Models of the Hydrogen Atom 1.0

Models of the Hydrogen Atom is a physics simulation model. It illustrates how physicists attempted to predict what the structure of an atom was. The application has two modes: Experiment and Prediction. The first one duplicates the experiment that shows what really happens, i.e. the real structure of an atom. The Prediction mode shows an array of experiments physicists carried out and they results.

In the prediction mode there are six experiments. You can browse through them by clicking on their name. For example, the first prediction was what is called the billiard ball. Scientists believed that every particle that was shot at an atom's nucleus would bounce on it or would be expelled by it. The second prediction was the plum pudding. In this case, scientists posited that when a particle collided with the nucleus of an atom, it would be captured and then released.

The experiment mode shows that in reality the nucleus of an atom is a bit different. It shows that certain particles are deflected and thus something must be there doing the deflecting.

In short, this simulation model allows you to recreate experiments that were of paramount importance for the development of all the branches of science.