Atomic Physics Essay, Research Paper
subject = physics
title = Atomic Physics
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ATOMIC PHYSICS
Atomic Physics- is the study of atomic matter.
History of the atom
Dalton
John Dalton was a chemist who was famous for his atomic theory. He discovered that
air was a mixture, not a compound. He also discovered that the solubility of a gas
depends on the weight of its atoms. He published the law of partial pressures, known
as D
Thomson
Sir Joseph John Thomson was a British physicist who won the 1906 Nobel Prize for
physics for his research on the conduction of electricity by gases. He used a
discharge tube to identify an electron. He was the first to record this information. The
way he
Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford was a New Zealand scientist. Many of our current views of matter
come from him. He was the first to do the gold foil experiment. He also developed his
own structure of the atom in 1911. The nucleus was positive and the empty space
arou
Bohr
Niels Bohr picked up where he thought Rutherford left off. He used much of the
previously discovered information to develop some assumptions. The first was:
Electrons can only move in a certain number of energy levels. This would mean that
they had a lim
Current structure of the atom
It is now known that atoms have wave patterns. The Stanford Center discovered that
protons as well as neutrons are actually made up of quarks. Rutherford?s model was
found to be reasonably accurate.
Radio Activity
Alpha, beta and gamma rays are radio waves in small proportion, and they are used
in X-rays. The radiation produced sends off a very short wave length and are different
for each type of ray. X-rays were discovered by a man named Roentgen in 1895 by
con
Nuclear Reactions
Alpha, beta and gamma are used to describe the decay process involved with nuclear
reactions. This process was developed also by Ernist Rutherford and is used in
modern science today. The time taken for half of the original number of atoms to
decay is c
Fission and Fusion
Nuclear Fission
Nuclear fission is an action that releases energy. The energy from the fission
generates electric power, used to sustain our civilization. Atoms are split by using
neutron which collide with the atoms. The result are 2 to 3 fragments with a mass less
Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion occurs when two lighter elements are combined to form a new, larger
element. During the combining process great amounts of energy are released. In the
cases where the elements nuclei contains a low atomic weight the separation of a
neutr he promise of such a clean and vast supply of energy are incentives for further
research. The energy released could produce enough power for many generations to
come.
General Applications
Radiation is used in many different areas within society, anywhere from medicine to
atom bombs.