Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences

Content: Rutherford’s atomic theory, Bohr’s atomic theory,

spectrum
 Discovery of the Electron
In 1897 the British physicist J. J. Thomson conducted a series of experiments that showed the atoms were not indivisible
particles.

In this experiment, two electrodes from a high-voltage source are sealed into a glass tube from which the air has been
evacuated. The negative electrode is called cathode and the positive one is anode. When high-voltage current is turned
on, the glass tube emits a greenish light. This greenish light is caused by interaction of the glass with cathode rays, which
are rays that originate from the cathode.

Fig: Formation of cathode rays

After the cathode rays leave the negative electrode, they move toward the anode where some rays pass through a hole
from a beam. This beam bends away from the negatively charged plate and toward the positively charged plate. From
such evidence Thomson concluded that a cathode ray consists of a beam of negatively charged particles (electrons) and
that electrons are constituents of all matter.
 Idea of nucleus:
The gold foil experiment or α- scattering experiment
Rutherford in 1911 projected a beam of alpha (α) particles from a radioactive source
upon a very thin gold foil. The α- particles emitted from radioactive elements with great
velocities, on the average about 180,000 miles per second.

Observed results
1. most alpha particles were observed to pass straight
through the gold foil without deflection

2. a few were scattered at large angles

3. some even bounced back toward the source as if

the α-particles have met with some obstacles in
their onward journey
 Inferences/ Rutherford’s Atom Model
(1) Most of the space of an atom is empty.

(2) Most of the mass of an atom is concentrated at the centre

(99.95 % or more) – called the nucleus which is positively charged
and exceedingly small as compared to the total size of atom.

(3) Electrons move around the nucleus, almost like the solar
system in which the planets move around the sun.

(4) The number of electrons must be equal to the number of

positively charged particles in the nucleus so that the atom as a
Fig: Deflection of α- particles by
whole is neutral. nuclei in a metal foil

(5) Due to rapid rotation of electron around the nucleus, the

inward force of electrostatic attraction (centripetal force) between
electron and nucleus is exactly counterbalanced by the outward
centrifugal force.
❖The Rutherford atomic model has been alternatively called the nuclear atom, or the
planetary model of the atom or Solar system model.

❖Although most of the mass of an atom is in its nucleus, the nucleus occupies only a very
small portion of the space of the atom. Nuclei have diameters of about 10-15 m whereas
atomic diameter is about 10-10 m, a hundred thousand times larger.
 Limitations of Rutherford Atom Model
1. This model is based upon Newton’s laws of motion and gravitation. But Newton’s laws of motion
and gravitation can only be applied to neutral bodies such as planets and not to charged bodies
such as tiny electrons moving round a positive nucleus. The analogy does not hold good since the
electrons in an atom repel one another, whereas planets attract each other because of
gravitational forces. Besides there is electrostatic attraction in a nuclear atom model.

1. According to Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory, any charged body such as electrons rotating in
an orbit must radiate energy continuously thereby losing kinetic energy. Thus rotating electron
will lose energy and its orbit will become smaller and smaller and it will ultimately fall into the
nucleus following a spiral path, annihilating the atom model.

1. If there is continuous emission of radiation, the spectra of an atom will be a band or continuous
spectra. But an atom gives discontinuous or line spectra.

1. Rutherford did not give any idea about the shape of the orbits.

1. There was no explanation about the rotation of electrons in an atom with many electrons.
Spectrum

When white light is passed through a prism it is resolved into various color components of different wave length,
and what is obtained is called a spectrum. In the seventeenth century Newton showed that sun light is composed
of various color components.

Line Spectrum: A spectrum showing only certain colors or specific wavelengths of light.

Continuous spectrum: A spectrum containing light of all wavelengths.

Emission spectrum: If atoms or molecules are heated to sufficiently high temperature, they emit light of certain
wavelengths. The pattern of frequencies emitted by the substance is called emission spectrum. From the
emission spectrum we get bright lines.

Absorption spectrum: When white light is passed through a substance, black lines appear in the spectrum
where light of some wavelengths have been absorbed by the substance. The pattern of frequencies absorbed by
the substance is called absorption spectrum. From the absorption spectrum we get dark lines.
Q: Is the spectrum for the incandescent light a continuous spectrum or a line
spectrum?
Ans: Incandescent bulb is equivalent to white light, i.e it has all the seven wavelengths
of light. Therefore when passed through a prism it is disperses into all the seven
wavelengths without any spaces or boundaries and is obtained on the screen as a
continuous spectrum.

Emission spectrum: If atoms or molecules are heated to sufficiently high temperature,

they emit light of certain wavelengths. The pattern of frequencies emitted by the
substance is called emission spectrum. From the emission spectrum we get bright
lines.
Q: How is a bright line spectrum produced?
When electrons jump from the excited state to the ground state, the electrons emit
energy in the form of light, producing a bright-line spectrum. Each element has its own
unique bright-line spectrum.

Absorption spectrum: When white light is passed through a substance, black lines
appear in the spectrum where light of some wavelengths have been absorbed by the
substance. The pattern of frequencies absorbed by the substance is called absorption
spectrum.
From the absorption spectrum we get dark lines.
 ΔEelectron = Ephoton

Rydberg Constant, RH=2.18 x 10-18 J

• When the atom emits energy, the electron moves closer to the nucleus (nfinal < ninitial), so the atom’s final energy is a larger negative
number and ΔE is negative.
• When the atom absorbs energy, the electron moves away from the nucleus (nfinal > ninitial), so the atom’s final energy is a smaller negative
number and ΔE is positive.
H-atom spectrum
 Planck’s constant, h= 6.626 x 10 -34 Js

Rydberg equation:
If an electron jumps from the 4th orbit to the 2nd orbit, how much energy would it absorb or emit? Also
determine the wavelength of the emitted photon. 4.09x 10-19 J, 4.86 x 10-7 m
 Bohr’s Atom Model
1. Postulates of Energy Levels
▪ An atom has a number of stable orbits in which an electron can revolve without
the radiation of energy. These orbits are referred to as ‘Energy Levels’.

▪ An electron moving in an orbit can have only certain amount of energy, not an
infinite number of values, i.e., its energy is quantized.

▪ While rotating in an orbit an electron does not absorb or emit energy.

▪ The energy that an electron needs in order to move in a particular orbit

depends on the radius of the orbit. An electron in an orbit distant from the
nucleus requires higher energy than an electron in an orbit near the nucleus.

▪ If the electrons moves in a circular orbit, its motion is subject to the ordinary laws
of electrical and centrifugal force. These orbits are decided by the condition that
the angular momentum of the electron in such orbit must be an integral multiple
of h/2π, that is,
mvr = nh/2π

where, m is the mass of the electron, v is its velocity, r is the radius of the orbit, h
is the Plank’s constant and n is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc.
2. Postulates of radiation of energy

When an electron jumps from one energy level to another there is absorption
or emission of energy. When an electron moves from a higher energy level to
lower energy level there is emission of radiation and when electron moves
from a lower level to a higher one there is absorption of radiation. The energy
radiated is electromagnetic.

If E1 and E2 are energies of electron in the initial and final levels respectively, the
difference of energy radiated when the electron passes from the higher to the
lower energy level is given by the relation: E2 – E1 = hʋ
where h is the Plank’s constant and ʋ is the frequency of radiation.
 Limitations of Bohr Theory
1. Bohr theory successfully explain spectrum of hydrogen, but can not
explain the spectral lines of atoms with more than one electron.

1. This theory is unrealistic in the sense that periodic motion around a

central body usually follows an elliptical path rather than a circular path
which has been assumed in the case of Bohr theory. If electrons follow
elliptical path, the velocity along the path does not remain constant.

1. According to Bohr’s model when an electron jumps from one energy level
to another, a single line is supposed to appear on the spectra. However,
when a spectrograph is developed with high resolving power there are
two or more lines very close together are observed. Bohr’s atom model
gives no explanation on this.