Earl's
Atomic Theories
Rutherford's Atom:
Rutherford did his Gold Foil experiment from which he
concluded that an atoms nucleus is of a positive charge. He also said it
is densely packed into the center of an atom. Through he experiment, he
also concluded that
the
atom was mostly space. With small electrons floating freely in it. He thought
of the atom as being like a plum pie. The nucleus is in the middle while
the electrons, like plums, where placed throughout the pie (see picture).
The Bohr Model of the Atom:
Bohr is the father of the modern atomic theory. He expanded
on Rutherford's atom. He thought of a way to explain why each atom had
discrete atomic emmisions (light given off when excited). He said the electrons
are in
orbits.
These orbits are quantized, or in other words they are multiples of some
value. He said an electron can never be in-between any two levels, but
must exist in one or the other. This is the basis of modern atomic theory.
The Electron Levels:
In theorizing how the atom looked, Bohr also had to decide
where the electrons lied. He called these quantized levels orbitals. For
each energy level, after the first two, there are four types of orbitals.
The S, P, D, and F. The first energy level only has the S-orbital, and
the second energy level has both S and P orbitals. The S orbital holds
two electrons, while the P holds 6, and the D holds 10. Electrons are not
put into the P orbital until the S orbital is full. Then when the P is
full the electrons start on the D. The F orbital begins to hold electrons
when the S, P, and D orbitals are full. This is how the Periodic
Table is arranged.