EVOLUTION OF

ATOMIC THEORY
A Comprehensive Overview of Historical
atomic Models
 THEORY ABOUT
ATOMS
An "atom" refers to the fundamental building block of matter, composed of
subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons and
neutrons reside in the nucleus, while electrons orbit the nucleus.
Electrons

protons

Neutrons
Although, we are studying about atoms and its theory
from the very begining but no one has ever “seen” the
atoms with their eyes.
While we can't perceive atoms with our naked eyes,
scientists can observe them using specialized techniques like
electron microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. These
techniques allow us to "see" the structure and arrangement of
atoms not the actual structure of atoms

scanning tunneling microscope Electron microscope

These microscopes were developed when the technology was
growing widely in the world.

Before the advancement of technology many theories related

to atomic model and its structure were proposed.In this today’s
presentation we’ve included “5” mains such theories which were
very helpful for us to understand the structure and behaviour of
atoms.
 CONTENTS

1.Dalton's atomic theory

2.JJ Thomson theory
3.Rutherford theory
4. Bohr's theory
5.Quantum mechanical theory
 Dalton’s Atomic Model:Early 1800s
John Dalton didn’t do one big experiment like other
scientists. Instead, he studied how different gases
combined in chemical reactions. He observed that
elements always combined in fixed ratios by weight.

Dalton’s postulates:
All matter is made of atoms, tiny, indivisible particles.
Atoms of the same element are exactly alike in mass and properties.
Atoms of different elements are different from each other.
Atoms combine in simple whole-number ratios to form compounds.
Atoms cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction—only
rearranged.
 Dalton’s Atomic Model:Early 1800s
Drawbacks:
1.Atoms are not indivisible.
2.No explanation of bonding or structure of atoms
3.No idea of subatomic particles

Since, Dalton’s atomic model was the first scientific model of the
atom and was a great start in the exploration of atomic model but
due to the drawbacks and lack of detailed theories a new theory of
atom was introduced.
 JJ Thomson’s Theory
JJ thomson in 1897 introduced the new model of atom
where he used a cathode ray tube to see the behaviour of
atoms.
When electricity is passed through the tube, a beam of particles called
cathode rays moved from the negative plate to the positive plate. The rays
were made up of tiny negatively charged particles — later called they are
called electrons.
 JJ Thomson’s Theory
Assumptions:
He said atoms are not indivisible — they have electrons.
His model is known as the "Plum Pudding Model".
Atom is like a positively charged sphere (like pudding).
Electrons are scattered inside it (like plums in a pudding).
The total charge is neutral, because positives cancel negatives.

Beside the various important assumptions some drawbacks are

still in the thomson’s model:
Thomson’s model did not have nucleus in it.
His model didn’t explain how electrons were arranged.

Thomson's model was an important step, but it was replaced by

Rutherford's model after 1911.
 Rutherford's model
In 1906, Rutherford Proposed a classic experiment named “α-particle
scattering experiment” to investigate the structure of atom .

Assumptions:
Atom has a tiny core nucleus which contains most of the mass(99.9%)
The nucleus is surrounded by the electrons and are moving around
orbits.
The nucleus occupies a small portion of the available space.
 Rutherford's model
Although, various assumptions were made by rutherford,
His model of atom also has some drawbacks:
Inability to explain spectral lines.
Lack of electron arrangement details.
Rutherford's model proposed electrons orbiting the nucleus in circular
paths, similar to planets around the sun. However, classical physics
states that “any charged particle in a circular orbit would accelerate
and emit electromagnetic radiation, losing energy and eventually falling
into the nucleus”. This contradicts the stability of atoms, which we know
to be quite stable.
 Bohr’s model
In 1913 Bohr retained the essential features of rutherford model and
modified it by introducing two new postulets:

1.Electrons can revolve around the nucleus only in certain allowed

cricular orbits
2.Energy is only emitted or absorbed when an electron jumps from one
energy level to another.

Long before bohr, many scientists had studied expirementally the

spectrum of H-atom. However, Bohr gave a
mathmatical explanation for this spectrum.
The whole hydrogen spectrum can be divided
into lines and groups, each lines is called the
spectral lines or series like lyman ,Balmer, paschen.
 Bohr’s model
Success of Bohr’s Theory:
The success of Bohr’s theory is not attributed so much to the picture of
atom but rather to the development of mathmatical explanation that
agrees with the expiremental observations

1.Introduced quantum mechanics.

2.Made atom stable.
3.Gave mathmatical explanation of H-series.

Bohr’s simple theory of circular orbits, inspite of its many success was found
inadequate to explain many phenomena:

1.It could not explain about the wave propoties of electrons.

2.No explanation about “Zeeman and stark effect”.
 what after Bohr’s Theory??
After Niels Bohr's atomic model, In 1926 and 1930 Erwin Schrödinger and Werner
Heisenberg made significant advancements in atomic theory. Schrödinger
developed wave mechanics, describing electrons as waves with probabilities of
being in certain locations. Heisenberg introduced the uncertainty principle, further
modifying the concept of electron motion

Sommerfied modified the bohr’s drawbacks proposing that electron revolve

around the nucleus in the elliptical orbit and bohr’s atom is a special case of
sommerfied.He also explains that the velocity of the electrons is high when near
to the nucleus and low when far.

Beside the varoius theories and research sommerfied also could not explain
about the fine lines and their intensities , Zeeman and stark effect and
arrangment of electrons in an atom.
 Quantum mechanical model
The quantum mechanical model is the modern way scientists understand how
electrons behave in an atom. It replaced older models like Bohr's, which imagined
electrons moving in fixed circular orbits.

Quantum mechanical model assumes that:

1.Electrons don’t follow clear paths: Imagine the electron is like a buzzing bee around
a flower. You can't see its exact path, but you know it's probably somewhere close to
the flower. The cloud around the flower shows where the bee (electron) might be
found.

2.Orbitals have different shapes:Orbitals can look like spheres (s-orbitals), dumbbells
(p-orbitals), and more complex shapes (d and f orbitals).

3.The model uses equations (developed by Schrödinger) to calculate the chances of

where an electron might be.
 Quantum mechanical model

Even the quantum mechanical model of the atom, while very accurate and widely accepted, has a
few limitations or drawbacks—mostly due to the complexity and abstract nature of quantum
mechanics like:

1.Hard to Visualize.
2.It's difficult to understand or apply without advanced knowledge of math and physics.
3.It doesn't tell you the exact location or path of electrons—just probabilities.
4.It works best for small systems like single atoms or very small molecules and become much
more complex for larger atoms.
 which model of atom is considered to be correct?
Despite of Numerous Theories and findings today we accept the “Quantum
Mechanical Model of the Atom” rather then other models due to its
experimental evidence, valid theories and mathmatical proof.
Conclusion: Evolution of Atomic Models
Atomic theory has evolved over centuries as scientists gathered more evidence.
Early models (like Dalton’s and Thomson’s) introduced the idea of atoms and subatomic
particles.
Rutherford showed that atoms have a dense nucleus.
Bohr introduced energy levels, improving our understanding of electron behavior.
The Quantum Mechanical Model replaced fixed orbits with probability-based orbitals and
remains the most accurate model today.
Each model improved on the last, showing how scientific understanding grows through
experiments and observation.
➡️ Today, the quantum mechanical model forms the foundation of modern physics and
chemistry.