What Is John Dalton’s Atomic Model?

Atomic theory – that is, the belief that all matter is composed of tiny,
indivisible elements – has very deep roots. Initially, the theory
appeared in thousands of years ago in Greek and Indian texts as a
philosophical idea. However, it was not embraced scientifically until
the 19th century, when an evidence-based approach began to reveal
what the atomic model looked like.

It was at this time that John Dalton, an English chemist, meteorologist

and physicist, began a series of experiments which would culminate in
him proposing the theory of atomic compositions – which thereafter
would be known as Dalton’s Atomic Theory – that would become one of
the cornerstones of modern physics and chemistry.

Beyond creating a model for atomic interactions, John Dalton is also

credited with developing laws for understanding how gases work. In
time, this would lead him to conclude things about how atoms
interacted, the weight of atoms, and to design laws that establish
atomic theory as scientific discipline.

Dalton’s Gas Laws:

Dalton came up with his theory of atoms as a result of his research
into gases. This began in 1800, when Dalton became a secretary of the
Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. While there, Dalton
began submitted a series of essays that outlined his experiments on
the constitution of mixed gases, including the pressure of steam and
other vapors at different temperatures, on evaporation. and on the
thermal expansion of gases.

In his essays, Dalton described experiments in which he sought to

ascertain the pressure of steam at various points between 0 and
100 °C (32 and 212 °F). Based on his observations of six different
liquids, Dalton concluded that the variation of vapor pressure for all
liquids was equivalent, for the same variation of temperature, and the
same vapor of any given pressure.
He also concluded that all elastic fluids under the same pressure
expand equally when heat is applied. Further, he observed that for any
given expansion of mercury (i.e. noted rise in temperature using a
mercury thermometer), that the corresponding expansion of air is
proportionally less, the higher the temperature goes.