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APPLIED MODERN
PHYSICS
BY INSTRUCTOR SOLOMON H.M.(BSC, MSC)
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CHAPTER 4
2
ATOMIC STRUCTURE

Atomic Spectra
Outlines o Spectral Series
Introduction The Bohr Atom
The Nuclear Atom Energy Levels And Spectra
o Rutherford Scattering Formula o Origin of Line Spectra
o Nuclear Dimensions
Atomic Excitation
 Electron Orbits
The Laser
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Introduction
In this chapter our chief concern will be the structure of the atom
it is this structure that is responsible for nearly all the properties of matter that
have shaped the world around us.
Every atom consists of a small nucleus of protons and neutrons with a
number of electrons some distance away.
The electrons circle the nucleus as planets do the sun.
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The Nuclear Atom The British physicist J. J. Thomson in 1898

suggested that atoms are just positively
An atom is largely empty space
charged lumps of matter with electrons
Electrons carry negative charges whereas embedded in them, like raisins in a fruitcake
atoms are neutral (Fig. 4.1).
positively charged matter of some kind must
be present in atoms.
But what kind? And arranged in what way?
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The Nuclear Atom Alpha particles are helium atoms that have
lost two electrons each, leaving them with a
But the real atom turned out to be quite
charge of +2e.
different.
Geiger and Marsden placed a sample of an
At the suggestion of Ernest Rutherford,
alpha-emitting substance behind a lead screen
Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden used as
with a small hole in it, as in Fig. 4.2,
probes the fast alpha particles emitted by
certain radioactive elements to see what is so that a narrow beam of alpha particles was
produced.
in atom.
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The Nuclear Atom

This beam was directed at a thin gold foil.
A zinc sulfide screen, which gives off a
visible flash of light when struck by an alpha
particle, was set on the other side of the foil
with a microscope to see the flashes.
It was expected that the alpha particles would go
right through the foil with hardly any deflection
Figure 4.2 The Rutherford scattering experiment.
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The Nuclear Atom What Geiger and Marsden actually found

was that although most of the alpha particles
This follows from the Thomson model, in
indeed were not deviated by much
which the electric charge inside an atom is
 a few were scattered through very large angles.
assumed to be uniformly spread through its
volume. Some were even scattered in the backward
With only weak electric forces exerted on them,
direction.
alpha particles that pass through a thin foil ought  Alpha particles are relatively heavy (almost
to be deflected only slightly, 1° or less. 8000 electron masses) and those used in this
experiment had high speeds (typically )
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ATOMIC STRUCTURE

The Nuclear Atom

So it was clear that powerful forces were
needed to cause such marked deflections.
The only way to explain the results, Rutherford
found, was to picture an atom as being
composed of a tiny nucleus in which its positive
 With an atom being largely empty space, it is
charge and nearly all its mass are concentrated,
easy to see why most alpha particles go right
with the electrons some distance away (Fig.4.3).
through a thin foil.
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The Nuclear Atom of the nuclear charge.

However, when an alpha particle happens to  The nuclear charges always turned out to be
come near a nucleus, the intense electric field multiples of +e; the number Z of unit positive
there scatters it through a large angle. charges in the nuclei of an element is today
called the atomic number of the element.
The atomic electrons, being so light, do not
appreciably affect the alpha particles. We know now that protons, each with a charge
+e, provide the charge on a nucleus, so the
The deflection of an alpha particle when it
atomic number of an element is the same as the
passes near a nucleus depends on the magnitude
number of protons in the nuclei of its atoms.
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Rutherford Scattering Formula

The formula that Rutherford obtained for
alpha particle scattering by a thin foil on the
basis of the nuclear model of the atom is
(4.1)

Note: For derivation of eqn (4.1) refer the

The symbols in Eq. (4.1) have the following appendix of chapter 4 on Arthur Beiser 6-ed.
meanings:
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Nuclear Dimensions An alpha particle will have its smallest R

when it approaches a nucleus head on, which
In his derivation of Eq. (4.1) Rutherford
will be followed by a 180° scattering.
assumed that the size of a target nucleus is
small compared with the minimum distance RAt the instant of closest approach the initial
to which incident alpha particles approach the kinetic energy KE of the particle is entirely
nucleus before being deflected away. converted to electric potential energy and so at
that instant:
Rutherford scattering therefore gives us a way
to find an upper limit to nuclear dimensions.
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Nuclear Dimensions
Since the charge of the alpha particle is 2e and that of the nucleus is Ze.
Hence: Distance of closest approach: (4.2)

 Electron Orbits
The planetary model of the atom and why it fails
The electrons cannot be stationary in the Rutherford model of the atom, because there is
nothing that can keep them in place against the electric force pulling them to the nucleus.
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Electron Orbits
 Let us look at the classical dynamics of the hydrogen
 If the electrons are in motion, however,
atom, whose single electron makes it the simplest of
dynamically stable orbits like those of the planets
all atoms.
around the sun are possible (Fig. 4.5).
 We assume a circular electron orbit for
convenience, though it might as reasonably be
assumed to be elliptical in shape.
 The centripetal force: holding the electron in an
orbit from the nucleus is provided by the electric
force : between them
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 The total energy E of the electron in a hydrogen atom
Electron Orbits
is the sum of its kinetic and potential energies, which
The condition for a dynamically stable orbit is are
(4.3) and
The electron velocity is therefore related to its  The minus sign follows from the choice of PE = 0
orbit radius by the formula: at r = ∞, that is, when the electron and proton are
infinitely far apart.
Electron velocity: (4.4)
 Hence:
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Electron Orbits
Substituting for u from Eq. (4.4) gives:
 (4.5)
The total energy of the electron is negative. This holds for every atomic electron and reflects
the fact that it is bound to the nucleus.
If E were greater than zero, an electron would not follow a closed orbit around the nucleus.
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Example 4.1 Solution

Experiments indicate that 13.6 eV is
required to separate a hydrogen atom into a
proton and an electron; that is, its total
energy is .
Find the orbital radius and velocity of the
electron in a hydrogen atom.
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Atomic Spectra than the characteristic behavior of the atoms of a

particular element.
 Each element has a characteristic line spectrum
But the atoms or molecules in a rarefied gas are
The existence of spectral lines is another
so far apart on the average that they only interact
important aspect of the atom like atomic stability during occasional collisions.
that a successful theory of the atom must
Here we would expect any emitted radiation to
account for.
be characteristic of the particular atoms or
In the condensed matter the collective behavior
molecules present.
of many interacting atoms are observed rather
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ATOMIC STRUCTURE

Atomic Spectra spectrometers use diffraction screens.

When an atomic gas or vapor at some what less

than atmospheric pressure is properly “excited,”
by passing an electric current through it, the
emitted radiation has a spectrum which contains
certain specific wavelengths only.
An idealized arrangement for observing such
atomic spectra is shown in Fig. 4.6; actual
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Atomic Spectra
Every element displays a unique line spectrum when a sample of it in the vapor phase is
excited.
Spectroscopy is therefore a useful tool for analyzing the composition of an unknown substance.
 The number, intensity, and exact wavelengths of the lines in the spectrum of an element depend upon
 Temperature
 Pressure
 the presence of electric and magnetic fields and
 the motion of the source.
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Spectral Series
The wavelengths in the spectrum of an 486.3nm, is designated Hβ, and so on.
element fall into sets called spectral series.
 The first such series was discovered by J. J.
Balmer in 1885 in the course of a study of the
visible part of the hydrogen spectrum (Fig.4.7)
 The line with the longest wavelength, 656.3nm, is
designated Hα, the next, whose wavelength is
 Figure 4.7 The Balmer series of hydrogen
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Spectral Series  Where n is number of spectral series.

As the wave-length decreases, the lines are  The quantity R, known as the Rydberg constant,
has the value
found closer together and weaker in intensity
until the series limit at 364.6nm is reached.
beyond this limit there are no further separate  The Hα line is red, the Hβ line is blue, the Hγ and
lines but only a dim continuous spectrum. Hδ lines are violet and the other lines are in the
near ultraviolet.
 Balmer’s formula for the wavelengths of this series
is : Balmer: (4.6) The Hα line corresponds to n = 3, the Hβ line
to n = 4, and so on.
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Spectral Series
 The series limit corresponds to n = ∞, so that it
occurs at a wavelength of 4/R, in agreement with
experiment.
 The Balmer series contains wavelengths in the
visible portion of the hydrogen spectrum.
 These spectral series of hydrogen are plotted in
 Fig. 4.8 The spectral
terms of wavelength in Fig. 4.8
series of hydrogen.
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Spectral Series found whose lines have the wavelengths

specified by the formulas
 The spectral lines of hydrogen in the ultraviolet
and infrared regions fall into several other series. Paschen:
In the ultraviolet the Lyman series contains Brackett: (4.9)
the wavelengths given by the formula Pfund: (4.10)
Lyman:
In the infrared, three spectral series have been
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Spectral Series
The Brackett series evidently overlaps the Paschen and Pfund series.
The wavelengths in each series are related by simple formulas.
These observed regularities in the hydrogen spectrum together with similar regularities in the
spectra of more complex elements, pose
o a definitive test for any theory of atomic structure.
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The Bohr Atom

As it has been discussed in chapter three the electrons show the wave behavior.
Consider an electron in orbit around a hydrogen nucleus and since its velocity u<<c; let γ = 1.
Thus the de broglie wavelength of this electron is : , where the electron velocity is u that
given by Eq. (4.4): is:,
Hence: (4.11)
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The Bohr Atom

By substituting for the radius of the electron orbit (e.g. 4.1), we find the electron wavelength to be:
This wavelength is exactly the same as the circumference of the electron orbit:

The orbit of the electron in a hydrogen atom corresponds to one complete electron wave joined
on itself (fig 4.9a).
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orbit contains an integral number of de Broglie
The Bohr Atom
wavelengths.
 Which implies that a fractional number of
wavelengths cannot persist because destructive
interference will occur(fig 4.9b).
 It is easy to express the condition that an electron
orbit contain an integral number of de Broglie
wavelengths.

 Notice: An electron can circle a nucleus only if its  The circumference of a circular orbit of radius r is 2πr
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The Bohr Atom  So the possible electron orbits are those whose radii
are given by (Orbital radii in Bohr atom)
 So the Condition for orbit stability is: (4.13)
n = 1, 2, 3, … (4.12) where designates the radius of  The radius of the innermost orbit is customarily called
the orbit that contain n wavelengths. the Bohr radius of the hydrogen atom and is denoted
 Integer n is called the quantum number of the by the symbol a :
0

orbit Bohr radius:

 Substituting for λ, the electron wavelength given  The other radii are given in terms of a0 by the
by Eq. (4.11), yields ; formula:
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Energy Levels And Spectra Substituting for from Eq (4.13), we see that:

A photon is emitted when an electron jumps

from one energy level to a lower level
The various permitted orbits involve different
electron energies.
The electron energy En is given in terms of the
orbit radius rn by Eq. (4.5) as
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Energy Levels And Spectra and no others.

 The energies specified by Eq. (4.15) are called the

energy levels of the hydrogen atom and are
plotted in Fig. 4.15.
 These levels are all negative, which signifies that
the electron does not have enough energy to escape
from the nucleus.
 An atomic electron can have only these energies
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Energy Levels And Spectra  In the limit of and the electron is no longer bound
to the nucleus to form an atom.
 An analogy might be a person on a ladder, who can
stand only on its steps and not in between.  A positive energy for a nucleus-electron
combination means that the electron is free and
 The lowest energy level is called the ground state
has no quantum conditions to fulfill;
of the atom
 Such a combination does not constitute an atom, of
 The higher levels , , , … are called excited states.
course.
 As the quantum number increases, the
corresponding energy approaches closer to 0.
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Energy Levels And Spectra

The work needed to remove an electron from an atom in its ground state is called its
ionization energy.
The ionization energy is accordingly equal to , the energy that must be provided to raise an
electron from its ground state to an energy of when it is free.
In the case of hydrogen, the ionization energy is 13.6 eV since the ground-state energy of the
hydrogen atom is -13.6 eV.
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Origin of Line Spectra

Atoms exhibit line spectra in both emission and absorption.
 Let us suppose that when an electron in an excited state drops to a lower state, the lost energy is
emitted as a single photon of light.
 According to our model, electrons cannot exist in an atom except in certain specific energy levels.
If the quantum number of the initial (higher-energy) state is and the quantum number of the
final (lower-energy) state is , we are asserting that
Initial energy - final energy = photon energy (4.16)
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Origin of Line Spectra

Where v is the frequency of the emitted photon and from Eq. (4.15) we have

We recall that is a negative quantity (-13.6 eV, in fact), so is a positive quantity.
The frequency of the photon released in this transition is therefore
(4.17)
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Origin of Line Spectra

 Since

 Eq.(4.18) states that the radiation emitted by excited hydrogen atoms should contain certain wavelengths
only.
 These wavelengths, furthermore, fall into definite sequences that depend upon the quantum number of
the final energy level of the electron (Fig. 4.16).
 Since in each case, in order that there be an excess of energy to be given off as a photon, the calculated
formulas for the first five series are given in next slide
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Origin of Line Spectra

a
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Origin of Line Spectra therefore in accord with the spectral data.

Our final step is to compare the value of the
constant term in the above equations with that of
the Rydberg constant in Eqs. (4.6) to (4.10).
The value of the constant term is

which is indeed the same as R.

Bohr’s model of the hydrogen atom is
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ATOMIC STRUCTURE
 Such an excited atom will return to its ground
Atomic Excitation
state in an average of by emitting one or more
How atoms absorb and emit energy photons.
There are two main ways in which an atom  To produce a luminous (shining) discharge in a
can be excited to an energy above its ground rarefied gas, an electric field is established that
state and thereby become able to radiate. accelerates electrons and atomic ions until their
kinetic energies are sufficient to excite atoms they
a. collision with another particle in which
collide with.
part of their joint kinetic energy is
absorbed by the atom.
z
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Atomic Excitation
b. Another excitation mechanism is involved when an atom absorbs a photon of light whose energy
is just the right amount to raise the atom to a higher energy level.
 For example, a photon of wavelength 121.7nm is emitted when a hydrogen atom in the n =2 state drops
to the n=1 state.
 Absorbing a photon of wavelength 121.7nm by a hydrogen atom initially in the n=1 state will therefore
bring it up to the n=2 state (Fig. 4.17).
 This process explains the origin of absorption spectra.
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Atomic Excitation

Figure 4.17 How emission and absorption spectral lines originate.

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The Laser ii. The light is coherent, with the waves all
exactly in phase with one another.
How to produce light waves all in step
iii. A laser beam diverges hardly at all.
The term laser stands for light amplification
by stimulated emission of radiation. iv. The beam is extremly intense, more intense
by far than the light from any other source.
 It is a device that produces a light beam with
To achieve an energy density equal to that in
some remarkable properties:
some laser beams, a hot object would have to
i. The light is very nearly monochromatic(has
be at a temperature of .
the same frequency).
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The Laser energy - = hv.

2. Spontaneous emission: it is the process in
 The last two of these properties follow from the
which the atom which is initially in the upper
second of them.
state , can be dropped to by emitting a photon of
 There are three possibilities of transition between energy hv.
two energy levels andinvolving electromagnetic
3. Stimulated emission: it is the process in which
radiation in an atom (fig 4.18) below, such as:
an incident photon of energy hv causes a
1. Stimulated absorption: it is the process in transition from to .
which the atom which is initially in the lower
state , can be raised to by absorbing a photon of
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 In stimulated emission, the radiated light waves are
The Laser
exactly in phase with the incident ones, so the result
is an enhanced beam of coherent light.
 Einstein showed that stimulated emission has the
same probability as stimulated absorption.
 That is, a photon of energy hv incident on an atom
in the upper state has the same likelihood of
 Fig 4.18 Transitions between two energy levels in
causing the emission of another photon of energy hv
an atom can occur by stimulated absorption, as its likelihood of being absorbed if it is incident on
spontaneous emission, and stimulated emission. an atom in the lower state .
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The Laser
The key to the laser is the presence in many
atoms of one or more excited energy levels
whose lifetimes may be or more instead of the
usual .
Such relatively long-lived states are called
Fig 4.19 An atom can exist in a metastable
metastable (temporarily stable); see Fig. 4.19
energy level for a longer time before radiating
than it can in an ordinary energy level.
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h
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48 EXAMPLE

1. Find the longest and shortest wavelength present in the Lyman series of
hydrogen atom. Ans. 912Ǻ ≤ λ ≤ 1215 Ǻ
2. Determine the distance of closest approach of 1Mev protons incident on
gold nuclei.
3. Find the frequency of revolution of the electron in the classical model of
hydrogen atom. In what region of the spectrum are electromagnetic
waves of this frequency? 
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49 CONT’D

4. An excited hydrogen atom emits a photon of wavelength λ in returning

to the ground state.
a) Dive a formula that gives the quantum number of the initial excited state
in terms of λ and R.
b) Use this formula to find ni for a 102.55nm