HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE

ATOM

PERFORMANCE TASK IN: PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Democritus (Greek Philosopher)
Timeline: 400 BC
•Democritus was a Greek
philosopher who was the first
person to use the term atom
(atomos: meaning indivisible).
•He thought that if you take a
piece of matter and divide it
and continue to divide it you
will eventually come to a point
where you could not divide it
anymore.
•This fundamental or basic unit
was what Democritus called an
atom.
 Democritus
He called this the theory of the universe:

1. All matter consists of atoms, which are

bits of matter too small to be seen.
2. There is an empty space between atoms.
3. Atoms are completely solid.
4. Atoms have no internal structure.
5. Each atom (of a different substance) is
different in size, weight, and shape.
Scientist: John Dalton
Timeline: 1800’s •John Dalton was the first to adapt
Democritus’ theory into the first modern
atomic model.
• In 1803 Dalton discovered that oxygen
combined with either one or two
volumes of nitric oxide in closed
vessels over water and this pioneering
observation of integral multiple
proportions provided important
experimental evidence for his incipient
atomic ideas.
John Dalton
JOHN DALTON’S ATOMIC MODEL:
1. All matter consists of tiny particles called atoms.
2. Atoms are indestructible and unchangeable.
3. Elements are characterized by the weight of their atoms.
4. When elements react, it is their atoms that have combined to form
new compounds.
 Scientist: J.J. Thomson(Joseph John Thomson)
Timeline: 1890’s
•J.J. Thomson was a physicist
who is credited for
discovering the electron. He
used his research on cathode
ray tube technology in this
discovery.
• He was an excellent
physicist and thus did not
stop when he had found this
negative charge.
•Through a series of clever
experiments, he was able to
predict the mass of this
charge.

J.J. Thomson
THOMSON’S ATOMIC MODEL (A.K.A THE PLUM
PUDDING MODEL)
1. Each atom is a sphere filled with positively charged ‘fluid’.
This resembles the sticky jam part of a pudding.
2. Corpuscles (later called electrons) are the negatively
charged particles suspended in this ‘fluid’. This resembles the
plums in the pudding.
3. He did not predict the movement of these electrons.
Scientist: Ernest Rutherford
Timeline: 1910’s
Ernest Rutherford was not convinced about
•
the model of the atom proposed by Thomson.
He thus set up his now famous Gold Foil
Experiment.
•Ernest Rutherford found that the atom is
mostly empty space, with nearly all of its
mass concentrated in a tiny central nucleus.
• The nucleus is positively charged and
surrounded at a great distance by the
negatively charged electrons.
Ernest Rutherford
RUTHERFORD’S ATOMIC MODEL (AKA THE
PLANETARY MODEL)
1. The nucleus of the atom is a dense mass of positively
charged particles.
2. The electrons orbit the nucleus
3. A problem raised was: Why are the negatively charged
particles not attracted by the positively charged nucleus
4. Rutherford stated that the atom was like a mini solar
system and that the electrons orbited the nucleus in a wide
orbit. That is why it is known as the planetary model.
Scientist: Niels Bohr
Timeline: 1910’s
•Niels Bohr agreed with the planetary model
of the atom, but also knew that it had a few
flaws.
•Using his knowledge of energy and quantum
physics he was able to perfect Rutherford’s
model.
•He was able to answer why the electrons did
not collapse into the nucleus.
Niels Bohr
BOHR’S ATOMIC MODEL (AKA THE BOHR’S MODEL)
1. Electrons orbit the nucleus in orbits that have a set size and energy.
2. The lower the energy of the electron, the lower the orbit.
3. This means that as electrons fill up the orbitals, they will fill the lower
energy level first.
 4. If that energy level is fill (or at capacity), a new energy level will begin.
5. Radiation is when an electron moves from one level to another.
 Scientist: Erwin Schrödinger Erwin
Timeline: 1920’s
Schrödinger was a
revolutionary physicist
who used Heisenberg’s
uncertainty principle
to come up with the
atomic model that we
still use today.
Erwin Schrödinger Erwin
SCHRÖDINGER’S ATOMIC MODEL (AKA THE CLOUD MODEL)
 1. An electron does not travel in an exact orbit.
 2. We can predict where it will probably be.
 3. We cannot say for certain where it is, but only where it ought to
be.
 4. The type of probability orbit is dependent on the energy level
described by Bohr.
 YEAR EVENT

450 BC Empedocles asserted that all things are composed of four primal elements: earth, air, water, and
fire

400 BC Democritus proposed that all matter is made up of very small particles called atoms, which
cannot be divided into smaller units.

380-320 BC Aristotle proposed that all matter was continuous and can be further divided infinitely into
smaller pieces. He added aether/ether to one of the primal elements

1799 Joseph Proust proposed the law of definite proportions.

1808 John Dalton formulated the atomic theory and proposed the law of multiple proportions.

1869 Dmitry Mendeleev arranged the known elements in a periodic table based on their atomic mass

1890s Antoine Becquerel and Marie Curie observed that radioactivity causes some atoms to break
down spontaneously
 1895 Wilhelm Rontgen discovered X-rays.

1897 Joseph John Thomson discovered electrons.

1904 Joseph John Thomson suggested the plum pudding model of the atom (negative electrons
dispersed in a positive structure).

1908-1917 Robert Millikan found that the charge of an electron is equal to –1.6022x10-19 C

1910-1911 Ernest Rutherford observed that atoms are mostly empty space.

1913 Niels Bohr proposed an atomic model that shows electrons move in concentric orbits around
the nucleus.
Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Mosely used X-ray spectra to study atomic structure.
1919 Ernest Rutherford discovered protons.

1932 James Chadwick discovered neutrons

PREPARED BY: Christian lloyd Roque
GR. & SEC.: 12-ST.MATTHEW

SUBMITTED TO: SIR EDUARDO MA