Atoms in molecules Atoms in molecules The quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) is a model of molecular and condensed matter electronic systems (such as crystals) in which the principal objects of molecular structure - atoms and bonds - are natural expressions of a system's observable electron density distribution function. An electron density distribution of a molecule is a probability distribution that describes the average manner in which the electronic charge is distributed throughout real space in the attractive field exerted by the nuclei. According to QTAIM, molecular structure is revealed by the stationary points of the electron density together with the
Atomic theory hydrogen atoms - then assumed to be the lightest particles - led him to conclude that hydrogen nuclei were singular particles and a basic constituent of all atomic nuclei. He named such particles protons. Further experimentation by Rutherford found that the nuclear mass of most atoms exceeded that of the protons it possessed; he speculated that this surplus mass was composed of previously-unknown neutrally charged particles, which were tentatively dubbed "neutrons". In 1928, Walter Bothe observed that beryllium emitted a highly penetrating, electrically neutral radiation when bombarded with alpha particles. It was later discovered that this radiation could knock hydrogen