Atomic Structure
Video clips and animations
- A quick survey of the history of ideas about the atom
You may wonder why the electrons shown end up as a fuzzy cloud. This represents a half-way stage to a more sophisticated view of electrons. YouTube - Isotopes of hydrogen
A very short explanation of how the three isotopes of hydrogen arise. YouTube
Other interesting sites
- The Geiger-Marsden experiment
This has a very nice animation of the Geiger-Marsden experiment from which Rutherford came up with the view of the atom as having a tiny nucleus surrounded by lots of empty space (mentioned in the first link above). Unlikely to be on your syllabus, but interesting. - Can you see atoms?
This page looks at how a scanning tunnelling microscope enables you to look at what happens on the surfaces of solids, showing the arrangement of the atoms. Don't forget to look at the animation link on the page (link under the first paragraph - fairly hidden!). Unlikely to be on your syllabus, but interesting. - Turning atoms into art
Brilliant piece of animated film produced by manipulating individual atoms. Obviously not on your syllabus! You should also watch the short film about how this was done. For more images, see this page from the Nobel Prize organisation.
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© Jim Clark 2017
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