How did Scientists determint the structure of the atom, when they can't even see it?

Question

If microscopes strong enough to see atoms were not invented back then, how did scientists decide what the structure of an atom looked like?

Answer 1

Indirect measurents of the characteristics gave us an model of the atom
ie Thompson with neg particle became electons
Rutherford shooting alpha particles showed empty space and a positive center...
Bohr with his energy shells showed by absorption of radiation by atoms..
All of theses are modles based on the evidence.... who knows atoms way be miniature elephant playing soccer but we don't have any evidence for that yet!!!

Answer 2

It took the work of many scientists who tackled different parts of the problem. The theory on the structure of the atom has evolved over time. First, Thompson discovered electrons in cathode rays and the only place that these electrons could have come from was from the metal in the tube. These electrons had to come from the metal's atoms. This was the first sign subatomic particles. Rutherford slammed alpha particles ( helium nuclei) into a very very thin gold foil. A vast majority of the alpha particles passed right through the material. Only a few rebounded, but if they did, they rebounded with a great force. The conclusion was that there is a small but dense area of positive charge inside an atom while most of the volume is empty space. This gives the basic structure that we know of with a small dense positive nucleus while the electrons are orbiting a pretty large distance away given the scale of the atom. In the earlyish 1900s scientists like Bohr and Schrodinger found equations that further described the electrons orbits. The development of quantum mechanics is a bit complicated and it won't help the picture too much of the structure of the atom. If you're interested a good start would be to search their names and quantum mechanics

Answer 3

The pioneers of atomic structures and atomic models did their best to explain things from the results of experiments the did. For instance, the results from Rutherford's gold foil experiment could only be explained if the atom had a small, dense nucleus. No other model of the atom could explain the data.

Thomson's work with cathode rays could only be explained if the atom was not solid, but made of tiny things he called electrons and protons.

Answer 4

This has a long history, with the concept changing over time. A good article is here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_atomic_structure_theories

For example, it was discovered that an atom is mostly empty space by Rutherford, who bombarded thin gold leaf with electrons and discovered that almost all of them passed straight through, but a few were wildly deflected. Those few got too close to the nucleus.

Answer 5

the closest element to "seeing" and atom became decrease back approximately 1940 with Bragg photographs....yet in factor of certainty that lots of the evidence of contemporary technology is in line with oblique observations.....decrease back around 1913 the great physicist, Ernest Rutherford, became the 1st to propose that electrons circulated around the nucleus of an atom---why? it incredibly is because of the fact whilst he achieved experiments that in the time of touch sending beams of alpha debris (helium nuclei) without postpone into very skinny steel sheets, the development of debris that scattered out the different area needless to say confirmed that the useful and adverse debris that made up the steel atoms of the sheet could no longer in all probability be all mixed at the same time in a compact shape as initially proposed via J J Thomson (the Thomson atomic kind) ----the Rutherford atom proposed became based such that the nucleus became composed strictly of somewhat huge useful quotes tightly certain at the same time and that the electrons swirled around the nucleus in discrete and sharply defined paths merely like the planets interior the photograph voltaic device. And the alpha scattering experiments strongly supported this....yet now this photograph has had to be as much as date with the recent Quantum hypothesis that asserts that the electrons are no longer sharply defined factor hundreds yet in certainty are unfolded in cloud like status wave types analogous to the diaphragm on a vibrating drum yet nonetheless....merely as Rutherford had proposed a century in the past....nevertheless exterior to the nucleus. the real photograph of what the atom fairly is could in no way be time-honored yet in technology we attempt to get closer and nearer to the real photograph with ongoing updates and revisions of till now proposed "fashions" or conceptions of that which we are able to no longer see without postpone

Answer 6

Check out the famous Rutherford Gold Foil experiment.

He used it to determine the main structure of the atom.

Later on Schroedinger used his solid trigonometry differential equations to describe the shapes of the electron orbitals.

Both are models of reality but they work so they are considered verified.

Answer 7

Hi. They started with a theory and then made measurements and observations. First theory was that there were solid atoms, then nuclii with electrons in 'orbits', then electron within clouds, then protons and neutrons made of quarks, then quarks (or something else) made of strings, etc...

Answer 8

With X-vision, of course.