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The Plum Pudding model is a concept that J.J. Thomson proposed in the early 20th Century in the field atomic theory. This model, which is also known as the Thomson Model provided insight into the structure and function of the atom. It laid the foundation for future discoveries in this field.
Scientists believed that atoms could not be broken into smaller particles before the Plum Pudding model. Thomson’s experiments using cathode-rays led to him challenging this notion and proposing a new atom model.
Thomson’s experiments involved passing electrical currents through gases in glass tubes called cathode-ray tubes. He noticed that the cathode-rays, which were streams of electrons in the tube, were attracted by the positively charged side. This led him into the conclusion that atoms contain negatively charged particles he called electrons.
Thomson, based on his observations in 1904, proposed the Plum Pudding model. This model envisioned an atom as a sphere with a positive charge and smaller electrons embedded inside it, similar to plums in pudding. This model was in opposition to the earlier “planetary model” of the atom, proposed by Ernest Rutherford. It suggested that electrons revolved around a central, positive-charged nucleus.
Thomson’s Plum Pudding model was significant because it challenged a widely held belief that the atom is indivisible. It introduced the idea of subatomic particle and provided a better representation of atom’s structure.
The Plum Pudding Model was replaced by the Rutherford Model (also known as the Nuclear Model), which was a result of experiments conducted by Rutherford with his colleagues. Rutherford performed the famous gold foil test in 1911. He aimed alpha particle (positively charged particles), at a thin gold foil sheet. To his surprise, some particles were deflected or bounced, indicating the atom contained an atom with a dense, small, positively charged nucleus.
Rutherford’s discoveries disproved Thomson’s Plum Pudding Model, and led to the creation of the Rutherford Model. In this model, electrons are shown to orbit the nucleus like planets do around the sun.
J.J. Thomson proposed the Plum Pudding Atom Model based on his cathode-ray experiments. It introduced the idea of subatomic particle and challenged the dominant view of atom indivisibility. Rutherford’s gold-foil experiment disproved the model, which led to the development the nuclear model. Thomson’s Plum Pudding model, despite being replaced, played a vital role in advancing atomic theory and understanding atomic structure.