J. J. Thomson studied the ionization of atoms in

Chapter 29, Problem 4CQ

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Problem 4CQ

J. J. Thomson studied the ionization of atoms in collisions with electrons. He accelerated electrons through a potential difference, shot them into a gas of atoms, then used a mass spectrometer to detect any ions produced in the collisions. By using different gases, he found that he could produce singly ionized atoms of all the elements that he tried. When he used higher accelerating voltages, he was able to produce doubly ionized atoms of all elements except hydrogen.

a. Why did Thomson have to use higher accelerating voltages to detect doubly ionized atoms than to detect singly ionized atoms?

b. What conclusion or conclusions about hydrogen atoms can you draw from these observations? Be specific as to how your conclusions are related to the observations.