The Atomic Model

By marisaswedberg

  • The Dalton Model

    John Dalton pictures atoms and tiny, indestructible particles, with no internal structure.

  • The Thomson Model

    J.J. Thomson, a British scientist, discovers the electron. The later leads to his "plum-pudding" model. He pictures electrons embedded in a sphere of positive electrical charge.

  • Central Nucleus

    Hantaro Nagoka, a Japanese physicist, suggest that an atom has a central nucleus. Electrons move in orbits like the rings around Saturn.

  • Rutherford Model

    New Zealand physicist Ernest Rutherford finds that an atom has a small, dense, positively charged nucleus. Electrons move around the nucleus.

  • Bohr Model

    In Niels Bohr's model, the electron moves in a circular orbit at fixed distances from the nucleus.

  • Louis de Broglie

    French physicist Louis de Broglie proposes that moving particles like electrons have some properties of waves. Within a few years, experimental evidence supports the idea.

  • Electron Cloud Model

    Erwin Schroedinger develops mathematical equations to describe the motion of electrons in atoms. His work leads to the electron cloud model.

  • James Chadwick

    James Chadwick, an English physicist, confirms the existence of neutrons, which have no charge. Atomic nuclei contain neutrons and positively charged protons.