GIKPKC7 94107 Nuclear Physics History Page 1

Atomic Physics  History

The main hypotheses of Dalton’s atomic theory:

 Atoms are indivisible.

 The weight of a ‘compound atom’
(molecule) is the sum of the weights of
the constituent atoms.
 Atoms of different elements have
different weights.
 Atoms of the same element have
identical weights.
 The relative weights of atoms can be
determined.
 When two elements combine to form
only one compound, it can be assumed
(unless there is some reason to the
contrary) that single atoms of the
different elements combine.

John Dalton (1760-1844)

The experiment of H. Geiger and E. Marsden often know as the

Rutherford’s Gold Foil experiment:

In 1909 H. Geiger and E. Marsden

performed an experiment to see if any
particles were deflected by a gold metal
foil through a large angle. The purpose of
this experiment was to learn about the Atom
and in that form a model of it.

Process:
By placing a source of radium deep in a
lead box with a small hole in it, a projectile
beam of -particles (see page 8) was
created. This beam is placed so that most
of the -particles pass through some gold
foil about 3  10-8m thick and consists of
gold atoms packed closely together. The
projectiles are detected by the scintillations
Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937)

Luke Cole Page 1

GIKPKC7 94107 Nuclear Physics History Page 2

produced on a fluorescent screen. This screen could be placed so that the projectiles
deflected and the ones more than 90 could be registered. However, only about 1 in 8000
were scattered at an angle greater than 90 and due to this rare event, Rutherford said:
“It is about as credible as if you had fired a fifteen inch shell at a piece of tissue paper
and it had come back and hit you”.

Diagram: Fluorescent Screen

Radium Small Hole
Vacuum

Lead box  - particles Gold Foil

Scatting effect of the gold foil

Results:
It was found that when a thin sheet of metal foil was bombarded with -particles, most
penetrated the foil, and emerged from the other side without deflection from their
original path. Due to this, Rutherford indicated in his results that the atom contains a
very small positively charged nucleus where most of the atomic mass is concentrated.

Rutherford’s model of the atom:

Electron

Nucleus
Electron Path

The atom contained mostly empty space. To maintain electrical neutrality for the atom,
electrons of low relative mass must move somewhere in the volume, however most of the
Atomic Physics – Modern picture
mass is contained in a small positively charged centre-nucleus (See page 4)

Luke Cole Page 2

GIKPKC7 94107 Nuclear Physics History Page 3

Atomic Physics – Modern picture

Main particles found in the nucleus:
Since the nucleus is positively charge it was first thought that only protons (+) existed in
the nucleus. However, from Rutherford’s gold foil experiment, in the gold foil the nuclei
contained 79 protons, from that he calculated the mass of the atom by adding the weights
of the protons and electrons. Since the gold has a neutral charge there would be a equal
number of protons and electrons. Consequently it was the calculation was (79  1.0) +
(79  5.5  10-4) which came out to be 79 amu (atomic weight scale). But! Other
measurements showed that the actual mass was about 197 amu, therefore the nucleus
must contain other particles. There was 118 amu not accounted for and the simplest
hypothesis to explain this is that to assume the presence of a number of neutral particles,
each of zero charge and a mass of 1 amu. So in 1920 he suggested the existence of
another particle in the nucleus which became called the neutron. In short the nucleus
contains protons and neutrons.

Nature of Protons, Neutrons and Electrons:

Particle Charge Electrical Approximate Mass Relative Mass ()
(Coulomb) Charge (kg)
Electron 1.6  10-19 1 9.11  10-31 0.00055
Proton 1.6  10-19 +1 1.67  10-27 1.00759
Neutron 0 0 1.67  10-27 1.00898

Luke Cole Page 3

GIKPKC7 94107 Nuclear Physics History Page 4

Mass Number, Atomic Number & Neutron Number:

Mass Number
 Symbol = A
 Sum of the protons & neutrons in the Nucleus.
 Equal to the mass to the nearest whole number.

Atomic Number
 Symbol = Z
 Number of protons in the nucleus.
 The number of protons present in the nucleus determines the nuclear charge.

Neutron Number
 Symbol = N
 Number of Neutrons in the Nucleus.
Formula: N=A–Z
N = Neutron Number
A = Mass Number
Z = Atomic Number

Isotopes:
 Two atoms with the same atomic number but different mass numbers are called
isotopes.

Example Name Atomic Number Mass Number

235
92U Uranium 92 235
238
92U Uranium 92 238
1
1H Hydrogen 1 1
2
1H Hydrogen 1 2
3
1H Hydrogen 1 3

Luke Cole Page 4

GIKPKC7 94107 Nuclear Physics History Page 5

Radioactivity – History of discovery

In 1895, while experimenting with electric current
flow in a partially evacuated glass tube
(cathode-ray tube), Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
observed that a nearby piece of barium
platinocyanide gave off light when the tube was in
operation. He theorised that when the cathode rays
(electrons) struck the glass wall of the tube, some
unknown radiation was formed that travelled across
the room, struck the chemical, and caused the
fluorescence. Further investigation revealed that
paper, wood, and aluminium, among other materials, are transparent
Wilhelm to this new
Conrad Röntgen form of
(1845-1923)
radiation. He found that it affected photographic
plates, and, since it did not noticeably exhibit any properties of light, such as reflection
or refraction, he mistakenly thought the rays were unrelated to light. In view of its
uncertain nature, he called the phenomenon X-radiation, though it also became known as
Röntgen radiation. He took the first X-ray photographs, of the interiors of metal objects
and of the bones in his wife’s hand.

Henri Becquerel thought these X-rays might be

related to fluorescence and phosphorescence,
processes in which substances absorb and emit
energy as light. In the course of his investigations,
Becquerel stored some photographic plates and
uranium salts in a desk drawer. Expecting to find
the plates only lightly fogged; he developed them
and was surprised to find sharp images of the salts.
He then began experiments that showed that
uranium salts emit a penetrating radiation
independent of external influences. Becquerel also
demonstrated that the radiation could discharge
electrified bodies. In this case, discharge means the Henri Becquerel (1852-1908)
removal of electric charge, and it is now understood
that the radiation ionising molecules of air allows the air to conduct an electric current.
Early studies of radioactivity relied on measuring ionisation power or on observing the
effects of radiation on photographic plates. So, in 1896 Henri Becquerel discovered the
phenomenon of radioactivity.
Deflection of radiation by magnetic fields Detection of radiation
Magnets Fluorescent Potassium
Radiation Screen uranyl sulfate Radiation
source
emitted
Photograhic

Plate
Luke Cole Page 5
GIKPKC7 94107 Nuclear Physics History Page 6

Radiation beam
In 1898 the French physicists Pierre and Marie
Curie discovered the strongly radioactive elements
polonium and radium, which occur naturally in
uranium minerals. Marie coined the term
radioactivity for the spontaneous emission of
ionising, penetrating rays by certain atoms.
Emission from radium-226
226 222
88Ra 86Rn + 2He4

Experiments conducted by the British physicist

Ernest Rutherford in 1899 showed that radioactive
substances emit more than one kind of ray. It was
determined that part of the radiation is 100 times
more penetrating than the rest and can pass Marie Curie (1867-1934) &
Pierre Curie (1859-1906)
through aluminium foil 1/50 of a millimetre thick.
Rutherford named the less penetrating emanations alpha rays and the more powerful
ones beta rays, after the first two letters of the Greek alphabet. Investigators who, in
1899, found that beta rays were deflected by a magnetic field concluded that they are
negatively charged particles similar to cathode rays. In 1903 Rutherford found that
alpha rays were deflected slightly in the opposite direction, showing that they are
massive, positively charged particles. Much later, Rutherford proved that alpha rays are
nuclei of helium atoms by collecting the rays in an evacuated tube and detecting the
buildup of helium gas over several days.

The French chemist Paul Villard identified a third kind of radiation in 1900. Designated
as the gamma ray, it is not deflected by magnets and is much more penetrating than
alpha particles. Gamma rays were later shown to be a form of electromagnetic radiation,
like light or X-rays, but with much shorter wavelengths. Because of these shorter
wavelengths, gamma rays have higher frequencies and are even more penetrating than
X-rays.

In 1902, while studying the radioactivity of thorium, Rutherford and the English chemist
Frederick Soddy discovered that radioactivity was associated with changes inside the
atom that transformed thorium into a different element. They found that thorium
continually generates a chemically different substance that is intensely radioactive. The
radioactivity eventually makes the new element disappear. Watching the process,
Rutherford and Soddy formulated the exponential decay law, which states that a fixed
fraction of the element will decay in each unit of time. For example, half of the thorium
product decays in four days, half the remaining sample in the next four days, and so on.

Luke Cole Page 6

GIKPKC7 94107 Nuclear Physics History Page 7

Radioactivity – Characteristics of radioactive emissions

The nature and characteristics of the most common forms of
radioactive emissions:

The alpha () particle

Positively charged, identical to the nucleus of the helium-4 atom, spontaneously emitted
by some radioactive substances, consisting of two protons and two neutrons bound
together, thus having a mass of four units and a positive charge of two.

The beta () particle

Electron (unit negative charge) or positron (unit positive charge) spontaneously emitted
by certain unstable atomic nuclei in the radioactive disintegration process of beta decay.
 Beta radioactivity also produces the Neutrino () & Antineutrino (), types of
fundamental particle with no electric charge, little or no mass, and one-half unit of
spin. Neutrinos belong to the family of particles called leptons, which are not subject
to the strong nuclear force. There are three types of neutrino, each associated with a
charged lepton. i.e. the electron, muon, and tau

The gamma () ray

Penetrating electromagnetic radiation of the same nature as an X ray, though usually a
shorter wavelength, emitted spontaneously by some radioactive substances.

Radiation dose:
Meaning
The quantity of radiation administered or absorbed.

Phenomena of radiation dose to ordinary people

Every type of biologic effect of radiation, despite its precise nature, results in injury to
the cell, the microscopic building block of all living organisms. Furthermore any living
organism can be killed by a large enough dose of radiation, but the lethal dose varies
greatly from species to species. However, in general, humans are among the most
radiosensitive of all living organisms, but the effects of a given dose in a person depends
on the organ irradiated, the dose, and the conditions of exposure. The biologic effects of
radiation in humans and other mammals:
 Affect the body of the exposed individual (somatic effects), these somatic effects, are
those that occur within a short period of time e.g. inhibition of cell division and those
that may not occur until years or decades after irradiation e.g. radiation-induced
cancer. Non-stochastic effects, occur only in response to a considerable dose of
radiation e.g. ulceration of the skin and those, termed stochastic, for which no
threshold dose is known to exist e.g. radiation-induced cancer.
 Affect the offspring of the exposed individual (genetic, or heritable, effects).
Luke Cole Page 7
GIKPKC7 94107 Nuclear Physics History Page 8

Bibliography
Crowell-Collier (1961) Collier’s Encyclopedia Louis Shores. New York

Macdonald & New Publishers (1973) New Junior Encyclopedia John Grisewood. London

Microsoft Corporation (1997) Encarta 98 Encyclopedia Microsoft. America

Duquesne University (1952) From Atomos to Atom Andrew G. Van Melsen. America

Addison-Wesley (1978) Physics of the Atom M. Russell Wehr, James A. Richars & Thomas W. Adair
III. Philippines

Jacaranda Press (1972) A Chemist’s View of the Atom G. C. Morris. Hong Kong

Encyclopedia Britannica (1997) Britannica CD 97. America

Marshell Cavendish (1969) The Atom Hermann Bondi. London

Dover (1944) Atomic Spectra & Atomic Structure Gerhard Herzberg. New York

Oxford University Press (1968) The Atomists 1805-1933 Sir Basil Schonland. England

Macmillan education (1996) Pathways to Chemistry Geoffrey Thickett. Australia

Science Press (1996) Active Physics Grahame Pollock. Australia

Luke Cole Page 8