THE HISTORICAL

TIMELINE OF THE
DEVELOPMENT OF
THE ATOM
By: Jaycar N. Millanar
STEM 12 Engineering 2
Leucippus
 (flourished 5th century BC, probably
at Miletus, on the west coast of Asia
Minor).
 A Greek philosopher credited by
Aristotle and by Theophrastus with
having originated the theory of
atomism.
 It has been diffi cult to distinguish
his contribution from that of his
most famous pupil, Democritus.
 Only fragments of Leucippus’
writings remained, two works
believed been written by him are The
Great World System and On the
Mind.
Timeline: 460-370 B.C.E

LEUCIPPUS’S ATOMIC THEORY

Date of Discovery:
 The ancient atomic theory was proposed in the 5th century BC.

How did he developed the theory?

 Using scientific reasoning and observation, the Pre-Socratic
philosopher Leucippus developed the theory of atomism, which
posited that the whole universe is made up of solid atoms
constantly moving through void, or empty space. Leucippus' theory
of atomism was developed even further by his pupil, Democritus.

His major contributions to Postulates of his Atomic

our understanding atoms:
 He developed the theory of
atomism.
 He theorized that the
whole universe is made up
of solid atoms constantly
moving through void, or
empty space.
Theory:
1. Atom is eternal.
2. Atom is so small that it is not
possible to see it with the
naked eye, in fact it is
invisible.
3. Atom is completely solid.

Illustration of Leucippus’s
concept of an atom:
Democritus
 Democritus (c. 460 - c. 370 BCE) was a
Greek philosopher and younger
contemporary of Socrates, born in
Abdera.
 The “Father of modern science”
 Democritus was known as “The
Laughing Philosopher.” He was named
this way because he was often cheerful
while working.
 The new information he contributed to
the atom was that he contributed to the
naming of the atom by calling these small
pieces of matter "Atoms," the Greek
word for indivisible.
Timeline: 460-370 B.C.E

DEMOCRITUS’S ATOMIC THEORY

Date of Discovery:
 The ancient atomic theory was proposed in the 5th century BC.

How did he developed the theory?

 Democritus conducted a simple experiment that can still be done
today. What he did was take a simple seashell and break it in half.
He then took that half and broke it in half over and over and over
and over again until he was finally left with a fine powder. He then
took the smallest piece from the powder and tried to break that but
could not. So thus, Democritus had discovered there was the
indivisible building block of life the atom.

His major contributions to Postulates of his Atomic

our understanding atoms:
 He introduced to basic
idea of atoms.
 He theorized that all
material bodies are made
up of indivisibly small
“atoms.”
Illustration of
Democritus’s concept of
an atom:
Theory:
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.
John Dalton
 John Dalton (6 September 1766 – 27 July
1844) was an English chemist,
physicist, and meteorologist born in
Eaglesfield, Cumberland, England.
 He is best known for proposing the
modern Atomic Theory.
 He is also known for his research into
color blindness, sometimes referred to
as Daltonism in his honor.
 Timeline: 1766-1844

JOHN DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY

Date of Discovery:
 Dalton proposed his atomic theory in 1804.
How did he developed the theory?
 John Dalton develops his theory through conducting of an
experiment. Dalton based his theory on the law of conservation of
mass and the law of constant composition.
 The law of conservation of mass says that matter is not created
or destroyed in a closed system.
 The law of constant composition says that a pure compound
will always have the same proportion of the same elements.

His major contributions to Postulates of his Atomic

our understanding of
atoms:
 He proposed the first truly
scientific atomic theory.
 Dalton's Atomic Theory
laid the foundation of
Modern Chemistry.
 Dalton was first to
calculate relative atomic
structure.
Illustration of Dalton’s
Atomic Model:
Theory:
1. Matter is made up of atoms that
are indivisible and indestructible.
2. All atoms of an element are
identical.
3. Atoms of different elements have
different weights and different
chemical properties.
4. Atoms of different elements
combine in simple whole numbers
to form compounds.
5. Atoms cannot be created or
destroyed. When a compound
decomposes, the atoms are
recovered unchanged.

The Billiard Ball Model

JJ Thompson
 J.J. Thomson, in full Sir Joseph John
Thomson, born on December 18, 1856,
Cheetham Hill, near Manchester,
England.
 J.J. Thomson was a Nobel Prize-
winning physicist whose research led
to the discovery of electrons.
 He died on August 30, 1940 at
Cambridge, England.
 Timeline: 1856-1940

JJ THOMPSONS ATOMIC THEORY

Date of Discovery:
 In 1897 Thomson discovered the electron and then went on to
propose a model for the structure of the atom. In March, 1904, JJ
Thomson proposed a model of the atom whereby the negatively
charged corpuscles (electrons) were distributed in a uniform sea of
positive charge and electrostatic forces determined their position.

How did he developed the theory?

 He uses a heated Cathode Ray Tube to discover new parts of the
Atom, including the Electron, which is a high-vacuum tube in which
cathode rays produce a luminous image on a fluorescent screen,
used chiefly in televisions and computer terminals.

His major contributions to Postulates of his Atomic

our understanding of
atoms:
 He discovered the
electron.
 His Cathode Ray
experiments aided the
invention of the first
televisions.
 Thomson proposed the
Plum Pudding Model of
the Atom.
Theory:
1. An atom consists of positively
charged sphere and electron are
embedded in it.
2. The negative and positive
charges are equal in magnitude so
the atom as a whole is electrically
neutral.
Illustration of Thompson’s
Atomic Model:

The Plum Pudding Model

Cathode Ray Tube
Ernest Rutherford
 a New-Zealand born British Physicist.
 was born on August 30, 1871, in
Brightwater, New Zealand.
 He is known as the father of nuclear
physics.
 He was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Chemistry for his theory of atomic
structure.
 He died in Cambridge, England on
October 19, 1937.
 Timeline: 1871-1937

ERNEST RUTHERFORD’S ATOMIC THEORY

Date of Discovery:
 Rutherford model, also called Rutherford atomic model, nuclear
atom, or planetary model of the atom, description of the structure
of atoms proposed (1911).

How did he developed the theory?

 The experiment used was the Gold Foil Experiment, which was when
he shot a beam of alpha particles at a sheet of gold foil, a few of the
particles were deflected. He concluded that a tiny, dense nucleus
was causing the deflections.

His major contributions to Postulates of his Atomic

our understanding of
atoms:
 The Gold Foil experiment
 Rutherford’s atomic model
 Discovery of alpha
and beta rays.
 Atoms are
indestructible.
 Discovery of atomic
nucleus.
Illustration of Rutherford’s
Atomic Model:
Theory:
1. The mass of an atom is
concentrated in a small space
called the nucleus.
2. Atoms majorly consist of
positively charged particles.
3. Negatively charged electrons
revolve around atoms in circular
paths called orbits at very high
speed.
4. An atom is electrically neutral
i.e., has no net charge.

Rutherford’s Atomic Model The Gold Foil Experiment

Henry Moseley
 (Born November 23, 1887, Weymouth,
Dorset, England-died August 10, 1915,
Gallipoli, Turkey).
 He is English physicist who
experimentally demonstrated that the
major properties of an element are
determined by the atomic number, not
by the atomic weight, and firmly
established the relationship between
atomic number and the charge of the
atomic nucleus.
Timeline: 1887-1915

HENRY MOSELEY’S ATOMIC THEORY

Date of Discovery:
 In 1913, while working at the University of Manchester, he observed
and measured the X-ray spectra of various chemical elements using
diffraction in crystals. Through this, he discovered a systematic
relation between wave-length and atomic number. This discovery is
now known as Moseley's Law.

How did he develop the theory?

 Physicist Henry Moseley discovered the atomic number of each
element using X-rays.
 Henry Moseley carried out a systematic series of experiments which
showed that the frequencies of the X-rays emitted from an
elemental target under bombardment by cathode rays were
characteristic of that element and could be used to identify the
charge on its atomic nucleus. This led to a reorganization of the
periodic table, with chemical elements now arranged on the basis of
atomic number Z rather than atomic weight A.

His major contributions to our Illustration of Moseley’s

understanding of atoms: Atomic Model:
 Discovered X-rays to redefine the
Periodic Table.
 Discovered the atomic number.
 He arranged in order of
increasing atomic number, there
is a periodic repetition of their
chemical and physical properties.
Neils bohr
 Niels Bohr (7 October 1885 – 18
November 1962) was a Danish
physicist.
 He was a student of Ernest Rutherford.
 He made foundational contributions
to understanding atomic structure and
quantum theory, for which he received
the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922.
 Timeline: 1885-1962

NEILS BOHR’S ATOMIC THEORY

Date of Discovery:
 In July of 1913, Danish physicist Niels Bohr published the first of a
series of three papers introducing this model of the atom, which
became known simply as the Bohr atom.

How did he developed the theory?

 The experiments he ran were to test that energy levels of electrons
are discrete and that the electrons revolve in stable orbits around
the atomic nucleus but can jump from one energy level (or orbit) to
another.

His major contributions to Postulates of his Atomic

our understanding of
atoms:
 The most important
contribution is the origin
and development of
quantum physics.
 Helps us to understand
more about the structure
of atoms.
Illustration of Bohr’s
Atomic Model:
Theory:
1 An electron moves around the
nucleus in a circular path.
2. An electron’s angular
momentum in the orbit is
quantized.
3. The change of electron’s energy
as it makes a quantum jump from
one orbit to another is always
accompanied by the emission or
absorption of a photon.

Bohr’s Model
 Erwin Schrödinger
 Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander
Schrödinger, (born August 12, 1887,
Vienna, Austria—died January 4, 1961,
Vienna).
 Austrian theoretical physicist who
contributed to the wave theory of
matter and to other fundamentals of
quantum mechanics.
 He shared the 1933 Nobel Prize for
Timeline: 1887-1961 Physics with British physicist P.A.M.
Dirac.
 ERWIN SHRODINGER’S ATOMIC THEORY
Date of Discovery:
 Erwin Schrödinger, who in 1926 developed a new model, now called
the quantum mechanical model. This model focused on the wave-
like nature of electrons.

How did he developed the theory?

 Schrödinger used mathematical equations to describe the likelihood
of finding an electron in a certain position.
 The quantum mechanical model does not define the exact path of an
electron, but rather, predicts the odds of the location of the
electron. This model can be portrayed as a nucleus surrounded by
an electron cloud. Where the cloud is most dense, the probability
finding the electron is greatest, and conversely, the electron is less
likely to be in a less dense area of the cloud.

His major contributions to Postulates of his Atomic

our understanding of Theory:
atoms:  Electrons have an intrinsic
 His great contribution is property called spin, and an
the quantum mechanics. electron can have one of two
 He formulated a wave possible spin values: spin-up
equation that accurately or spin-down.
calculated the energy  Any two electrons occupying
levels of electrons in the same orbital must have
atoms. opposite spins.
Illustration of Schrödinger’s
Atomic Model:
James Chadwick
 (Born October 20, 1891, Manchester,
England—died July 24, 1974,
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire).
 English physicist who received the
Nobel Prize for Physics in 1935 for the
discovery of the neutron.
 Timeline: 1891-1974

JAMES CHADWICK’S ATOMIC THEORY

THE DISCOVERY OF NEUTRON
 A neutron is a particle with no electric charge that, along with
positively charged protons, makes up an atom's nucleus.
 Neutrons are located in the center of an atom, in the nucleus along
with the protons.

Date of Discovery:
 In May 1932 James Chadwick announced that the core also contained
a new uncharged particle, which he called the neutron.

How did he developed the theory?

 In 1932, the physicist James Chadwick conducted an experiment in
which he bombarded Beryllium with alpha particles from the
natural radioactive decay of Polonium. The resulting radiation
showed high penetration through a lead shield, which could not be
explained via the particles known at that time.

His major contributions to Illustration of Chadwick’s

our understanding of Atomic Model:
atoms:
 He discovered the
Neutron.
 He concluded that the
atomic number in the
number of positive charges
in the atomic nucleus.
 Made a fundamental
discovery in the domain of
nuclear science.