Atomic theory is a scientific theory of the nature of matter which states that matter is composed of discrete units called atoms , as opposed to the obsolete notion that matter could be divided into any arbitrarily small quantity. Although physicists discovered that the so-called "indivisible atom" was actually a conglomerate of various subatomic particles, the concept of atoms is still important because they are building blocks of matter and form the basis of chemistry.
Illustration of the Helium Atom
This is an illustration of the helium atom, depicting the nucleus (pink) and the electron cloud distribution (black). The nucleus (upper right) in helium-4 is in reality spherically symmetric and closely resembles the electron cloud, although for more complicated nuclei this is not always the case. The black bar is one angstrom (10-10 m, or 100 pm).
Dalton's Atomic Hypothesis
Philosophical proposals regarding atoms have been suggested since the years of the ancient Greeks, but John Dalton was the first to propose a scientific theory of atoms. He based his study on two laws about chemical reactions that emerged (without referring to the notion of an atomic theory) in the late 18th century. The first was the law of conservation of mass, formulated by Antoine Lavoisier in 1789, which states that the total mass in a chemical reaction remains constant (that is, the reactants have the same mass as the products). The second was the law of definite proportions, first proven by the French chemist Joseph Louis Proust.
Dalton proposed that each chemical element is composed of atoms of a single, unique type, and though they cannot be altered or destroyed by chemical means, they can combine to form more complex structures (chemical compounds). This marked the first truly scientific theory of the atom, since Dalton reached his conclusions by experimentation and examination of the results in an empirical fashion. For this reason, Dalton is considered the originator of modern atomic theory.
5 Main Points
Dalton's atomic theory had 5 main points:
- Elements are made of extremely small particles called atoms.
- Atoms of a given element are identical in size, mass, and other properties; atoms of different elements differ in size, mass, and other properties.
- Atoms cannot be subdivided, created, or destroyed.
- Atoms of different elements combine in simple whole-number ratios to form chemical compounds.
- In chemical reactions, atoms are combined, separated, or rearranged.
Of these five, only three are still considered valid today. 1, 4, and 5 are valid, while 2 and 3 have turned out not to be the case. Atoms can be broken down into smaller pieces, and atoms of a given element can vary in mass and other properties (see isotopes and ions).
Knowing that a gas is composed of small atomic and molecular particles, it is natural to try to explain properties of the gas from a microscopic point of view. This effort led to the development of the kinetic theory of gases, where macroscopic properties of gases, such as pressure, temperature, and volume, are explained by considering their molecular composition and motion.
John Dalton's A New System of Chemical Philosophy
Various atoms and molecules as depicted in John Dalton's A New System of Chemical Philosophy (1808).