Our image of an atom has changed throughout history. The atom is the smallest unit to make all matter. Every solid, liquid and even gas has matter composed of atoms. Many people have contributed to our understanding of atoms that dates back to as far as Ancient Greece. That goes to show how much work scientists have put in to help us unlock more doors to life. The understanding of the structure of atoms has changed throughout history.
The first documented case of the discovery of atoms dates back to 450 B.C with two Greek philosophers, Leucippus and Democritus (Doc. 1). This was only a theory; however, they proposed the idea that all matter is made up of atoms. Then in 1661, Irish chemist Robert Boyle supported the philosophers’ theory of how chemical elements are made up of the simplest matter, backing the theory of how matter makes up all life and is the smallest living thing (Doc. 1). But a bombshell happened in 1803 when John Dalton backed up all three theories by discovering that atoms make up all matter, and chemical compounds are made of atoms (OI).
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By firing massively charged particles at an atom, he found that atoms are made up of smaller particles (Doc. 1). This would lead to his discovery of protons also known as alpha particles (OI). After that, he bombarded gold foil and observed that some of the atoms passed through the foil. Therefore, he concluded that atoms are composed of empty space (OI). According to DePra’s poem, “The electron is minus, the proton is plus,/ the neutron is neither” (Doc. 2). In other words, a neutron is neutral, the electron is negative and the proton is positive. After these discoveries, more inventions were made to help further our understanding of atoms, for instance, the the electron microscope. Electrons were discovered before Rutherford by JJ Thomas (OI). Thomas was using a cathode ray and discovered that atoms are made of smaller subatomic particles
Within the last hundred years, the atomic model gone through dramatic changes allowing to apply the knowledge of matter understanding at atomic level into different industries like medicine such as MRI and X-Ray. This knowledge allowed doctors to treat, diagnose and certainly save millions of people throughout the years, which could not have been done without research being done on the structure of the atom funded continuously for these scientists to find more application which benefit people and comprehend the world we live in on an atomic level.
In the 18th century, scientists were strongly influenced by theories. In 350 B.C., Aristotle believed that everything was made from fire, earth, air and water. There later was a Greek physician named Galen. He practiced about 500 years after Aristotle. Galen believed that the body had four elements which he called humors. The four
The atomic model that was accepted by the scientific community before Rutherford's experiment consisted of a group of positive charge surrounded by electrons to balance the negative charge of the electrons. In Rutherford's experiment, he found that there was a center to atoms, later to be named the nucleus. Rutherford created his own model after stating that Thompson's was incorrect.
Scientists once thought that atoms were the main building blocks of matter. Research and experimentation led them to the discovery of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Satisfied with their discovery, they could not have possibly imagined anything smaller than a proton or a neutron, which is about 10-15 in diameter. The first idea for a smaller particle came in 1935 from Hideki Yukawa, who thought that there were smaller particles which could hold the neutrons and protons together in the nucleus (Chen 14). However, in 1964, Murray Gellmann and George Zweig independently postulated, then discovered, the quark, the smallest particle of matter that has yet been discovered. Simply postulating the quark did not fool other scientists, though, and
He learned that it is impossible to find out where the electron is in an atom, he also constructed a cloud of an atom.
At the beginning of the twentieth century a scientist called Albert Einstein had a special theory about atoms. His theory was that atoms had a lot of energy locked within them. After this theory was published scientists worked hard to prove that this theory was true. After thirty years of experiments they discovered that within the nucleus there is a lot of energy and splitting the atom would release it.
First scientist to suggest that all matter is composed of small, indivisible particles called atoms
- He proposed that atoms have a small dense center called nucleus and it’s made of protons, who has positive charges
Before Rutherford’s Geiger-Marsden experiment the most popular model of the atom was the “plum pudding model” developed in 1904 by the person who also discovered the electron in 1897, J.J. Thompson. It was the most common model of the atom and stated that electrons (plum) floated around with
Throughout history, science has been evolving and changing in a variety of ways. A vast number of proclamations have been both proven and disproven over time. An example of an ever-changing statement is the Atomic Theory of Matter. This theory states that matter is composed of extremely small units called atoms, what those atoms are made of, and what they do. This theory dates back all the way to ancient Greece and was most recently updated in the 1920's. Five main scientists have had a part in shaping and evolving this theory. They are Democritus, John Dalton, Joseph John Thomson, Ernest Rutherford, and Neils Bohr.
In ancient Greece, the first philosophers searched for the fundamental building blocks of the world. Originally, it was thought that the fundamental elements were earth, air, fire, and water. Empedocles (c. 490-430 BC) was the first to classify the elements and propose that they made up everything in our world in different combinations. Leucippus (c. 460-370 BC), and his student Democritus (c. 460-370 BC), were the first to propose a theory that the world was made up of “atoms.” The word “atom” is derived from the Greek word “atomon,” which means “that which cannot be divided” (The Particle Adventure). Leucippus’s theory was very vague. He claimed the world was made of two elements that he called, “the full” or the “solid” and “the empty” or “void” (Berryman). He believed these particles were infinite and were what made up all things. Because Leucippus’s
The Discovery of the Atom first came from the Greeks which made a theory “The idea that all matter is made up of tiny, indivisible particles, or atoms, is believed to have originated with the Greek philosopher Leucippus of Miletus and his student Democritus of Abdera in the 5th century B.C. (The word atom comes from the Greek word atomos, which means “indivisible.”)” (InfoPlease Atomic theory)
He stated that this was a mysterious force but never continued his research on it. Then in 460 B.C. there was a philosopher named Democritus. Democritus and his mentor Leocippus posed the question that if he broke bread into multiple pieces how many would breaks would it take until there was no more bread. He then was able to make a few theories being all matter was created of atoms and atoms are solid but not invisible. However, there was a man named Aristotle and many other philosophers who disagreed with Democritus and said matter was composed of four main elements. Earth, fire, air, and water. For example, a liquid was made of water and a stone was made of rock. Therefore, Democritus’s theory “ was rejected by Aristotle, one of the most influential philosophers of Ancient Greece; and the atomic theory was ignored for nearly 2,000 years.”(
The Ancient Greeks were the firsts to speculate on the composition of matter. They thought that it was possible that individual particles made up matter.