atomic models
Subatomic structure representations
Atomic models are theoretical representations of how atoms are structured—the arrangement of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
Different models have dominated at different times: Thomson's plum pudding model, Rutherford's nuclear model, Bohr's planetary model with electron orbits, and the modern quantum mechanical model with probability clouds.
Each refined understanding of atomic behavior: Students learn successive atomic models to see how scientific theories evolve.
- energy levelsGradations of physical vitality
- electron shellsAtomic electron arrangement regions
- spectroscopyStudy of light-matter interaction
- Schrödinger equationGoverns quantum state evolution
- quantum tunnelingSubatomic passage through classically forbidden regions
quantum leap · probability · spectral lines · bonds · plum pudding · electron cloud · chemistry · orbit · standing wave · quantum superposition · neutron · structure · excited state · particle · electron microscopy · hydrogen · charge · spin