Timeline of Atom

Timeline of Atomic Theory
460 – 370 B.C.E.
Democritus was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic

philosopher primarily remembered today for his
formulation of an atomic theory of the universe.
The theory of Democritus held that everything is

composed of "atoms", which are physically, but not
geometrically, indivisible; that between atoms, there
lies empty space; that atoms are indestructible, and
have always been and always will be in motion; that
there is an infinite number of atoms and of kinds of
atoms, which differ in shape and size. Of the mass of
atoms, Democritus said, "The more any indivisible
exceeds, the heavier it is". However, his exact position
on atomic weight is disputed.
1743 – 1794
Antoine Lavoisier was a French nobleman and

chemist who was central to the 18th-century chemical
revolution and who had a large influence on both the
history of chemistry and the history of biology. He is
widely considered in popular literature as the "father of
modern chemistry".
Discovered that combustion occurs when oxygen

combines with other elements thus discovering
“Combustion Theory”
Discovered the Law of Conservation of Mass (or

Matter) which states, in a chemical reaction, matter is
neither created nor destroyed
1766 – 1844
John Dalton was an English chemist, physicist, and

meteorologist. He is best known for introducing the
atomic theory into chemistry, and for his research into
color blindness, sometimes referred to as Daltonism in
his honor.
The main points of Dalton's atomic theory, as it

eventually developed, are:
- Elements are made of extremely small particles called

atoms.
- Atoms of a given element are identical in size, mass and

other properties; atoms of different elements differ in size,
mass and other properties.
- Atoms cannot be subdivided, created or destroyed.
- Atoms of different elements combine in simple whole-

number ratios to form chemical compounds.
- In chemical reactions, atoms are combined, separated or

rearranged.
1856 – 1940
J.J. Thomson/ Sir Joseph John Thomson was an
English physicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics,
credited with the discovery and identification of the
electron, the first subatomic particle to be discovered.
In 1903, Thomson proposed a model of the atom

consisting of positive and negative charges, present in
equal amounts so that an atom would be electrically
neutral. He proposed the atom was a sphere, but the
positive and negative charges were embedded within
it. Thomson's model came to be called the "Plum
Pudding Model" or "Chocolate Chip Cookie
Model".
1871 – 1937
Ernest Rutherford was a New Zealand-born British

physicist who came to be known as the father of
nuclear physics.
The Geiger–Marsden experiments (also called

the Rutherford gold foil experiment) were a
landmark series of experiments by which scientists
discovered that every atom contains a nucleus where
all of its positive charge and most of its mass are
concentrated. They deduced this by measuring how an
alpha particle beam is scattered when it strikes a thin
metal foil. The experiments were performed between
1908 and 1913 by Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden
under the direction of Ernest Rutherford.
1885 – 1962
Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist who made

foundational contributions to understanding atomic
structure and quantum theory, for which he received
the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr was also a
philosopher and a promoter of scientific research.
In 1913, Niels Bohr proposed a theory for the hydrogen

atom based on Quantum Theory that energy is
transferred only in certain well-defined quantities.
Electrons should move around the nucleus but only in
prescribed orbits. When jumping from one orbit to
another with lower energy, a light quantum is emitted.
Bohr's theory could explain why atoms emitted light in
fixed wavelengths.
1887 – 1961
Erwin Schrödinger was a Nobel Prize-winning

Austrian physicist who developed a number of
fundamental results in the field of quantum theory: the
Schrödinger equation provides a way to calculate the
wave function of a system and how it changes
dynamically in time.
He developed an “Electron Cloud Model” in 1926. It

consisted of a dense nucleus surrounded by a cloud of
electrons at various levels in orbitals.
1891 – 1974
James Chadwick was a British physicist who was

awarded the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics for his
discovery of the neutron in 1932.
He discovered the Neutron in atoms.
Neutrons are located in the center of an atom, in the

nucleus along with the protons. They have neither a
positive nor negative charge, but contribute the atomic
weight with the same effect as a proton.
Chadwick discovered this subatomic particle by

using a neutron chamber in his experiments.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._J._Thomson
https://www.thoughtco.com/j-j-thomson-biography-607780
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Lavoisier
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democritus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dalton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Rutherford
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Bohr
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geiger-Marsden_experiment
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1922/bohr/facts/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Schrödinger
https://www.msnucleus.org/membership/html/jh/physical/atomictheory/les
son1/atomic1g.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Chadwick
https://socratic.org/questions/how-did-james-chadwick-contribute-to-the-
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What were Democritus' ideas about atoms?

What were Democritus' ideas about atoms?

What did Dalton propose in his atomic theory?

What did Dalton propose in his atomic theory?

Timeline of Atomic Theory

460 – 370 B.C.E.

Democritus was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic

The theory of Democritus held that everything is

Antoine Lavoisier was a French nobleman and

Discovered that combustion occurs when oxygen

Discovered the Law of Conservation of Mass (or

John Dalton was an English chemist, physicist, and

The main points of Dalton's atomic theory, as it

- Elements are made of extremely small particles called

- Atoms of a given element are identical in size, mass and

- Atoms cannot be subdivided, created or destroyed.

- Atoms of different elements combine in simple whole-

- In chemical reactions, atoms are combined, separated or

In 1903, Thomson proposed a model of the atom

Ernest Rutherford was a New Zealand-born British

The Geiger–Marsden experiments (also called

Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist who made

In 1913, Niels Bohr proposed a theory for the hydrogen

Erwin Schrödinger was a Nobel Prize-winning

He developed an “Electron Cloud Model” in 1926. It

James Chadwick was a British physicist who was

He discovered the Neutron in atoms.

Neutrons are located in the center of an atom, in the

Chadwick discovered this subatomic particle by

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