The Atomic Theory

An atom is the smallest particle of an element that can exist either

alone or in combinations. They consist of three basic parts known as
the proton, neutron and electron. In 460-370 BCE a Greek scientist by
the name of Democritus believed that matter is made up of smaller
particles and he named this ultimate particle an atom after the Greek
word atomos which means indestructible. Democritus also believed
that atoms cannot be destroyed. In the 1700s a English Thedogian by
the name of Joseph Priestly and a French Nobleman by the name of
Antoine Lavoiser both centred on the process of combustion and they
discovered the two key fundamental principles of chemistry which
was the law of conservation which states that mass is neither created
nor destroyed during a chemical reaction and the law of definite
proportions which states that different samples of a pure substance
always contain the same proportions of the same element by mass. In
the 1800s an English school teacher and chemist by the name of John
Dalton purpose four theories which are: all matter is composed of tiny
indestructible particles called atoms that cannot be created, destroyed
or subdivided; atoms of one element cannot be converted into atoms
of another element; all atoms of a given element are identical, in
weight and other properties, and are different from atoms of any
other elements; atoms can combine with each other in simple whole
number ratios. Dalton also assumed that the formula for water is HO
and that oxygen had an atomic mass of 5.7, but this was later
disapproved by a French chemist by the name of Gay-Lussac who
suggested that the formula for water was h20 and not OH. An Italian
physicist named Amadeo Avagadro in 1811 proposed that individual
elements could exist as molecule such as O2 rather than single also,
this proved that Gay-Lussac theory was right. Dalton was again
proven wrong when an English chemist by the Humphry Davy an
English chemist observed that some substances were decomposed
when an electric current was passed through them. In 1832 Davys
student, Michael Faraday established that the amount of substance
produced by chemical reaction during electrolysis is proportional to
the quantity of electricity that passed through the electrolysis cell. In
1860s an English physicist by the name of William Crookes designed
experiments in which he passed an electric current through sealed
evacuated tubes. He concluded that cathode rays are negatively
charged. In 1897 John Joseph Thomson an English physicist found
that the cathode rays in the Crookes tube diagram can be deflected by
electric and magnetic fields, this went against Daltons theory that
suggested that atoms are indivisible and gave the idea that atoms
contain negatively charged particles known as electrons. A New
Zealand Born British scientist by the name of Ernest Rutherford
proposed that there are three major types of spontaneous radioactivity
known as alpha particles (), beta particles () and gamma rays. He
also discovered and positioned the protons and the neutrons in the
atom.

Reference
Helen Jacobs, Novelette Sadler-Mcknight, Stewart McLean, Patrice-
Cumberbatch, Graeme Corbin, Mike Taylor, Chemistry for Cape
Examination, 2014, Macmillian Publishers Limited