fixed in determined positions, but as elements in constant motion.
Schrödinger's atomic model aims to elucidate the movement of the electron and its distribution.
in terms of probability, but does not consider matters such as the stability of the atom or its
parts. Following the Schrödinger equation, discrete energy values are obtained if the
an electron moves in a confined space. While it will emit continuous intervals of
energy when moving freely

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Chadwick's Atomic Model

The model proposed by James Chadwick focuses on the
modeling of the atomic nucleus consisting not only of protons
(positive charges), but also by neutrons (neutral charges).
Following his discovery of the neutron, in 1932 Chadwick
conceived that the model initially considered that the neutron
it was a arrangement consisting of a proton and an electron, which
It generated the neutral charge. Later on, the German physicist Werner
Heisenberg demonstrated that the neutron was a unique particle and
elemental.
Chadwick conceived that the atom was understood as a nucleus with protons and neutrons.
assuming almost the entire mass of the atom, with electrons orbiting the nucleus in their energy levels
corresponding energy.
The discovery of the neutron and its atomic model revolutionized the traditional view of science, given
the collisions of neutrons with atomic nuclei and the expulsion of protons outside of
atom.

Current Atomic Model

It is based on quantum mechanics, particularly on the Schrödinger equation.
the Pauli exclusion principle and a property of the electron called spin. It is a
evolution of various atomic models such as those of Rutherford, Bohr, and Sommerfeld, which are
considered classics or semi-classics.
It is the most accepted and used model in the study of the structure of atoms, molecules and
in the chemical reactivity of the elements, due to the accuracy of their predictions and its
relative simplicity.
In the current vision of the atom, based on non-relativistic quantum mechanics, the concept does not fit.
of electronic orbits in the style of planetary systems. However, the most widespread image
The atom still has a central positive nucleus and some little points of electric charge.
negative (the electrons), rotating in perfectly defined orbits around the central nucleus.
However, despite its rooting, it no longer corresponds to the current atomic model.

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Bibliography
• Martínez, S. G. and Pérez, W. B. (2012). Atomic Models. Academic Portal of CCH, UNAM.
Unable to access external links..
• From Writing, E. (2022, December 15). Dalton's atomic model. [Link].
Retrieved February 24, 2023, from[Link]
[Link]
• Chadwick atomic model (1932 AD). (2022, December 28). Educational corner. Retrieved 24 of
February 2023, ofUnable to access the provided URL.
chadwick-1932-dc/
• Current atomic model. (2022, August 12). Educational corner. Retrieved February 24, 2023, from
Unable to access the content of the provided URL.