The English chemist Sir Joseph John Thomson put forth his model describing the atomic structure in the early 1900s.
He was later awarded the Nobel prize for the discovery of “electrons”. His work is based on an experiment called cathode ray experiment. The construction of working of the experiment is as follows:
Cathode Ray Experiment
It has a tube made of glass which has two openings, one for the vacuum pump and the other for the inlet through which a gas is pumped in.
The role of the vacuum pump is to maintain “partial vacuum” inside the glass chamber. A high voltage power supply is connected using electrodes i.e. cathode and Anode is fitted inside the glass tube.
Observations:
- When a high voltage power supply is switched on, there were rays emerging from the cathode towards the anode. This was confirmed by the ‘Fluorescent spots’ on the ZnS screen used. These rays were called “Cathode Rays”.
- When an external electric field is applied, the cathode rays get deflected towards the positive electrode, but in the absence of electric field, they travel in a straight line.
- When rotor Blades are placed in the path of the cathode rays, they seem to rotate. This proves that the cathode rays are made up of particles of a certain mass, so that they have some energy.
- With all this evidence, Thompson concluded that cathode rays are made of negatively charged particles called “electrons”.
- On applying the electric and magnetic field upon the cathode rays (electrons), Thomson found the charge to mass ratio (e/m) of electrons. (e/m) for electron: 17588 × 1011 e/bg.
From this ratio, the charge of the electron was found by Mullikin through oil drop experiment. [Charge of e– = 1.6 × 10-16 C and Mass of e– = 9.1093 × 10-31 kg].
Conclusions:
Based on conclusions from his cathode ray experiment, Thomson described the atomic structure as a positively charged sphere into which negatively charged electrons were embedded.
It is commonly referred to as the “plum pudding model” because it can be visualized as a plum pudding dish where the pudding describes the positively charged atom and the plum pieces describe the electrons.
Thomson’s atomic structure described atoms as electrically neutral, i.e. the positive and the negative charges were of equal magnitude.
Limitations of Thomson’s Atomic Structure: Thomson’s atomic model does not clearly explain the stability of an atom. Also, further discoveries of other subatomic particles, couldn’t be placed inside his atomic model.