Problem
How did the different scientists contribute to the creation of the modern atomic theory? Why would they be accepted?
Hypothesis
If the scientists improved each other’s theories, then these improved theories helped to create the modern atomic theory.
Objectives
General:
-Analyze how the different theories helped to the creation of the modern atomic theories.
Specific:
-Compare the different theories and beliefs stated by the scientists.
-Determine how the different theories overlap.
Introduction
All matter is made of atoms. Water, food, clothes, furniture, and everything surrounding us, including ourselves, human beings, are made of atoms too. An atom is the smallest particle contained by matter that still retains its physical and chemical properties. (Introduction to Atoms, 2014.) The atomic theory is a theory which states the structure, properties, and behavior of an atom. (Atomic Theory, 2014.)
Democritus, Dalton, Thompson, Millikan, and Rutherford, were few of the scientists who contributed to the development of the modern atomic theory. Each one of them developed a certain experiment to prove and demonstrate its way of seeing these tiny particles. They tested and proved each other’s theories, in order to create the modern atomic theory. During this investigation, the previous scientists will be researched and explained, with the purpose of understanding how did these theories overlap and improve.
l. Democritus
Democritus, also known as “The Father of Modern Science”, was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Abdera. During his early life, he traveled to different places in the search for wisdom and knowledge. (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2014) With the help of his mentor, Leucippus, he theorized what...
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...ass of an atom was held in the nucleus, while the rest of the atom was empty space. Rutherford discovered this by experimenting with the gold-foil sheet. ( Rutherford - Atomic Theory, 2014)
The gold-foil sheet experiment involved the firing of radioactive alpha particles to a thin gold foil sheet, and detecting them using screens to see the direction of their deflection. Most of the particles passed straight through the foil, except one. This reflection, led to the creation of his theory which stated that most of the atom was empty space, and the discovery of a very densely packed bundle of matter with positive electric charge. (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014.)
Figure 7. (Rutherford`s Gold Foil Experiment, 2014)
Rutherford then realized that the volume of a nucleus was small compared with the total volume of an atom. (Modern Chemistry, pp. 71. 2012)
According to Einstein’s equation, the physicists of the Manhattan project hypothesized that a minute mass can create a vast amount of energy.... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited The “German Nuclear Energy Project” Wikipedia.
Physicist in the 1900 first started to consider the structure of atoms. The recent discovery of J. J. Thomson of the negatively charged electron implied that a neutral atom must also contain an opposite positive charge. In 1903 Thomson had suggested that the atom was a sphere of uniform positive electrification , with electrons scattered across it like plum in an pudding. (Later known as the Plum Pudding Model)
In 1803 this theory was finalised and stated that (1) all matter is made up of the smallest possible particles termed atoms, (2) atoms of a given element have unique characteristics and weight, and (3) three types of atoms exist: simple (elements), compound (simple molecules), and complex (complex molecules).
Oppenheimer's early studies were devoted mainly to energy processes of subatomic particles, including electrons,positrons, and cosmic rays. He also did innovative work on not only neutron stars but also black holes. His university provided him with an excellent opportunity to research the quantum theory, along with exploration and development of its full significance. This helped him train an entire generation of U.S. physicists. Furthermore, the most important impact was the invention of the atomic bomb.
Teller, who is a “Hungarian-born atomic physicist” and “known as the "father" of the hydrogen bomb”, was at the forefront when it came to the design of the Teller-Ulam Hydrogen Bomb (Hydrogen Bomb Exploded). Stanislaw Marcin Ulam, mathematician who developed the idea of the lithium hydride bomb, was the other half of that perfect combination. Although there was excitement for the U.S. being the first to be the bomb, some scientists did not share that excitement. Not all people agreed with the idea of building this bomb, some people had their doubts. For example, Julius Robert Oppenheimer was a highly known theoretical physicist and Director of the Los Alamos Laboratories.
There was also many scientists that helped Oppenheimer obviously. Enrico Fermi played a big role in making the bomb as
Dalton’s atomic theory, which stated “the atoms were tiny, indivisible, indestructible particles” (Bender), differed drastically from that of the Greeks’ in that it “wasn’t just a philosophical statement that there are atoms because there must be atoms” (Bender). Although Aristotle believed that there are four terrestrial elements, earth, water, air, and fire, Democratus believed that “a piece of a substance can be divided into smaller pieces of that substance until we get down to a fundamental level at which you can’t divide the substance up and still have pieces of that substance” (“Atoms”). Aristotle’s theory was popular, but incorrect; Democratus’s was closer to our current theory, yet he remained relatively unpopular and obscure. This demonstrates of the key way in which a personal point of view can, in fact, retard the pursuit of knowledge. The scientist with the better oratory abilities has his theories more widely accepted. Dalton’s own theory, which extrapolated upon four basic
physics. The work of Ernest Rutherford, H. G. J. Moseley, and Niels Bohr on atomic
It was Italian-born physicist and Nobel winner Enrico Fermi, and his colleagues at the University of Chicago who were responsible for this success (“Nuclear”).
"Science is sometimes blamed for the nuclear dilemna. Such blame confuses the messenger with the message. Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman did not invent nuclear fission; they discovered it. It was there all along waiting for us, the turn of the screw" (Rhodes- 784).
They new the structure and particle makeup of atoms, as well as how they behaved. During the 1930Õs it became apparent that there was a immense amount of energy that would be released atoms of Gioielli 2certain elements were split, or taken apart. Scientists began to realize that if harnessed, this energy could be something of a magnitude not before seen to human eyes. They also saw that this energy could possibly be harnessed into a weapon of amazing power. And with the adven...
The Atomic Theory began in roughly 400BC with Democritus in Ancient Greece and is universally believed to be correct today. Democritus who was born in 460 BC and died 370 BC and is known as the father of modern science. Democritus proclaimed that everything is made up of atoms. He continued his theory to say that atoms will always be in motion, between atoms there is empty space, atoms are unbreakable, there are an infinite number of atoms all different sizes and shapes. He also said that iron atoms are solid and strong and have hooks to lock them together, water atoms are smooth and slippery, salt atoms have sharp jagged edges because of its taste and air atoms are light and spiralling.
The next big step in the discovery of the atom was the scientific test that proved the existence of the atom. After the discovery of the atom we had the discovery of subatomic particles. With the discovery of the subatomic particles came the research, which came from experiments that were made to find out more about the subatomic particles. This research is how we uncovered that most of the weight of an atom is from its nucleus. With the gold foil experiment, tested by Ernest Rutherford, he discovered the existence of the positively charged nucleus. He proved this when the experiment was happening, a small fraction of the photons th...
Dalton was the first person to develop a scientific atom theory, the ancient Greeks had ideas about the atom but could not prove it scientifically.
Scientists from earlier times helped influence the discoveries that lead to the development of atomic energy. In the late 1800’s, Dalton created the Atomic Theory which explains atoms, elements and compounds (Henderson 1). This was important to the study of and understanding of atoms to future scientists. The Atomic Theory was a list of scientific laws regarding atoms and their potential abilities. Roentagen, used Dalton’s findings and discovered x-rays which could pass through solid objects (Henderson 1). Although he did not discover radiation from the x-rays, he did help lay the foundations for electromagnetic waves. Shortly after Roentagen’s findings, J.J. Thompson discovered the electron which was responsible for defining the atom’s characteristics (Henderson 2). The electron helped scientists uncover why an atom responds to reactions the way it does and how it received its “personality”. Dalton’s, Roentagen’s and Thompson’s findings helped guide other scientists to discovering the uses of atomic energy and reactions. Such applications were discovered in the early 1900’s by using Einstein’s equation, which stated that if a chain reaction occurred, cheap, reliable energy could b...