Essay On Atomic Theory
The scientific definition of an atom has changed a lot throughout history. Currently, the atom is known as the basic unit of a chemical, but there was a time when that was not known among scientists. There were multiple scientists that contributed to the creation of the first Atomic Theory: Democritus, Antoine Lavoisier, Joseph Proust, and John Dalton. Dalton took the information that he had taken from the three scientists prior to him and put everything into one theory. The Atomic Theory is the most well-known and accurate theory we know right now. Later on in history, more scientists came to contribute to the understanding of the Atomic Structure. These scientists included: Sir J.J. Thomson, Robert Millikan, Ernest Rutherford, Niels Bohr,
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However, not everyone agreed with his knowledge. Plato and Aristotle, who were philosophical leaders at the time, disagreed with Democritus because they believed there was no explanation or evidence for holding atoms together. They also thought that it countered the ideas of fundamental elemental substances. During the mid to late 1700’s, Antoine Lavoisier had the first discussion about the Law of Conservation of Mass or Matter which stated that matter cannot be created nor destroyed through chemical reaction. This continues to be a law that is followed even today. In the late 1700’s Joseph Proust proved that pure compounds would always be made up of the same elements, and these elements would be proportioned by mass. The Law of Constant Composition stated that pure compounds are always made up of the same elements in the same proportion by mass. John Dalton used this information from those before him to create the Atomic Theory in the early 1800’s. This theory stated that all elements are made up of tiny particles called atoms – taken from Democritus’ idea of “atomos”. These atoms were identical in the same element and could not be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. The last part of the Atomic Theory stated that atoms of different elements combine in simple whole number ratios to form pure
However, not everyone agreed with his knowledge. Plato and Aristotle, who were philosophical leaders at the time, disagreed with Democritus because they believed there was no explanation or evidence for holding atoms together. They also thought that it countered the ideas of fundamental elemental substances. During the mid to late 1700’s, Antoine Lavoisier had the first discussion about the Law of Conservation of Mass or Matter which stated that matter cannot be created nor destroyed through chemical reaction. This continues to be a law that is followed even today. In the late 1700’s Joseph Proust proved that pure compounds would always be made up of the same elements, and these elements would be proportioned by mass. The Law of Constant Composition stated that pure compounds are always made up of the same elements in the same proportion by mass. John Dalton used this information from those before him to create the Atomic Theory in the early 1800’s. This theory stated that all elements are made up of tiny particles called atoms – taken from Democritus’ idea of “atomos”. These atoms were identical in the same element and could not be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. The last part of the Atomic Theory stated that atoms of different elements combine in simple whole number ratios to form pure