WHAT IS AN ATOM?

An atom is a particle of matter that uniquely defines a chemical element. An atom

consists of a central nucleus that is usually surrounded by one or more electrons.
Each electron is negatively charged. The nucleus is positively charged, and contains one or
more relatively heavy particles known as protons and neutrons.
A proton is positively charged. The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is
the atomic number for the chemical element. A proton has a rest mass, denoted mp, of
approximately 1.673 x 10-27kilogram (kg). A neutron is electrically neutral and has a rest
mass, denoted mn, of approximately 1.675 x 10-27 kg. The mass of a proton or neutron
increases when the particle attains extreme speed, for example in a cyclotron or linear
accelerator.
The total mass of an atom, including the protons, neutrons and electrons, is the atomic
mass or atomic weight. Electrons contribute only a tiny part of this mass. For most practical
purposes, the atomic weight can be thought of as the number of protons plus the number of

neutrons. Because the number of neutrons in an atom can vary, there can be several different
atomic weights for most elements.
DEVELOPMENT OF ATOMIC THEORY

DEMOCRITUS

The Greek natural philosopher Democritus (460-370 BC) promulgated the atomic
theory, which asserted that the universe is composed of two elements: the atoms and the void
in which they exist and move.
Democritus was born in Abdera, the leading Greek city on the northern coast of the
Aegean Sea. Although the ancient accounts of Democritus's career differ widely, they all
agree that he lived to a ripe old age, 90 being the lowest figure. During that long career
Democritus wrote many books. Little Cosmology, a veritable encyclopedia, has perished
because its contents displeased those, such as the philosopher Plato, whose decisions
determined which works should be preserved. Of all of Democritus's many-sided interests,
his espousal ofthe atomic theory accounts for his renown and also for the disappearance of
the treatises which won him that renown.
Atomic Theory

Democritus did not originate the atomic theory; he learned it from its founder,
Leucippus, the author of the Big Cosmology. While this work too has vanished, some
conception of its contents may be obtained from Aristotle. He opposed the atomic theory, but
in doing so he summarized its principal doctrines. Thus he attributed to Leucippus the ideas
that the atoms are "infinite in number and imperceptible because of the minuteness of their
size. They move about in empty space (for there is empty space) and by joining together they
produce perceptible objects, which are destroyed when the atoms separate." The point at
which Leucippus's elaboration ofthe atomic theory stopped and Democritus's contributions to
it began can no longer be identified. In antiquity the theory's major features were sometimes
ascribed to Leucippus and Democritus jointly and sometimes to Democritus alone.
Perhaps according to both of them and certainly according to Democritus, the atom
was the irreducibly minimal quantity of matter. The concept of the infinite divisibility of
matter was flatly contradicted bythe atomic theory, since within the interior of the atom there
could be no physical parts or unoccupied space. Every atom was exactly like every other
atom as a piece of corporeal stuff. But the atoms differed in shape, and since their contours
showed an infinite variety and could be oriented in any direction and arranged in any order,
the atoms could enter into countless combinations. In their solid interior there was no motion,
while they themselves could move about in empty space. Thus, forthe atomic theory, the
physical universe had two basic ingredients: impenetrable atoms and penetrable space. For
Democritus, space was infinite in extent, and the atoms were infinite in number.
By their very nature the atoms were endowed with a motion that was eternal and not
initiated by any outside force. Since the atoms were not created at any time in the past and
would never disintegrate at any time in the future, the total quantity of matter inthe universe
remained constant: this fundamental principle of Democritus's atomic theory implies the
conservation of matter, the sum total of which inthe universe neither increases nor
diminishes. Though Democritus's conception of the atom has been modified in several
essential respects in modern times, his atomic theory remains the foundation of modern
science.
For Democritus, "time was uncreated." His atomic universe was temporally
everlasting and spatially boundless, without beginning and without end in either space or
time. Just as no special act of creation brought Democritus's universe into being, so the
operations of his cosmos did not serve any particular purpose. Consequently, Democritus's
3

atomic theory was irreconcilable with the teleological view, which regarded the world as
having been planned to fulfill some inscrutable destiny. As the founder of the atomic theory
declared in his only surviving statement, "Nothing occurs at random, but everything happens
for a reason and by necessity."
Moral Teachings
Just as Democritus's cosmogony invoked no creator-god, so his moral teachings
appealed to no supernatural judge of human conduct. He attributed the popular belief in Zeus
and other deities to primitive man's incomprehension of meteorological and astronomical
phenomena. To support his theory about the origin of worship of the various divinities,
Democritus assailed the widespread notion that rewards for righteous actions and
punishments for wrongdoing were administered in an afterlife. In the long history of Greek
speculation Democritus was the first thinker to deny that every human being has an
individual soul which survives the death of the body.
Democritus sought to diminish pain during life, of which "the goal is cheerfulness."
Cheerfulness is identical not with pleasure, as he was misinterpreted by some people, but
"with a calm and steady mind, undisturbed by any fear or superstition or other irrational
feeling." Yet Democritus did not advocate a quiet life of repose. His was not the outlook of
the retired citizen, drowsing in his rocking chair on the front porch and idly watching the
world go by. Democritus taught a naturalistic morality, avoiding ascetic renunciation as well
as excessive indulgence, and urging energetic participation in beneficial activities. In
particular, "Democritus recommends mastering the art of politics as most important, and
undertaking its tasks, from which significant and magnificent benefits are obtained for the
people." Perhaps from his governmental experience in Abdera, Democritus learned that
"good conduct seems to be procured better by the use of encouraging and convincing words
than by statute and coercion. For he who is restrained by law from wrongdoing is likely to
commit crime covertly. On the other hand, he who is attracted to uprightness by persuasion is
unlikely to transgress either secretly or openly."
Probing the Infinitesimal
Archimedes, the most brilliant mathematician of antiquity, gave Democritus credit for
the discovery that the volume of a cone is one-third that of a cylinder having the same base
4

and altitude. Archimedes added, however, that this theorem was enunciated by Democritus
"without proof." In Democritus's time Greek geometry had not yet reached the stage at which
it demanded rigorous proofs of its theorems. Democritus stated: "If a cone is cut by a plane
parallel to its base, shall we regard the surfaces forming the sections as equal or unequal? If
unequal, they make the cone uneven, having numerous indentations and protrusions, like a
flight of stairs. But if the surfaces are equal, the sections will be equal and the cone comes to
look like a cylinder, consisting of equal circles." Democritus's conception of the cylinder as
being made up of an indefinite number of minutely thin circular layers shows him beginning
to probe the momentous question of the infinitesimal, the starting point of a most valuable
branch of modern mathematics.

JOHN DALTON

Early Life And Education

John Dalton was born on September 6, 1766, in Eaglesfield, England. His father was a
weaver, who owned a house and a small amount of land. Both of his parents were Quakers.
Although Quakers were Christians, they were seen as dissenters by the established
Church of England. As a result of this, John Daltons higher educational opportunities were
restricted to dissenting places of education.

John Dalton was an intelligent child, who took an interest in the world around him
and tried to learn as much as he could about everything. He attended his village school until
he was 11, and then began helping as a teacher.
At age 15, he started helping his older brother John to run a Quaker boarding-school
in the town of Kendal, 40 miles from his home. All the while, he continued teaching himself
science, mathematics, Latin, Greek and French. By the time he was 19, he had become the
schools principal, continuing in this role until he was 26 years old.

Atomic Theory:
The Behavior of Gases
In 1801, Dalton gave a series of lectures in Manchester whose contents were
published in 1802. In these lectures he presented research he had been carrying out into gases
and liquids. This research was groundbreaking, offering great new insights into the nature of
gases.
Firstly, Dalton stated correctly that he had no doubt that all gases could be liquified
provided their temperature was sufficiently low and pressure sufficiently high. He then stated
that when its volume is held constant in a container, the pressure of a gas varies in direct
proportion to its temperature.
This was the first public statement of what eventually became known as Gay-Lussacs
Law, named after Joseph Gay-Lussac who published it in 1809. In 1803, Dalton published his
Law of Partial Pressures, still used by every university chemistry student, which states that in
a mixture of non-reacting gases, the total gas pressure is equal to the sum of the partial
pressures of the individual gases.
By now, Daltons work had distinguished him as a scientist of the first rank, and he
was invited to give lectures to the Royal Institution in London.

Dalton and Atoms

His study of gases led Dalton to wonder about what these invisible substances were actually
made of.
The idea of atoms had first been proposed more than 2000 years earlier by Democritus in
Ancient Greece. Democritus believed that everything was made of tiny particles called atoms

and that these atoms could not be split into smaller particles. Was Democritus right? Nobody
knew!
Dalton was now going to solve this 2000 year-old mystery.
He carried out countless chemical reactions, and in 1808 published what we now
call Daltons Law in his book A New System of Chemical Philosophy:
If two elements form more than one compound between them, then the ratios of the masses of
the second element which combine with a fixed mass of the first element will be ratios of
small whole numbers.
For example, Dalton found that 12 grams of carbon could react with 16 grams of oxygen to
form the compound we now call carbon monoxide or with 32 grams of oxygen to form
carbon dioxide. The ratio of oxygen masses of 32:16, which simplifies to 2:1 intrigued
Dalton. Analyzing all of the data he had collected, Dalton stated his belief that matter exists
as atoms. He went further than Democritus, by stating that atoms of different elements have
different masses. He also published diagrams showing, for example:
1. How atoms combines to form molecules

Here, at the top of his diagram, Dalton assigns atom 1 to be hydrogen, 2 nitrogen, 3
carbon, 4 oxygen, 5 phosphorus, etc. He then shows how molecules might look when the
atoms combine to form compounds. For example, molecule 21 is water (OH), 22 is ammonia
(NH) and 23 is nitrogen oxide (NO). Of these molecules, the modern reader will notice that
Dalton got molecules 21 and 22 wrong.
This is less important than the fact that Daltons system of atoms and molecules is
almost identical to how we might represent them today. For example, Daltons molecule 28 is
carbon dioxide. Today, we would still draw carbon dioxide in this way.
2. How molecules of water might look in ice

Here Dalton shows how water molecules might arrange themselves when they are
frozen in ice. We use similar diagrams today to show how atoms and molecules arrange
themselves in crystals.
Daltons Atomic Theory states that:
1. The elements are made of atoms, which are tiny particles, too small to see.
2. All atoms of a particular element are identical.
3. Atoms of different elements have different properties: their masses are different, and their
chemical reactions are different.

4. Atoms cannot be created, destroyed or split.

5. In a chemical reaction, atoms link to one another, or separate from one another.
6. Atoms combine in simple whole-number ratios to form compounds.
Although we have learned that atoms of the same element can have different masses
(isotopes), and can be split in nuclear reactions, most of Daltons Atomic Theory holds good
today, over 200 years after John Dalton described it. It is the foundation on which modern
chemistry has been built.

JOSEPH JOHN THOMPSON

In 1897, Thomson was the first to suggest that the fundamental unit was more than
1,000 times smaller than an atom, suggesting the subatomic particle now known as the
electron. Thomson discovered this through his explorations on the properties of cathode rays.
Formerly, several scientists, such as William Prout and Norman Lockyer,

had suggested

that atoms were built up from a more fundamental unit, but they envisioned this unit to be the
size of the smallest atom, hydrogen. Thomsons experiment through the cathode ray tube or
Crookes tube gave important fundamental idea for later on development of the atomic theory
and structure.

Figure 1. Joseph John Thomson (1856-1914)

Thomsons experiment
A beam of cathode rays bent into a circle by a magnetic field. Cathode rays are
normally invisible; in this tube enough residual gas has been left that the gas atoms glow

from fluorescence when struck by the fast moving electrons. Cathode rays also called an
electron beam or e-beam are streams of electrons observed in vacuum tubes
Figure 2. Cathode Ray Tube.

Figure 3. A sketch of Cathode Ray Tube.

10

J J Thomson Experiment
Using a cathode ray tube, he wanted to test if the rays were charged particles by
seeing if they could be deflected by and electrical field. He concealed the rays in a vacuum,
the experiment worked.
Thomson made his suggestion on 30 April 1897 following his discovery that Lenard
rays could travel much further through air than expected for an atom-sized particle. He
estimated the mass of cathode rays by measuring the heat generated when the rays hit a
thermal junction and comparing this with the magnetic deflection of the rays. His
experiments suggested not only that cathode rays were over 1,000 times lighter than the
hydrogen atom, but also that their mass was the same in whichever type of atom they came
from. He concluded that the rays were composed of very light, negatively charged particles
which were a universal building block of atoms. He called the particles "corpuscles", but later
scientists preferred the name electron which had been suggested by George Johnstone Stoney
in 1891, prior to Thomson's actual discovery.
In April 1897, Thomson had only early indications that the cathode rays could be
deflected electrically (previous investigators such as Heinrich Hertz had thought they could
not be). A month after Thomson's announcement of the corpuscle he found that he could
reliably deflect the rays by an electric field if he evacuated the discharge tube to a very low
pressure. By comparing the deflection of a beam of cathode rays by electric and magnetic
fields he obtained more robust measurements of the mass to charge ratio that confirmed his
previous estimates. This became the classic means of measuring the charge and mass of the
electron.
Thomson believed that the corpuscles emerged from the atoms of the trace gas inside
his cathode ray tubes. He thus concluded that atoms were divisible, and that the corpuscles
were their building blocks. To explain the overall neutral charge of the atom, he proposed that
the corpuscles were distributed in a uniform sea of positive charge; this was the "plum
pudding" model the electrons were embedded in the positive charge like plums in a plum
pudding. The electron in Thomson's model they were not stationary, but orbiting rapidly.
Thomson won the Nobel prize for the discovery of the electron in 1906.

11

Figure 4. Raisin Bun Model

Figure 4. The Plum Pudding Model

Thomson published a model of what he thought the atom to look like called the Plum
Pudding Model. The electrons were thought to be positioned throughout the atom, but the
atom was also was said to have had a "cloud" of positive charge.
The atom is a lump of positive protons with negative electrons

embedded into it.

The kind of element is characterized by the number of electrons in the atom. The discovery
of cathode rays (streams of electrons observed in vacuum tubes) made this model possible
because it showed the presence of electrons. This was the first divisible model of the atom.
The investigation of atom as particles was continuously being carried out by scientist
and between 1908 and 1917, Robert Millikan discovered the mass of the electron after
successfully discovered the value of the charge on electron. Robert Millikan measured the
charge on an electron with the apparatus shown below.

Figure 5. Robert Millikan (1868-1953)

12

Robert Millikan determined the unit charge of the electron in 1909 with his oil drop
experiment at the University of Chicago. Thus allowing for the calculation of the mass of the
electron and the positively charged atoms.

e = 1.60 x 10-19 coulombs

Figure 6. Chamber for the oil-drop experiment.

The oil-drop experiment

In these experiments, the atomizer from a perfume bottle was used to spray water or
oil droplets into a sample chamber. Some of these droplets fell through a pinhole between two
plates of an electric field, where they could be observed through a microscope.
A source of x-rays was then used to ionize the air in the chamber by removing
electrons from the molecules in the air. Droplets that did not capture one of these electrons
fell to the bottom of the chamber due to the force of gravity. Droplets that captured one or
more electrons were attracted to the positive plate at the top of the viewing chamber and
either fell more slowly or rose toward the top.

13

Figure 7. Oil-drop experiment

By carefully studying individual droplets, Millikan was able to show that the charge
on a drop was always an integral multiple of a small, but finite value. When his data are
converted to SI units, the charge on a drop is always some multiple of 1.59 x 10 -19 C.
Combining this value for the charge on a single electron with the charge to mass ratio for the
electron confirms Thomson's hypothesis. The mass of an electron is at least 1000 times
smaller than the lightest atom.

He Measured the charge of electrons in his oil drop

experiment in 1909. They balanced the gravitational and electric forces of tiny, charged
droplets of oil suspended between 2 electrodes. Knowing the electric field, the charge on the
oil droplet could be determined. After repeating the experiment, he found that the values
measured were always multiples of the same number. He found the charge of a single
electron to be 1.602x10^-19C. Using the charge to mass ratio discovered by Thomson, the
mass of electron was found to be 9.11 x 106^-28g.

14

ERNEST RUTHERFORD

Figure 8.

Ernest Rutherford (1871-

1937)

In 1911, Ernest Rutherford, a former student of J.J. Thomson, proved Thomson's plum
pudding structure incorrect. Rutherford with the assistance of Ernest Marsden and Hans
Geiger performed a series of experiments using alpha particles.

Rutherford aimed alpha

particles at solid substances such as gold foil and recorded the location of the alpha particle
"strikes" on a fluorescent screen as they passed through the foil. To the experimenters
amazement, although most of the alpha particles passed unaffected through the gold foil as
expected, a small number of particles were deflected at an angle, and a few ricocheted
straight back.

Rutherford concluded that the atom consisted of a small, dense, positively

charged nucleus in the centre of the atom with negatively charged electrons surrounding it.
The discovery of the nucleus is considered to be Rutherford's greatest scientific work.

15

Figure 9. Model of the gold foil experiment

He shot alpha particles at gold foil. He noticed some went right through, and others
came out at an angel or bounced directly back. He hypothesized that the foil and matter in
general had small holes in it.

Rutherfords Gold Foil Experiment, in 1909-1911.

16

He

predicted

particles
through

would
the

go

that

all

straight

atom described by the

Plum Pudding Model.

But that is not what happened. Some particles went through the foil while others were
deflected and still others bounced back.

Rutherfords atomic model

Rutherford proved that there was a positively charged, very dense, very heavy center,
called the nucleus. While the rest of the atom was empty space. He is credited with the
discovery of the proton.

17

Figure 10. The Planetary Model

18

The Development Of

Atomic

Structure

From

Thomsons Model To Rutherford Model

Rutherford and his assistant Geiger and Marsden expected all the alpha particles to
pass straight through with little deflection, because Thomson's model said that the charges in
the atom are so diffuse that their electric fields could not affect the alpha particles much.
However, Geiger and Marsden spotted alpha particles being deflected by angles greater than
90, which was supposed to be impossible according to Thomson. To explain this, Rutherford
proposed that the positive charge of the atom is concentrated in a tiny nucleus at the center of
the atom.
While experimenting with the products of radioactive decay, in 1913 radiochemist
Frederick Soddy discovered that there appeared to be more than one type of atom at each
position on the periodic table. The term isotope was coined by Margaret Todd as a suitable
name for different atoms that belong to the same element. J.J. Thomson created a technique

19

for separating atom types through his work on ionized gases, which subsequently led to the
discovery of stable isotopes.

NIEHL BOHR
Niels Henrik David Bohr was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 7th October 1885, as
the son of Christian Bohr. He was considered as one of the most dominant and influential
Danish physicists. Bohr was famous for his contributions to the field of quantum mechanics.
He was the first to apply the quantum theory to atomic structure. In 1922, Bohr was awarded
the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on atomic structures. His contribution to the field of
physics had received remarkable praise from many scientists all over the world. Bohr died at
the age of 77 on 18th November 1962 because of a heart failure. One of his sons, Aage Bohr,
carried Niels work forward and became a physicist.

Shortcoming of Rutherfords Model

The first exploration of the structure of the atom was made by Ernest Rutherford.
Based on the Rutherfords Model, a small central nucleus of positive charge was surrounded
by a cloud of electrons (shown in Figure 1).

Figure 1: Rutherfords model

According to the classical mechanics and electromagnetic theory, a moving electron
will always emit energy and spiral into the nucleus. But, in the Rutherfords model, no
radiation was seen. Rutherford could not explain why electrons in orbit about the nucleus did
not lose energy and spiral into the nucleus. Therefore, the motion of the electrons in the
Rutherford's model was unstable.
20

Besides, Rutherfords model did not explain the distribution of electrons around the
nucleus. Rutherford only claimed that electrons move around a nucleus in an atom in certain
circular orbits. He failed to explain clearly how the electrons were distributed in the space
surrounding its positively charged nucleus.
Moreover, Rutherfords model also could not explain why atoms only emit light at
certain wavelengths or frequencies. According to the process of light emission, a continuous
range of frequencies of light will emit as the electrons pass through a range of orbital
frequencies. However, based on the late 19th century experiments with electric discharges, the
Rutherfords atom only emitted a few special frequencies of light.
It had clearly showed that Rutherfords model suffers from some drawbacks although
it explained the structure of atom in a very simple way. Hence, these drawbacks led to the
development of Bohrs model.

Bohrs Model
In 1913, Niels Bohr was able to overcome the drawbacks in Rutherfords model by
proposing Bohrs model. Bohr depicts the atom as a small, positively-charged nucleus
surrounded by orbiting electrons (shown in Figure 2).

Figure 2: Bohrs model

To explain the stability of an atom, Bohr gave a new arrangement of electrons in the
atom. In Bohrs model, electrons were only allowed to move in orbits of fixed size and
energy. These orbits are called energy levels. Each orbit has specific quantized energies. The
orbit nearest to the nucleus has minimum energy and the orbit farthest from the nucleus has
maximum energy.

21

The energy of an electron depends on the size of orbit. According to Bohr, electrons
do not continuously lose energy as they travel. As long as the electrons keep revolving in the
same orbit around the nucleus, there is no change in the energy of electrons even though the
electrons have accelerated motion around the nucleus.
Bohr suggested that if electrons absorb or emit a definite amount of energy, they will
jump from one orbit to another. The energy that required for the electrons to jump depends on
the different energies levels according to the Planck relation. For example, if an electron
jumps from orbit 1 (energy E1) to orbit 2 (energy E2), the change in energy is given by E 2 E1.
When electrons absorb energy, they will move from a smaller orbit to a bigger one.
Similarly, electrons will slip back into a smaller orbit when they emit energy. The atom will
be completely stable in the state with the smallest orbit as there is no orbit of lower energy
which the electron can jump into.
Bohr recognized that the idea of electrons jumping between orbits fit with the idea of
light quanta in quantum theory. When an electron slips from a bigger orbit to a smaller orbit,
it will release energy in the form of light. This light will produce atomic spectra that can be
seen whenever electric current passes through the element. Bohr explained that atomic
spectra are discontinuous. As the electron is only allowed to exist at certain energy levels,
there are only a few possible energies of light which can be released when electrons jump
between orbits.
Bohr also postulated that as the paths grow farther and farther away from the
innermost location, the number of traveling electrons will grow exponentially. For example,
the first orbit of the atom can hold up to two electrons; the second can hold six, the third
holds ten, and so on. The number of electrons in the outer orbit determines the properties of
an element.

Conclusion
In short, Neils Bohr contributed a great deal to our knowledge of atomic structure.
Bohrs model gave us a better understanding not only of why atoms bond but also how they
stay the same. Since Bohrs model was able to explain the stability of the atom, it became the
22

basis of the famous quantum theory. However, Bohr model is no longer accepted as a valid
model of the atom because it is applicable only for those atoms which have one electron.

JAMES CHADWICK
Atomic Mass Mystery
Scientists at the time thought that they had finally figured out atomic structure once and
for all when Ernest Rutherford discovered the proton in 1918.

The negatively-charged

electrons, orbiting a tiny atomic nucleus composed of positively-charged protons. This

model explained atoms being electrically neutral, using only protons and electrons, the two
fundamental atomic particles known at the time. However, it was also well-known that
atomic mass is twice the atomic number (i.e., the number of protons), and that almost all the
mass of an atom is concentrated in the nucleus.

Nuclear Electrons?
The theory at the time was that there were nuclear electrons in the atomic nucleus
with additional protons. Physicists though the extra protons provide the extra atomic mass
while the additional electrons would cancel out their positive charge and leaving the atom
electrically neutral.

However, the calculations using Heisenbergs uncertainty

principle showed it was not possible for electrons to be in the nucleus.

Rutherford Postulated A Particle Called Neutron
As early as 1920, Rutherford had proposed the existence of an electrically neutral
particle called the neutron to explain for isotopes of hydrogen. Rutherford imagined a paired
proton and electron somehow joined in one particle. One major problem with Rutherfords
neutron theorynot much evidence.

23

Rutherford

Mysterious Gamma Radiation

The neutron was difficult to detect with 1920s equipment. Detection methods of that
day mainly depend on the electrical charges of particles revealing their presencebut
neutrons, having no electrical charge, would leave no trace.

In 1930, it was discovered that

the bombardment of light nuclei by alpha rays emitted from polonium gave rise to penetrating
rays without an electric charge. These were assumed to be gamma rays. However, when a
beryllium target was used, the rays were many times more penetrating than those generated
by using other target materials.

James Chadwick Discover Neutron in 1932

James Chadwick : English Physicist

Lived 1891 1974

24

In 1932, Frdric and Irne Joliot-Curies experiment in particular caught James

Chadwick attention. Frederic Joliot and Irene Curie had studied the unidentified radiation
that from beryllium as it hit a paraffin wax target. They found that the radiation knocked
loose protons from hydrogen atoms in that target and penetrating than previous investigators
had reported, but they still referred to these emissions as gamma rays. Joliot-Curie believed
the radiation hitting the paraffin target must be high energy gamma photons.

Frdric and Irne Joliot-Curie

On hearing of the results, Rutherford nor James Chadwick were not convinced by the
gamma ray interpretation.

Chadwick thought that the explanation didnt fit and he reasoned

that Photons having no mass and wouldnt knock loose particles as heavy as protons from the
target. Chadwick also noted that because the radiation ray had no charge, they penetrated
much further into a target than protons would. Chadwick had another explanation for the
beryllium rays. He thought they were neutrons.
Chadwick set up an experiment to test his hypothesis. He immediately set to work on
calculating the mass of a neutral particle and he tried similar experiments himself. He
performed a series of experiments showing that the gamma ray hypothesis was untenable. He
became convinced that the radiation ejected by the beryllium emissions was in fact a neutral
particle with a mass about the mass of a proton. He tried other targets in addition to the
paraffin wax, including helium, nitrogen and lithium. This made him determine the mass of
the

new

particle

almost

identical

to

the

mass

of

the

proton.

In February 1932, after experimenting for only about two weeks, Chadwick published
a paper titled The Possible Existence of a Neutron, in which he proposed that the evidence
favored the neutron rather than the gamma ray photons as the correct interpretation of the
mysterious radiation. Chadwick findings were quickly accepted then showed that the neutron
25

could not be a proton-electron pairing, the third piece of the atom to be found. Then a few
months later, in May 1932, Chadwick submitted the definite paper titled The Existence of a
Neutron.

James Chadwick announced that the core also contained a new uncharged

particle, which he called the neutron.

This represented the experimental verification of the

existence of the neutron. For this achievement, Chadwick was awarded the Nobel prize in
physics in 1935.
This new idea dramatically changed the structure of the atom and accelerated
discoveries in atomic physics. Physicists soon found that the neutron made an ideal "bullet"
for bombarding other nuclei. Unlike charged particles, it was not repelled by similarlycharged particles and could smash right into the nucleus. Before long, neutron bombardment
was applied to the uranium atom, splitting its nucleus and releasing the huge amounts of
energy

predicted

by

Einstein's

equation

mc2.

James Chadwicks Paper In 1932

Possible Existence of a Neutron
James

Chadwick

Nature, p. 312 (Feb. 27, 1932)

It has been shown by Bothe and others that beryllium when bombarded by particles of polonium emits a radiation of great penetrating power, which has been an
absorption coefficient in lead of about 0.3 (cm)1. Recently Mme. Curie-Joliot and M. Joliot
found, when measuring the ionisation produced by this beryllium radiation in a vessel with a
thin window, that the ionisation increased when matter containing hydrogen was placed in
front of the window. The effect appeared to be due to the ejection of protons with velocities
26

up to a maximum of nearly 3 x 109 cm. per sec. They suggested that the transference of
energy to the proton was by a process similar to the Compton effect, and estimated that the
beryllium radiation had a quantum energy of 50 x 106 electron volts.
I have made some experiments using the valve counter to examine the properties of
this radiation excited in beryllium. The valve counter consists of a small ionisation chamber
connected to an amplifier, and the sudden production of ions by the entry of a particle, such
as a proton or -particle, is recorded by the deflexion of an oscillograph. These experiments
have shown that the radiation ejects particles from hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium,
carbon, air, and argon. The particles ejected from hydrogen behave, as regards range and
ionising power, like protons with speeds up to about 3.2 x 10 9 cm. per sec. The particles from
the other elements have a large ionising power, and appear to be in each case recoil atoms of
the elements.
If we ascribe the ejection of the proton to a Compton recoil from a quantum of 52 x
106 electron volts, then the nitrogen recoil atom arising by a similar process should have an
energy not greater than about 400,000 volts, should produce not more than about 10,000 ions,
and have a range in air at N.T.P. of about 1.3 mm. Actually, some of the recoil atoms in
nitrogen produce at least 30,000 ions. In collaboration with Dr. Feather, I have observed the
recoil atoms in an expansion chamber, and their range, estimated visually, was sometimes as
much as 3 mm at N.T.P.
These results, and others I have obtained in the course of the work, are very difficult
to explain on the assumption that the radiation from beryllium is a quantum radiation, if
energy and momentum are to be conserved in the collisions. The difficulties disappear,
however, if it be assumed that the radiation consists of particles of mass 1 and charge 0, or
neutrons. The capture of the -particle by the Be 9 nucleus may be supposed to result in the
formation of a C12 nucleus and the emission of the neutron. From the energy relations of this
process the velocity of the neutron emitted in the forward direction may well be about 3 x 10 9
cm. per sec. The collisions of the neutron with the atoms through which it passes give rise to
the recoil atoms, and the observed energies of the recoil atoms are in fair agreement with this
view. Moreover, I have observed that the protons ejected from hydrogen by the radiation
emitted in the opposite direction to that of the exciting -particle appear to have a much
smaller range than those ejected by the forward radiation. This again receives a simple
explanation of the neutron hypothesis.
27

If it be supposed that the radiation consists of quanta, then the capture of the particle by the Be9 nucleus will form a C13 nucleus. The mass defect of C 13 is known with
sufficient accuracy to show that the energy of the quantum emitted in this process cannot be
greater than about 14 x 106 volts. It is difficult to make such a quantum responsible for the
effects observed.
It is to be expected that many of the effects of a neutron in passing through matter
should resemble those of a quantum of high energy, and it is not easy to reach the final
decision between the two hypotheses. Up to the present, all the evidence is in favour of the
neutron, while the quantum hypothesis can only be upheld if the conservation of energy and
momentum be relinquished at some point.
J.

Chadwick.

Cavendish

Laboratory,

Cambridge, Feb. 17.

The Famous Experiment : The Discovery of the Neutron

Ernest Rutherford postulated that there were neutral and massive particles in the
nucleus of atoms in 1920.

This conclusion was because of the disparity between an

element's atomic number (protons = electrons) and its atomic mass (usually in excess of the
mass of the known protons present). James Chadwick was assigned the task to track down
evidence of Rutherford's tightly bound "proton-electron pair" or neutron.

28

Two diagrams of the experiment James Chadwick conducted

In 1930, the discovery of the energetic stream of neutrons was originally thought to be
gamma radiation through the bombardment of Beryllium by alpha particles. However, the
further investigation revealed contradictory results.

These neutral rays were extremely

penetrating and since they were not deflected upon passing through a magnetic field and did
not discharge charged electroscopes (the photoelectric effect).

Irene Curie and her husband

discovered that protons were knocked loose when a beam of this radiation hit a substance rich
in protons, which could be easily detected by a Geiger counter.

Chadwick proposed that this particle was Rutherford's neutron in 1932. Chadwick
repeated the Joliots experiments many times. He measured the energy of the radiation
emitted by the Be and the energies (and therefore the velocities) of the protons coming from
the paraffin. On the basis of its great penetrating power, Chadwick proposed that the
radiation emitted from the Be was a new type of neutral particle the neutron, as originally
proposed by Rutherford. He then applied the conservation of energy and momentum laws to
his experimental results and showed that the particles emitted from the Be had to be neutral
29

particles with about the same mass as the proton. By using kinematics, the velocity of the
protons were able to determined. Then,

through conservation of momentum techniques,

Chadwick was able to determine that the mass of the neutral radiation was almost exactly the
same as that of a proton. He was able to prove that the neutral particle could not be a photon
by bombarding targets other than hydrogen, including nitrogen, oxygen, helium and argon.
Chadwick had indeed discovered the neutron. Chadwick explained the process occurring in
the experiment as:

With Chadwick's announcement of his finding, Werner Heisenberg then

proved that the neutron could not be a proton-electron pairing, the third piece of the atom to
be found. Werner Heisenberg then proposed the proton-neutron model for the nucleus. This
new idea changed the picture of the atom.

James Chadwicks Neutron And Atomic Theory

James Chadwick proved the existence of neutrons - elementary particles with no
charge and made a fundamental discovery in doorman of nuclear science.

Neutrons were

found to have the same mass as protons which accounted for more of the mass of the atom.
The common understanding of an atom was now a nucleus containing positively charged
protons and neutral neutrons with the rest of the atom being space in which negatively
charged electrons "orbit" the nucleus on energy levels corresponding to the amount of energy
the electrons hold.

With the discovery of the neutron, the atomic model seemed more

complete than ever. The overall charges remained the same, and now there no longer seemed
to be a discrepancy between the atomic mass and the atomic number.
Neutron is a new tool in atomic disintegration which need not overcome any electric
barrier and is able to penetrate and splitting the nuclei of the heaviest elements. In this way,
Chadwick prepared the way towards the fission of uranium-235 and towards the creation of
the atomic bomb. For his discovery he was awarded the Hughes Medal of the Royal Society
in 1932, and subsequently the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1935.

30

Chadwicks Atomic Theory

ProtonNeutron Model of the Nucleus
Within months after the discovery of the neutron by Chadwick, Werner Heisenberg
and independently Dmitri Ivanenko proposed a protonneutron model for the nucleus, and it
was quickly accepted that the atomic nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons.
Heisenberg's theory for protons and neutrons in the nucleus was a "major step toward
understanding the nucleus as a quantum mechanical system.

Proton Neutron Model of Atom

31

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(2) http://scienceblogs.com/dotphysics/2009/09/04/the-development-of-the-atomicmodel/ The Development of the Atomic Model
(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohr_model Bohr Model
(4) http://chemistry.tutorvista.com/inorganic-chemistry/bohr-s-model-of-the-atom.html
Bohrs Model of the Atom
(5) http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/High_School_Chemistry/The_Bohr_Model The Bohr
Model
(6) http://chemistry.tutorcircle.com/inorganic-chemistry/niels-bohr-atomic-theory.html
Niels Bohr Atomic Theory
(7) http://www.biography.com/people/niels-bohr-21010897 Niels Bohr Biography
(8) Henry A. Boorse (1966). History of Atomic Theory. American Association for the
Advancement of Science. Vol. 153, No. 3742. pp. 1370-1371
(9) F.W Clarke (1903). The Atomic Theory. American Association for the Advancement of
Science. Vol. 18, No. 460. pp. 513-529

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