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The nucleus was discovered in 1911, as a result of Ernest Rutherford's efforts to test Thomson's "plum pudding model" of the atom. [10] The electron had already been discovered by J. J. Thomson. Knowing that atoms are electrically neutral, J. J. Thomson postulated that there must be a positive charge as well.
In atomic physics and quantum chemistry, the electron configuration is the distribution of electrons of an atom or molecule (or other physical structure) in atomic or molecular orbitals. [1] For example, the electron configuration of the neon atom is 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6 , meaning that the 1s, 2s, and 2p subshells are occupied by two, two, and six ...
The nuclear shell model is partly analogous to the atomic shell model, which describes the arrangement of electrons in an atom, in that a filled shell results in better stability. When adding nucleons ( protons and neutrons ) to a nucleus, there are certain points where the binding energy of the next nucleon is significantly less than the last one.
Electron discovered by J. J. Thomson [4] 1899 Alpha particle discovered by Ernest Rutherford in uranium radiation [5] 1900 Gamma ray (a high-energy photon) discovered by Paul Villard in uranium decay [6] 1911 Atomic nucleus identified by Ernest Rutherford, based on scattering observed by Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden [7] 1919
Top: Expected results: alpha particles passing through the plum pudding model of the atom undisturbed. Bottom: Observed results: a small portion of the particles were deflected, indicating a small, concentrated charge. Diagram is not to scale; in reality the nucleus is vastly smaller than the electron shell.
An electron can be bound to the nucleus of an atom by the attractive Coulomb force. A system of one or more electrons bound to a nucleus is called an atom. If the number of electrons is different from the nucleus's electrical charge, such an atom is called an ion.
Thomson made the discovery around the same time that Walter Kaufmann and Emil Wiechert discovered the correct mass to charge ratio of these cathode rays (electrons). [34] The name "electron" was adopted for these particles by the scientific community, mainly due to the advocation by G. F. FitzGerald, J. Larmor, and H. A. Lorentz.
An electron can potentially be found at any distance from the nucleus, but, depending on its energy level and angular momentum, exists more frequently in certain regions around the nucleus than others; this pattern is referred to as its atomic orbital.