A reminder that science proposed theories are often wrong, and rarely publicly admit that they are wrong and like the atom no really understands the true nature any better than before and what we think we know cannot be proven or disproven about the muffin.
The "muffin theory" of the atom is an analogy used to describe the plum pudding model, an early scientific model proposed by J.J. Thomson in 1904. This model was the first to suggest that an atom had an internal structure.
In the plum pudding (or muffin) model:
The atom was considered a sphere of uniform, diffuse positive charge, much like the dough or cake part of a muffin.
Negatively charged electrons (which Thomson called "corpuscles" after discovering them in 1897) were embedded within this positive sphere, similar to how blueberries or raisins are distributed throughout a muffin or plum pudding.
The total positive charge balanced the total negative charge, making the atom electrically neutral overall.
This model was eventually disproved by Ernest Rutherford's gold foil experiment around 1909. The experiment's results indicated that most of the atom is empty space, with all of its positive charge and most of its mass concentrated in a tiny, dense, central nucleus, leading to the development of the nuclear model of the atom.
The "muffin theory" of the atom is an analogy used to describe the plum pudding model, an early scientific model proposed by J.J. Thomson in 1904. This model was the first to suggest that an atom had an internal structure.
In the plum pudding (or muffin) model:
The atom was considered a sphere of uniform, diffuse positive charge, much like the dough or cake part of a muffin.
Negatively charged electrons (which Thomson called "corpuscles" after discovering them in 1897) were embedded within this positive sphere, similar to how blueberries or raisins are distributed throughout a muffin or plum pudding.
The total positive charge balanced the total negative charge, making the atom electrically neutral overall.
This model was eventually disproved by Ernest Rutherford's gold foil experiment around 1909. The experiment's results indicated that most of the atom is empty space, with all of its positive charge and most of its mass concentrated in a tiny, dense, central nucleus, leading to the development of the nuclear model of the atom.
The "muffin theory" of the atom is an analogy used to describe the plum pudding model, an early scientific model proposed by J.J. Thomson in 1904.
by Modern Women December 30, 2025
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