THE DISCOVERY OF THE

STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM AND

ITS SUBATOMIC PARTICLES.
Dalton’s Atomic Theory .
The idea of atomic theory was revived by
John Dalton (1766-1844) 2,000 years after
Democritus first proposed about it.
In 1800, John Dalton performed a series of
experiments showing the matter consists of
lumpy particles called “atoms”. His Findings
led to the formulation of what is commonly
known as “Dalton’s Atomic Theory”.
Dalton formulated his theory based on
Antoine Lavoiser’s (1743-1794) law of
conservation of mass and Joseph Proust’s
(1754-1826) law of definite proportion.
Law of Conservation of Mass -- the total mass of substance before and
after a complete reaction are equal.
Law of Definite Proportion– Elements combined in a fixed of a proportion
to form a compound.
The following are the major postulates of Dalton’s Atomic theory:
1.Matter is composed of small indivisible particles called atoms.
2.Atoms of the same element are identical.
3.Compounds are formed by a combination of two or more different
kinds of atoms.
4.A chemical reaction is a rearrangement of atoms.

The formulation of Dalton’s atomic theory marked the start

of the modern era of chemistry.
 However, during his time, (1800s), some scientists still did not believe
that there was an indivisible atom found in all matter.
In the 1900s, the theory became widely accepted upon discovery of
subatomic particles.
Let us look at the Cathode Ray Tube experiment. The
CRT by J.J Thomson is a glass tube with two electrodes:
the positive electrode called anode and the negative
electrode called cathode.
Once you apply a sufficiently high voltage, a stream of
ELECTRONS flows towards the "cathode"; this is what you call
a cathode ray. Inside the tube there exists near perfect
vacuum, so there are barely any other gas molecules, ions
etc. Compare it to a lightning.
*JJ Thomson decide to apply a magnetic field in his
experiment.
*J.J. Thomson was able to have a ratio of the mass of the bent
particles .He found out that it was 2000x lighter than a
Hydrogen atom. And that was the time the electron was
discovered.
Long before the end of the 19th century, it was well known that
applying a high voltage to a gas contained at low pressure in a sealed
tube (called a gas discharge tube) caused electricity to flow through
the gas, which then emitted light . Researchers trying to understand
this phenomenon found that an unusual form of energy was also
emitted from the cathode, or negatively charged electrode; this form
of energy was called a cathode ray.
In 1897, the British physicist J. J. Thomson (1856–1940) proved that
atoms were not the most basic form of matter. He demonstrated that
cathode rays could be deflected, or bent, by magnetic or electric
fields, which indicated that cathode rays consist of charged
particles . More important, by measuring the extent of the deflection
of the cathode rays in magnetic or electric fields of various
strengths, Thomson was able to calculate the mass-to-charge ratio
of the particles. These particles were emitted by the negatively
charged cathode and repelled by the negative terminal of an electric
field. Because like charges repel each other and opposite charges
attract, Thomson concluded that the particles had a net negative
charge; these particles are now called electrons. Most relevant to the
field of chemistry, Thomson found that the mass-to-charge ratio of
cathode rays is independent of the nature of the metal electrodes or
the gas, which suggested that electrons were fundamental
components of all atoms.
In summary
Who discovered the subatomic particles?
The first subatomic particle to be discovered was the electron, identified
in 1897 by J. J. Thomson. After the nucleus of the atom was discovered in
1911 by Ernest Rutherford, the nucleus of ordinary hydrogen was
recognized to be a single proton. In 1932 the neutron was discovered.
What did the discovery of subatomic particles do?
Thomson, a professor of physics at the University of Cambridge in England, demonstrated
the existence of tiny particles much smaller in mass than hydrogen, the lightest atom.
Thomson had discovered the first subatomic particle, the electron. ... The idea of atoms as
immutable, indivisible objects had become untenable.

How the structure of the atom was discovered?

However, it was Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) who coined the term proton for the
positively charged particle in an atom. Then using CRT experiment, J.J. Thomson (1856-
1940) discovered that an atom is also composed of negatively charged particles which he
named electrons.
Reported by: Ms.
Jonnalyn Antipuesto