Good Research Paper On Electrons In The Atom

Introduction

Atoms are those constituents of all the matters which are the smallest. Atoms are the main part of the element and the different elements have different atoms. Atoms also contain the sub-atomic particles. Among these sub-atomic particles, the three particles hold the significant importance and therefore are studied more. These sub-atomic particles includes proton, neutron and electron. The elements that are different possess different atoms in terms of difference in the number of these sub-atomic particles. Consequently, the number of subatomic particles in an atom is the basis for the characterization of the atoms elements containing the atoms. Most of the space of the atoms is empty and the nucleus is present in the centre of the atom. This nucleus is comprised of the protons and neutrons in it. The entire mass of the atoms is studied to be residing in the nucleus of the atom. Since, the proton and neutron make up the most of the mass of an atom.
Above 100 different atoms are found in this world. Among this number, 92 atoms are naturally present in the world while the rest are formed in the laboratory. New atoms in the laboratory are constructed by the addition of the protons in an atom thus, creating a new atom. The foremost atom formed in the laboratory is Technetium containing 43 protons in its nucleus. The reason for the consideration of the atom as the basic unit of matter which is the smallest is the fact that the atom is unbreakable into further constitutions. This shows that atoms cannot be destroyed. Hence, the name suggests the meaning which is undivided. The atom can be divided into its own particles called as quarks and leptons. Lepton is associated with the leptons whereas, three quarks make up the protons and neutrons respectively. The largest atom is the cesium which is nine times greater than the smallest atom which is helium. In the same way, the most found atom is the hydrogen atom. The abundance of the hydrogen atom is not limited to this world. However, the hydrogen atom can be the main constituent of the universe as a whole. The study of the atoms reveals many aspects. Subsequently, the study if its particles are also necessary, therefore, the following research work is based on the electrons.

Aims and Objectives

The aims and objectives of the following research are as follows.
Discovery of the electrons.
Properties of the electrons and,
Discussion
Discovery of the Electron
J.J Thomson was the scientist who was the discoverer of the cathode rays. He conducted an experiment which included the passage of electric current through the gases in the year of 1884. His experiment contained a discharged tube which comprised of the plates having positive and negative terminal. The negative terminal was named as cathode terminal. The pass on of the voltage through the discharge tube caused the fluorescent rays passing from the bottom of the tube towards the top of the tube. The rays were thought to be of electricity. These rays were not identified correctly, and it was misunderstood to be ether or streams containing some particles. Later, J.J Thomson figured the matter out. He conducted the experiment containing the same apparatus but the fields provided were changed because he used electric and magnetic fields which were passed through the discharge tube. The introduction of the magnetic field will cause the particles to bend because of the magnetism. Consequently, the cathode rays bent towards one side of the discharge tube. Thomson had first used the discharge tube with reduced amount of gas, which showed him the attraction of positive terminal towards negative and negative towards positive. Later on, he extracted more gas from the discharge tube and increased the vacuum in it. This caused the field to be produced more prominently, and the cathode rays were revealed to be deflected by the electric and, magnetic field. Hence, Thomson concluded that the cathode rays possessed some particles that's why the rays got bent. As soon as the discovery was made that the electricity is the travel of the electrons, the particles in the cathode rays were identified as well. The experiments of Thomson only revealed the presence of the negative particles in the cathode rays which are termed as electrons now. On the other hand, during the years of 1869 to 1875, William Crookes was the scientist who carried out the experiment with the discharged tube and discovered the presence of streams of electrons in the cathode rays. He discovered that the formation of ions occurs when electricity is passed through the gases in the discharged tube. The ions result from the gases, and these ions are negatively charged due to electrons in it. Thus, the electrons are the part of the cathode rays (Davis, 1997).

Properties of the Electrons

The properties of the cathode rays can be illustrated by the properties of the electrons since, the cathode rays are the streams of travelling electrons. Electrons travel in a straight line because a shadow was produced when an obstacle was placed between the paths of the cathode rays. Since the rays can pass through the metal foils, it was believed the property of the electrons to pass through the metal material. However, the properties of the electrons are considered as the debate because the nature of the beam of the electrons cannot be identified. Some scientists conducted the experiment and found it to be particles whereas, there are some scientists who considered the beam of electrons to be containing the wave nature.
The dual nature of light was proposed by the Einstein in 1905, but the dual nature of electron which refers to the particle and the wave nature exhibited by the electrons similar to light were suggested by Brogile. On the contrary, the atomic model proposed by Bohr suggested that the electrons are the particles in nature. Bohr also provided the properties of the electrons which can prove the electrons to have the particle nature and devoid of the wave nature.
As illustrated, the atom consists of much of its space empty which is surrounding the nucleus. Thus, the probability to find the negative charge in the atom in the free space becomes high. In the terms of mathematical confrontation, the profanity of finding the negative charge or the distribution of electrons bearing the negative charge around the nucleus of an atom is based on an equation. This equation in mathematics is responsible to describe the wave nature since, the distribution of electrons gives the similar equation therefore, and the electrons can be considered of exhibiting the wave nature. In actual, the equation provides the knowledge for the standing wave . Thus, the electrons are believed to be following the standing wave. On the contrary, the atomic model of Bohr illustrated the particle properties of the electrons. He too proposed equations and properties of the electrons which make them the particles. Consequently, the electrons were considered of possessing the dual nature which included particle and wave nature of the electron (Mackay, 2002). In the year of the 1926, an equation was proposed by Schrodinger, which incorporated both wave and particle nature of the electrons in his study. Therefore, the electrons can be considered as containing both properties. The electrons were regarded as the packet of energy which was referred to as the quantum numbers or quantum. This explanation of the nature of the electron fitted the properties of the electrons and profoundly illustrated the orbital angular momentum and other phenomenon related to the electrons (Haug, 2008).
The electrons are negatively charge. The mass of the electrons is very small as compared to other matter. The electron is estimated to have 1/1836 times smaller mass than the hydrogen atom. The location of the electrons within the atom is not possible to figure out. In an atom, there is an electron cloud which contains all of the electrons. Therefore, the electrons are difficult to be located in the atom. Electrons are present in pairs in the nucleus and revolve around the nucleus in the orbits. The electrons are the parts of the atoms that take part in the reactions related to the chemistry of the elements. Electrons are shared, donated or accepted among the different atoms. The atoms which donate or accept the electrons become ions. Those which donate the electrons become positive whereas, the atoms which accept the electrons become negative ion since, the number of the electrons or the negative charge is increased to the atoms.
Electrons revolve around the nucleus and continue to do so unless they are provided the energy. When the energy is provided by the electrons, they become excited and leave the orbit and jumps to the higher level or orbit. The continuous provision of energy can lead the electrons to pass through all the orbits around the nucleus of the atom. Once it leaves the last orbit of the atom, it no longer remains the part of that atom. However, if, at any orbit, the electron does not receive the energy, then the electrons moves back to its original orbit. Since, it is moving back, therefore, the energy absorbed by the electron is all liberated from the electron. This energy are liberated in the form of photons . Hence, light emerges from the electron's energy. This light is emitted in the form of the spectrum.

Conclusion

The electrons are the main part of the atom because all if the reactions are possible due to the presence of electrons in the atoms. The electrons are responsible to carry out the reactions and combine the atom with other different atoms thus forming new molecules. Electrons possess dual nature resembling the nature of light which is both particle and wave nature. Consequently, being the dual nature, the properties of the electrons are enhanced.

Work Cited

Davis, Edward Arthur, and Isabel Falconer. JJ Thompson and the Discovery of the Electron. CRC Press, 1997. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?index=books&linkCode=qs&keywords=9780203484098 on 7th April 2015.
Haug, Hartmut, Stephen W. Koch, and Leonid V. Keldysh. "Quantum Theory of the Optical and Electronic Properties of Semiconductors." Physics Today 47.2 (2008): 106-108. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?index=books&linkCode=qs&keywords=9789812838834 on 7th April 2015.
Mackay, Rosemary Ann, and W. Henderson. Introduction to modern inorganic chemistry. CRC Press, 2002. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?index=books&linkCode=qs&keywords=9780748764204 on 7th April 2015.