What if Atoms Had No Nucleus? The Untold Story of J.J. Thomson's Rotating Rings

Explore J.J. Thomson's sophisticated 1904 atomic model in this 50-minute video that goes far beyond the simplistic "plum pudding" nickname. Discover how Thomson envisioned electrons arranged in rotating rings within a diffuse sphere of positive charge—a universe without atomic nuclei. The lecture details Thomson's rigorous mathematical framework that attempted to explain the periodic table, spectral emissions, and chemical properties through electron configurations. Though eventually superseded by Rutherford's nuclear model, Thomson's work represented a crucial evolutionary step in atomic physics. The presentation draws from primary sources including Thomson's original 1904 paper and his 1907 book "The Corpuscular Theory of Matter," as well as modern scholarly analyses of his contributions to atomic theory.