Key points
J.J. Thomson's experiments with cathode ray tubes showed that all atoms contain tiny negatively charged subatomic particles or electrons.
Thomson's plum pudding model of the atom had negatively-charged electrons embedded within a positively-charged "soup."
Rutherford's gold foil experiment showed that the atom is mostly empty space with a tiny, dense, positively-charged nucleus.
Based on these results, Rutherford proposed the nuclear model of the atom.
Introduction: Building on Dalton's atomic theory
In a previous article on Dalton's atomic theory, we discussed the following postulates:
All matter is made of indivisible particles called atoms, which cannot be created or destroyed.
Atoms of the same element have identical mass and physical properties.
Compounds are combinations of atoms of
or more elements.All chemical reactions involve the rearrangement of atoms.
Dalton's ideas proved foundational to modern atomic theory. However, one of his underlying assumptions was later shown to be incorrect. Dalton thought that atoms were the smallest units of matter
J.J. Thomson and the discovery of the electron
In the late
To test the properties of the particles, Thomson placed two oppositely-charged electric plates around the cathode ray. The cathode ray was deflected away from the negatively-charged electric plate and towards the positively-charged plate. This indicated that the cathode ray was composed of negatively-charged particles.
Thomson also placed two magnets on either side of the tube, and observed that this magnetic field also deflected the cathode ray. The results of these experiments helped Thomson determine the mass-to-charge ratio of the cathode ray particles, which led to a fascinating discovery
The cathode ray is composed of negatively-charged particles.
The particles must exist as part of the atom, since the mass of each particle is only
the mass of a hydrogen atom.These subatomic particles can be found within atoms of all elements.
While controversial at first, Thomson's discoveries were gradually accepted by scientists. Eventually, his cathode ray particles were given a more familiar name: electrons. The discovery of the electron disproved the part of Dalton's atomic theory that assumed atoms were indivisible. In order to account for the existence of the electrons, an entirely new atomic model was needed.
Concept check: Why did Thomson conclude that electrons could be found in atoms of all elements?
As part of his experiments with cathode ray tubes, Thomson tried changing the cathode material, which was the source of the particles. Since the same particles were emitted even when the cathode materials were changed to different metals, Thomson concluded that the particle was a fundamental part of all atoms.
The plum pudding model
Thomson knew that atoms had an overall neutral charge. Therefore, he reasoned that there must be a source of positive charge within the atom to counterbalance the negative charge on the electrons. This led Thomson to propose that atoms could be described as negative particles floating within a soup of diffuse positive charge. This model is often called the plum pudding model of the atom, due to the fact that its description is very similar to plum pudding, a popular English dessert (see image below).
Given what we know now about the actual structure of atoms, this model might sound a little far-fetched. Luckily, scientists continued to investigate the structure of the atom, including testing the validity of Thomson's plum pudding model.
Concept check: Thomson proposed an atomic model with distinct negative charges floating within a "sea" of positive charge. Can you think of another model of the atom that would explain Thomson's experimental results?
There are many models of the atom that might explain Thomson's results! Other models proposed at the time included Hantaro Nagaoka's "planetary model," which had the electrons revolving around a positively charged "planet" like the rings around Saturn.
Ernest Rutherford and the gold foil experiment
The next groundbreaking experiment in the history of the atom was performed by Ernest Rutherford, a physicist from New Zealand who spent most of his career in England and Canada. In his famous gold foil experiment, Rutherford fired a thin beam of
Believe it or not, the use of gold was not simply a result of Rutherford's extravagant taste. Gold is incredibly malleable, which means it can be hammered into extremely thin sheets. In fact, the thinnest gold sheets can have widths as small as
Based on Thomson's plum pudding model, Rutherford predicted that most of the
The results of the experiment, however, were striking. While almost all of the
The nuclear model of the atom
Based on his experimental results, Rutherford made the following conclusions about the structure of the atom:
The positive charge must be localized over a very tiny volume of the atom, which also contains most of the atom's mass. This explained how a very small fraction of the
particles were deflected drastically, presumably due to the rare collision with a gold nucleus.Since most of the
particles passed straight through the gold foil, the atom must be made up of mostly empty space!
This led Rutherford to propose the nuclear model, in which an atom consists of a very small, positively charged nucleus surrounded by the negatively charged electrons. Based on the number of
The nuclear model explained Rutherford's experimental results, but it also raised further questions. For example, what were the electrons doing in the atom? How did the electrons keep themselves from collapsing into the nucleus, since opposite charges attract? Luckily, science was ready for the challenge! Physicists such as Niels Bohr continued to design experiments to test the nuclear model of the atom, which eventually evolved into the modern quantum mechanical model.
Summary
J.J. Thomson's experiments with cathode ray tubes showed that all atoms contain tiny negatively charged subatomic particles or electrons.
Thomson proposed the plum pudding model of the atom, which had negatively-charged electrons embedded within a positively-charged "soup."
Rutherford's gold foil experiment showed that the atom is mostly empty space with a tiny, dense, positively-charged nucleus.
Based on these results, Rutherford proposed the nuclear model of the atom.
Attributions
This article was adapted from the following articles:
“Evolution of Atomic Theory” from Openstax, CC BY 4.0.
"Atomic Theory" from UC Davis ChemWiki, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US.
The modified article is licensed under a CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
Additional References
Zumdahl, S.S., and Zumdahl S.A. (2003). Atomic Structure and Periodicity. In Chemistry (6th ed., pp. 290-94), Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Kotz, J. C., Treichel, P. M., Townsend, J. R., and Treichel, D. A. (2015). Key Experiments: How Do We Know the Nature of the Atom and Its Components? In Chemistry and Chemical Reactivity, Instructor's Edition (9th ed., pp. 54-55). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.