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The Indivisible Atom: Leucippus and Democritus

The document discusses the early atomic theory of Leucippus and Democritus who proposed that all matter is made up of indivisible particles called atoms. It then summarizes the discoveries of scientists like J.J. Thomson, Ernest Rutherford, James Chadwick, and others that led to the modern understanding of atoms consisting of a small, dense nucleus containing protons and neutrons surrounded by electrons. The three main particles that make up atoms - protons, neutrons, and electrons - are also described.

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61 views42 pages

The Indivisible Atom: Leucippus and Democritus

The document discusses the early atomic theory of Leucippus and Democritus who proposed that all matter is made up of indivisible particles called atoms. It then summarizes the discoveries of scientists like J.J. Thomson, Ernest Rutherford, James Chadwick, and others that led to the modern understanding of atoms consisting of a small, dense nucleus containing protons and neutrons surrounded by electrons. The three main particles that make up atoms - protons, neutrons, and electrons - are also described.

Uploaded by

liezel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Greek Concept of

Atomos:
The Indivisible Atom
LEUCIPPUS AND DEMOCRITUS
Democritus
known as the "Laughing
Philosopher" because of his joyous
spirit.

He was a big man (relatively


speaking) and enjoyed life
tremendously.
Five major points
to the atomic idea
of LEUCIPPUS
and DEMOCRITUS
POINT # 1.
 All matter is composed
of atoms, which are bits
of matter too small to be
seen. These atoms
CANNOT be further split
into smaller portions.
Point #2
 There is a void,
which is empty
space between
atoms.
Point #3

 Atoms are
completely
solid.
Point #4
 Atoms are
homogeneous,
with no internal
structure.
Point #5
Atoms are different in ...

 ...their sizes
 ...their shapes
 ...their weight.
The idea of the atom was strongly
opposed by Aristotle and others.

Because of this, the atom


receeded into the background.

Although there is a fairly


continuous pattern of atomistic
thought through the ages, only a
relative few scholars gave it much
thought.
ELEMENTS
An element is a pure substance
because it cannot be separated
into any other substances.

Currently, 92 different
elements are known to exist in
nature, although additional
elements have been formed in
labs.
HYDROGEN - The most
common element in the
universe
NITROGEN - The most
common element in Earth’s
atmosphere
OXYGEN - the most common
element in Earth’s crust
Summary
 An element is a pure substance that
cannot be separated into any other
substances.
There are 92 naturally occurring
elements.
Each element has a unique set of
properties that is different from the
set of properties of any other
 For about 2000 years, people
accepted Aristotle’s idea that
all matter is made up of just
four elements: earth, air, water,
and fire.

Starting about 500 years ago,


scientists began discovering all
of the elements that are known
today.
The smallest particle of an
element that still has the
properties of that element is
the atom.
All the atoms of an element
are like one another, and are
different from the atoms of
all other elements.
DALTON’S ATOMIC
THEORY
 Elements are made up of small
particles called atoms.

If any given pure element, the


mass and the other properties
of all the atoms are the same.
Atoms of different elements
differ in mass and other
properties.
Compounds composed of
atoms of more than one
element.

In a chemical reaction, atoms


neither created nor
destroyed. They simply
combine, separate, or
rearrange.
J.J Thomson
Discover the ELECTRONS - A
negatively charged particle

Discovered by J.J Thomson,


because of the discovery of
cathode rays.

Thomson revised the model of


the atom in to what became
known as the plum pudding model.
William Crookes
In 1877, William Crookes
discovered cathode rays, which
later became known as electrons.

Crookes discovered these rays


using an apparatus he developed
called the Crookes tube or
cathode-ray tube
Robert Millikan and
Harvey Fletcher

 Ableto calculate the


mass of an electron.
The currently accepted
value is
9.10938215×10−31 kg.
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
He was studying the
behavior of electricity
in discharge tubes

 discovered X-RAYS
Henri Becquerel

a French man who


discovered
RADIOACTIVITY
Marie and Pierre Curie
Madame Curie coined the word
“radioactivity.”

Their work resulted in the


discovery of mass changes in
radioactive elements, which later
became known as radioactive
decay.
 They also identified
two new radio active
elements, which later
became known as
polonium and radium.
Ernest Rutherford

ERNEST
RUTHERFORD
A physicist from New Zealand who was
working under the direction of J.J.Thomson.

He discovered that uranium released two


different types of particles, which he
referred to as alpha (α) particles, which
were positively charged, and
beta(β)particles, which were negatively
charged.

It waslater shown that beta particles were


simply free electrons.
Nuclear atom or planetary
model of the atom,
 Themodel described the atom as a tiny,
dense, positively charged core called a
nucleus, in which nearly all the mass is
concentrated, around which the light,
negative constituents, called electrons,
circulate at some distance, much like
planets revolving around the Sun.
 In
1919, Rutherford discovered
the presence of a positively
charged nucleus with his famous
gold foil experiment.
In 1932, Chadwick discovered the
neutron, a particle with a mass
similar to that of the proton but
without any electrical charge.

 Neutrons are particles with a mass


similar to that of the proton, but
they have no electrical charge.

 Neutrons also reside in the nucleus.


PROTONS
 A proton one of three main
particles that make up the atom.
Discovered by Ernest
Rutherford.
 It is found in the nucleus. It
has an electrical charge of one
+1 and a mass of 1 atomic mass
unit (amu).
Atoms of any given element have a
unique number of protons that is
different from the numbers of
protons of all other elements.

 Protons consist of fundamental


particles called quarks and gluons.

 Gluons carry the strong nuclear


force between quarks, binding
them together
NEUTRON
NEUTRONS

 A neutron is one of three main
particles that make up the atom.
 It is found in the nucleus and is
neutral in electric charge.
 It has about the same mass and
diameter as a proton.
 Neutrons are found in all atoms
except for most atoms of
hydrogen.
Allthe atoms of a given
element have the same number
of protons and electrons, but
they may vary in their
numbers of neutrons.

Atoms of the same element


that differ in their numbers
of neutrons are called
Neutrons consist of
fundamental particles known
as quarks and gluons.

Gluonscarry the strong


nuclear force that binds
together the quarks in a
neutron.
ELECTRONS
Electrons are one of three
main types of particles that
make up the atom.
They are extremely small and
have an electric charge of -1.
All atoms have the same
number of electrons as protons.
 Negative electrons are
attracted to the positive
nucleus.
This force of attraction keeps
electrons constantly moving
around the nucleus.
The region where an electron
is most likely to be found is
called an orbital.
Electrons are located at
fixed distances from the
nucleus, called energy
levels.

Electrons at lower energy


levels have less energy
than electrons at higher
energy levels

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