Describe Thomson's atomic model.
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Alternative Titles: “plum pudding” atomic model, Thomson atomic model
Thomson atomic model, earliest theoretical description of the inner structure of atoms, proposed about 1900 by William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) and strongly supported by Sir Joseph John Thomson, who had discovered (1897) the electron, a negatively charged part of every atom. Though several alternative models were advanced in the 1900s by Kelvin and others, Thomson held that atoms are uniform spheres of positively charged matter in which electrons are embedded. Popularly known as the plum pudding model, it had to be abandoned (1911) on both theoretical and experimental grounds in favour of the Rutherford atomic model, in which the electrons describe orbits about a tiny positive nucleus.
Thomson atomic modelWilliam Thomson (also known as Lord Kelvin) envisioned the atom as a sphere with a uniformly distributed positive charge and embedded within it enough electrons to neutralize the positive charge.
Thomson's Atomic model
Thomson model Introduction
Thomson atomic model was proposed by William Thomson in the year 1900. This model explained the description of an inner structure of the atom theoretically. It was strongly supported by Sir Joseph Thomson, who had discovered the electron earlier.
During cathode ray tube experiment, a negatively charged particle was discovered by J.J. Thomson. This experiment took place in the year 1897. Cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube. The negative particle was called an electron.
Thomson assumed that an electron is two thousand times lighter than a proton and believed that an atom is made up of thousands of electrons. In this atomic structure model, he considered atoms surrounded by a cloud having positive as well as negative charges. The demonstration of the ionization of air by X-ray was also done by him together with Rutherford. They were the first to demonstrate it. Thomson’s model of an atom is similar to a plum pudding.

Postulates of Thomson’s atomic model
Postulate 1: An atom consists of a positively charged sphere with electrons embedded in it
Postulate 2: An atom as a whole is electrically neutral because the negative and positive charges are equal in magnitude
Thomson atomic model is compared to watermelon. Where he considered:
Watermelon seeds as negatively charged particles
The red part of the watermelon as positively charged
Limitations of Thomson’s atomic model
It failed to explain the stability of an atom because his model of atom failed to explain how a positive charge holds the negatively charged electrons in an atom. Therefore, This theory also failed to account for the position of the nucleus in an atom
Thomson’s model failed to explain the scattering of alpha particles by thin metal foils
No experimental evidence in its support
Although Thomson’s model was not an accurate model to account for the atomic structure, it proved to be the base for the development of other atomic models. Find the atomic structure pdf here. The study of the atom and its structure has paved the way for numerous inventions that have played a significant role in the development of humankind. To follow more download BYJU’S – the learning app.