Atomic Theory

400B.C.

Early Greek philosophers pondered the fundamental nature of matter:

Is it continuous and infinitely

divisible?
(Aristotle)
Is it divisible only until a basic,
indivisible particle that cannot be
divided any further is reached?
(Democritus)

Democritus is the first to use the term

atom from the Greek word atomos
meaning indivisible.
He believed the world was made of:
1.) atoms
2.) empty space
Democritus was not believed
and it would be thousands of
years before scientists would
re-visit this idea.

What happened in the next 2000

years?

The Atomic Theory is published

in 1803.

More than 2000 years after Democritus, an

English scientist and school teacher, John
Dalton, proposed an Atomic Theory of his
own and published a series of papers in the
early 1800s.
John Dalton 1766-1844

Because of this, John Dalton is known as:

The Father of the Atomic Theory.

The Laws that Shape the Atom

The Law of Definite Proportions
A chemical compound always contains the same
elements in exactly the same proportions by mass.

H2O:
11% hydrogen
89% oxygen

The Law of Conservation of Mass

Mass cannot be created or destroyed in ordinary
chemical or physical changes.

Ca(NO3)2 + 2NaCl CaCl2 + 2NaNO3

The Law of Multiple Proportions

If two elements form more than one
compound between them (ex. CO and CO2),
then, the ratios of the masses of the second
element which combine with a fixed mass of
the first element will be ratios of small whole
numbers.
Examples:

CO

CO2

(1.00 g C, 1.33 g O)
2.66 g O)
(1:2)

(1.00 g C,

John Daltons Atomic Theory states that

All Matter is made of atoms.
Atoms of the same element are identical,and atoms
of different elements are different.
Atoms cannot be subdivided, created or destroyed.
Atoms of different elements combine in simple
whole number ratios to form compounds.
In chemical reactions, atoms are combined,
separated or rearranged.

All matter is composed of extremely small particles

called atoms.
All atoms of a given element are identical, and are
different from those atoms of any other element.
Atoms cannot be subdivided, created, or destroyed.

Atoms of Carbon:

Atoms of Hydrogen:

Atoms of different elements combine in simple

whole-number ratios to form compounds.
(Law of Definite Proportions & Law of Multiple Proportions)

Atoms of hydrogen and carbon can

combine to form new substances
called compounds

METHANE

PROPANE

CH4 1C : 4H

C3H8 3C : 8H

In chemical reactions, atoms are combined,

separated, or rearranged.
(Law of Conservation of Mass)

Synthesis of Methane:

+
1C

2H2

1CH4

Daltons theory was accepted by the scientific

community, but over time parts of his theory are
questioned.
Where does Daltons Theory break down?
Atoms cannot be subdivided,created or
destroyed.
-Now we know of p+, no, e-.
Atoms of the same element are identical.
-Now we know of
isotopes.

Daltons Picture of the Atom

Since Daltons time, many more discoveries

about the atom have been made as the result of
the dedicated endeavors of scientists who
made atomic research their lifes work.

An English scientist, Sir William

Crookes discovered the electron.

William Crookes 1832-1919

Cathode Ray Tube

In the late 1800s, the English

Physicist, J. J. Thomson,
determined a very large charge to
mass ratio of an electron.
Sir J. J. Thomson 1856-1940

In the early 1900s, an American Physicist, Robert

Millikan, determined the electrons actual charge
using his famous oil-drop experiment.

Robert Millikan 1868-1953

Eventually, J.J. Thomson proposed a new

atomic model, the PLUM-PUDDING MODEL, in
which electrons are evenly distributed
throughout a sphere of positive charge in
such a way that the atom is electrically
neutral.

Another physicist, Ernest Rutherford,

who was a student of Thomsons,
disputed the Plum Pudding model.

Ernest Rutherford 1871-1937

Also in the early 1900s, during his famous gold foil

experiment, Ernest Rutherford bombarded a sheet
of gold foil with a beam of positively charged
particles called alpha particles.

Rutherfords alpha particle scattering experiment.

48
5.5

(Source of alpha particles - Polonium)

Gold Foil Experiment Conclusions:

1.) Most of the atom is empty space.
2.) Nucleus - small, dense and positively charged.

Rutherfords Model of the Atom

The positively charged proton was

discovered by German physicist
Eugin Goldstein.

Eugin Goldstein 1850-1930

The neutron was eventually

discovered by the English Physicist,
Sir James Chadwick.

James Chadwick 1891-1974

Once the electron, proton, and neutron

had been discovered, scientists began to
theorize about the arrangement of these
particles within the atom.

Niels Bohr, a Danish physicist,

developed the Bohr Model of the atom.

Niels Bohr 1885-1962

Bohr believed that the electrons were

located in distinct areas outside of the
nucleus which he called energy levels.

Energy level

Since the atomic bomb research of WW II,

much more has been discovered about the
atom that was first envisioned by
Democritus over 2500 years ago

Modern Day Atomic Model:

Erwin Schrdinger
(Quantum Mechanical Model)

Over the past few decades, physicists have

discovered new particles which they have
called quarks. These quarks have been
found to be the fundamental building blocks
of protons and neutrons.

In more recent years, quarks have been split

into even smaller subatomic particles.

If I have seen furtherit is by

standing upon the shoulders of
giants.
-Sir Isaac Newton