12.

ATOMS

Thomson’s model of an atom:

 Positive charge is uniformly distributed over the entire atom.

 Arrangement of electrons inside the continuous positive charge is similar to that of the
seeds in a watermelon or the plums in a pudding
 Electrons are arranged in such a manner that their mutual repulsions are balanced by
their attractions with the positively charged matter.
 Atom as a whole is stable and neutral.

Limitations:

 It could not explain the origin of several spectral series in the case of hydrogen and
other atoms.


Rutherford’s alpha particle experiment:

removed. It has a charge equal to +2e and its mass is nearly four times the mass of proton.

83Bi214 is enclosed in thick lead bloc, provided with a

through a
narrow slit. The beam is allowed to fall on a thin gold foil of thickness 2.1 x 10 -7
particles scattered in different directions are observed with the help of a rotatable detector which
consists of a Zinc sulphide screen and a microscop
produces a tiny flash, or scintillation, which is viewed through the microscope. In this way, the

enclosed in an eva

Observation:


 A few particles about 1 in 8000 gets deflected through 900 or more.
 gets rebounded from the gold foil suffering a deflection of nearly 1800.

Significance of the result:

 particles pass straight through the foil, so most of the space within atoms
must be empty.
  d suggested that all the positive
charge and the mass of the atom is concentrated in a very small region, called the
nucleus of the atom.
 Nucleus is surrounded by a cloud of electrons whole total negative charge is equal to the
total positive charge on the nucleus so that the atom as a whole is electrically neutral.

Distance of closest approach:

Suppose an
an atom. As it approaches the positive nucleus, it experiences Coulombic repulsion and its
kinetic energy gets progressively converted into electrical energy. At a certain distance ro from the
le stops for a moment and then begins to retrace its path, i.e., it is scattered
through an angle 1800. The distance r0 is called the distance of closest approach. At ro the entire

1. Impact Parameter:

The impact parameter is defined as the perpendicular distance of the velocity vector of the
-particle from the centre of the nucleus, when it is far away from the atom.

 For large impact parameters, the repulsive force experienced by the v particles is weak,

 For small impact parameter, the repulsive force is large and so the v particles is
scattered through large angle.
 For a head-
impact parameter b = 0 scattering angle θ = 1800 d back along
its original path.

Note:

– particles depends on the impact

parameter and the nature of the potential field.

2. Rutherford’s Model of an Atom:

1. An atom consists of a small and massive central core in which the entire positive charge and
almost the whole mass of the atom are concentrated. This core is called the nucleus.
2. The size of the nucleus (≈10-15 m) is very small as compared to the size of the atom (≈ 10-10 m).
3. The nucleus is surrounded by a suitable number of electrons so that their total negative charge
is equal to the total positive charge on the nucleus and the atom as a whole is electrically
neutral.
4. The electrons revolve around the nucleus in various orbits just as planets revolve around the
sun. The centripetal force required for their revolution is provided by the electrostatic
attraction between the electrons and the nucleus.

Limitations:

 Cannot explain the stability of an atom.

 According to EM theory, the accelerated charged particle must radiate
electromagnetic energy. An electron revolving around the nucleus is under
continuous acceleration towards the centre. It should continuously lose energy and
move in oribits of gradually decreasing radii. The electron should follow a spiral path
and finally it should collapse into the nucleus.
 As the electrons spiral inwards, their angular velocities and frequencies would
charge continuously, and so the frequency of emitted light will also change.
 They would emit continuous spectrum instead of the actually observed line spectrum

3. Postulates of Bohr’s theory of hydrogen atom:

1. Nuclear Concept: An atom consists of a small and massive central core, called nucleus
around which planetary electrons revolve. The centripetal force required for their rotation is
provided by the electrostatic attraction between the electrons and the nucleus.

2. Quantum Condition: Of all the possible circular orbits allowed by the classical theory,
the electrons are permitted to circulate only in those orbits in which the angular momentum of an
electron is an integral multiple of h/2π; h being Planck’s constant. Therefore, for any permitted
orbit,

L = mvr = nh/2π, n = 1,2,3………

Where L, m and v are the angular momentum, mass and speed of the electrons, r is the radius of
the permitted orbit and n is positive integer called principle quantum number. The above
equation is Bohr’s famous quantum condition.

3. Stationary Orbits: While revolving in the permissible orbits, an electron does not
radiate energy. These non-radiating orbits are called stationary orbits.

4. Frequency Condition: An atom can emit or absorb radiation in the form of discrete
energy photons only when an electron jumps from a higher to a lower orbit or from a lower to a
higher orbit, respectively. If E1 and E2 are the energies associated with these permitted orbits,
then the frequency v of the emitted or absorbed radiation is given by hv = E2 - E1. This is Bohr’s
famous frequency condition.
4. Energy Quantisation:

An electron can have only certain definite values of energy while revolving in different
orbits. This is called energy quantisation.

5. Limitations of Bohr’s Theory:

1. This theory is applicable only to hydrogen-like single electron atoms and fails in the case
of atoms with two or more electrons.
2. In the spectrum of hydrogen, certain spectral lines are not single lines but a group of
closed lines with slightly different frequencies. Bohr’s theory could not explain these
fine features of the hydrogen spectrum.
3. It does not explain why only circular orbits should be chosedn when elliptical orbits are
also possible.
4. As electrons exhibit wave properties also, so orbits of electrons cannot be exactly defined
as in Bohr’s theory.
5. Bohr’s theory does not tell anything about the relative intensities of the various spectral
lines. Bohr’s theory predicts only the frequencies of these lines.
6. It does not explain the further splitting of spectral lines in a magnetic field (Zeeman
effect) or in an electric field (Stark effect).

6. Excitation Energy:

The excitation energy of an atom is defined as the energy required by its electron to jump
from the ground state to any one of the excited states.

7. Ionisation Energy:

It is defined as the energy required to knock an electron completely out of the atom, i.e., the
energy required to take an electron from its ground state to the outermost orbit (n = ∞). After the
removal of the electron the atom is left with positive charge and it is said to ionized.

8. Excitation Potential:

It is that accelerating potential which gives to a bombarding electron, sufficient energy to

excite the target atom by raising one of its electrons from an inner to an outer orbit.

9. Ionisation Potential:

It is that accelerating potential which gives to a bombarding electron, sufficient energy to

ionise the target atom by knocking one of its electrons completely out of the atom.