Models of the atom
It is important to realise that a lot of what we know about the structure of atoms has been
developed over a long period of time. This is often how scientific knowledge develops, with one
person building on the ideas of someone else. We are going to look at how our modern
understanding of the atom has evolved over time.
The origins of atomic theory
The idea of atoms was invented by two Greek philosophers, Democritus and Leucippus in the
fifth century BC. The Greek word oo (atom) means indivisible because they believed that
atoms could not be broken into smaller pieces.
Nowadays, we know that atoms are made up of a positively charged nucleus in the centre
surrounded by negatively charged electrons. However, in the past, before the structure of the
atom was properly understood, scientists came up with lots of different models or pictures to
describe what atoms look like.
Definition 1: Model
A model is a representation of a system in the real world. Models help us to understand
systems and their properties.
For example, an atomic model represents what the structure of an atom could look like, based on
what we know about how atoms behave. It is not necessarily a true picture of the exact structure
of an atom.
Models are often simplified. The small toy cars that you may have played with as a child are
models. They give you a good idea of what a real car looks like, but they are much smaller and
much simpler. A model cannot always be absolutely accurate and it is important that we realise
this, so that we do not build up an incorrect idea about something.
Dalton's model of the atom
John Dalton proposed that all matter is composed of very small things which he called atoms.
This was not a completely new concept as the ancient Greeks (notably Democritus) had proposed
that all matter is composed of small, indivisible (cannot be divided) objects. When Dalton
proposed his model electrons and the nucleus were unknown.
Thomson's model of the atom
After the electron was discovered by J.J. Thomson in 1897, people realised that atoms were
made up of even smaller particles than they had previously thought. However, the atomic
nucleus had not been discovered yet and so the plum pudding model was put forward in 1904.
In this model, the atom is made up of negative electrons that float in a soup of positive charge,
much like plums in a pudding or raisins in a fruit cake (Figure 2). In 1906, Thomson was
awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in this field. However, even with the Plum Pudding Model,
there was still no understanding of how these electrons in the atom were arranged.
The discovery of radiation was the next step along the path to building an accurate picture of
atomic structure. In the early twentieth century, Marie and Pierre Curie, discovered that some
elements (the radioactive elements) emit particles, which are able to pass through matter in a
similar way to Xrays (read more about this in Grade 11). It was Ernest Rutherford who, in 1911,
used this discovery to revise the model of the atom.
Interesting Fact:
Two other models proposed for the atom were the cubic model and the Saturnian model. In the
cubic model, the electrons were imagined to lie at the corners of a cube. In the Saturnian model,
the electrons were imagined to orbit a very big, heavy nucleus.
Rutherford's model of the atom
Rutherford carried out some experiments which led to a change in ideas around the atom. His
new model described the atom as a tiny, dense, positively charged core called a nucleus
surrounded by lighter, negatively charged electrons. Another way of thinking about this model
was that the atom was seen to be like a mini solar system where the electrons orbit the nucleus
like planets orbiting around the sun. A simplified picture of this is shown alongside. This model
is sometimes known as the planetary model of the atom.
Bohr's model of the atom
There were, however, some problems with Rutherford's model: for example it could not explain
the very interesting observation that atoms only emit light at certain wavelengths or frequencies.
Niels Bohr solved this problem by proposing that the electrons could only orbit the nucleus in
certain special orbits at different energy levels around the nucleus.
James Chadwick
Rutherford predicted (in 1920) that another kind of particle must be present in the nucleus along
with the proton. He predicted this because if there were only positively charged protons in the
nucleus, then it should break into bits because of the repulsive forces between the like-charged
protons! To make sure that the atom stays electrically neutral, this particle would have to be
neutral itself. In 1932 James Chadwick discovered the neutron and measured its mass.
Other models of the atom
Although the most commonly used model of the atom is the Bohr model, scientists are still
developing new and improved theories on what the atom looks like. One of the most important
contributions to atomic theory (the field of science that looks at atoms) was the development of
quantum theory. Schrodinger, Heisenberg, Born and many others have had a role in developing
quantum theory.
Exercise 1: Models of the atom
Problem 1:
Match the information in column A, with the key discoverer in column B.
Column A
Column B
1. Discovery of electrons and
A. Niels Bohr
the plum pudding model
2. Arrangement of electrons
B. Marie and
Pierre Curie
3. Atoms as the smallest
building block of matter
C. Ancient Greeks
and Dalton
4. Discovery of the nucleus
D. J.J. Thomson
5. Discovery of radiation
E. Rutherford
