History of The Atom
History of The Atom
History of The Atom
THE ATOM
DEMOCRITUS
DISCOVERY
450 -370
B.C.
During this time Greek philosophers wanted
to find a way to explain the natural world. Many
believed that a primary matter existed. It was of
this primary matter that other things were
created. Democritus believed that matter was
of particles which he called atomos
DEMOCRITUScomposed
(atoms) that could not be broken down further.
These atoms were all composed of the same
primary matter with only differences between
them being their size, shape, and weight. These
characteristics explained the differences in the
property of matter around us. But unfortunately
for Democritus his ideas was ignored for the next
2000 years
ARISTOTLES THEORY
384 322
B.C.
ARISTOT
LE
ARISTOTLES THEORY
JOHN DALTON
1766- 1844
For nearly 2000 years science was unable to
create experiments to test Democritus theory.
During the 19th century a vast amount of data on
how substances react with each other was collected.
John Dalton was usually credited with developing
the first atomic theory.
Daltons Theory:
1. Matter is composed of small particles called
atoms
2. All atoms of an element are identical, but
different from those of any other element
3. During chemical reactions, atoms are neither
created nor destroyed, but are rearranges
4. Atoms always combine in whole number
multiples of each other
DMITRI
Dmitri Mendeleevs
Discovery 1834- 1907
While writing a textbook for his
students Dmitri Mendeleev attempted to
classify the elements by some exact
principle. He believed that this exact
system should be numerical in nature to
eliminate any margin of arbitrariness. The
only numerical data that did not change
was the atomic weights. By arranging the
MENDELEEVelements in order of increasing atomic
weight he discovered that there existed a
periodicity of the elemental properties. He
used the periodicity to create a table in
which that elements with similar properties
were vertically aligned with each other.
Therefore making the first periodic table
THE FIRST
PERIODIC TABLE
Henri Becquerel
HENRI BECQUEREL
1852 - 1908
In 1869, Henri Becquerel discovered
that a sample of uranium was able to
expose a photographic plate (a flat sheet
of metal or glass on which a photographic
image can be recorded) even when the
sample and plate were separated by black
paper. He also discovered that the
exposure of the plate did not depend on
the chemical state of uranium and must be
due to some property of the uranium atom
itself. Soon after he discovered this he
abandoned his work which was continued
by Pierre and Marie Curie
(1859 -1906)
After Henri Becquerel abandoned his
work Marie and Pierre discovered other
radioactive elements including polonium,
radium, and thorium. Sadly, in 1906
Pierre was killed by a truck in the middle
of their work. Marie further suggested
that the uranium, and the new elements,
were somehow disintegrating over time
and it emitted radiation that exposed
the plate. She called this radioactivity.
For the first time it became apparent that
atoms might be composed of even
smaller particles
Earnest Rutherford
and
Paul Villard
Paul
Villard
J.J. Thomson
(1856 1940)
J.J. Thomson
Henry Moseley
1887- 1915
Henry Mosely
Earnest Rutherford
Earnest Rutherford
James Chadwick
James Chadwick