Uploaded January 2013 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The Thomson model of the atom showed promise. But the rug was pulled out from under it by Rutherford's gold foil experiment which showed that the positive charge, and nearly all the mass of an atom is concentrated in an extremely small nucleus. There seemed to be no alternative to having electrons orbit the nucleus. But classical electromagnetic theory predicted radiation collapse for such a system. It became clear that any successful model of the atom would have go beyond classical physics.
The playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL193BC0532FE7B02C
The Thomson model of the atom showed promise. But the rug was pulled out from under it by Rutherford's gold foil experiment which showed that the positive charge, and nearly all the mass of an atom is concentrated in an extremely small nucleus. There seemed to be no alternative to having electrons orbit the nucleus. But classical electromagnetic theory predicted radiation collapse for such a system. It became clear that any successful model of the atom would have go beyond classical physics.
The playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL193BC0532FE7B02C
