plum pudding model

proper noun

An obsolete scientific model of the atom, devised shortly after the discovery of the electron but before the discovery of the atomic nucleus, and according to which the atom is composed of electrons surrounded by a soup of positive charge to balance the electrons' negative charges. It was disproved in 1909.

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Meanings

proper nounthe plum pudding model
  1. historicalnatural sciencesAn obsolete scientific model of the atom, devised shortly after the discovery of the electron but before the discovery of the atomic nucleus, and according to which the atom is composed of electrons surrounded by a soup of positive charge to balance the electrons' negative charges. It was disproved in 1909.

Origin

The electrons are viewed as negatively-charged "plums" in a positively-charged "pudding".

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Cite this entry
APA

plum pudding model. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plum%20pudding%20model

MLA

“plum pudding model.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plum%20pudding%20model. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “plum pudding model,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plum%20pudding%20model.

Source: plum pudding model on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.