Atoms

Year of Discovery: 1802

What Is It? An atom is the smallest particle that can exist of any chemical
element.
Who Discovered It? John Dalton

Why Is This One of the 100 Greatest?

The modern worlds of chemistry and physics depend on knowing and studying the
universe of atoms. But no one could actually see an atom until the invention of the electron
microscope in 1938. Centuries before that, atoms were well known and were an important
part of chemistry and physics research. It was John Dalton who defined the atom, allowing
scientists to being serious study at the atomic level. An atom is the smallest particle of any
element and the basic building block of matter. All chemical compounds are built from
combinations of atoms.
Since atoms are the key to understanding chemistry and physics, Dalton’s discovery of
the atom ranks as one of the great turning points for science. Because of this discovery, Dal-
ton is often called the father of modern physical science.

How Was It Discovered?

In the fifth century B.C., Leucippus of Miletus and Democritus of Abdera theorized
that each form of matter could be broken into smaller and smaller pieces. They called that
smallest particle that could no longer be broken into smaller pieces an atom. Galileo and
Newton both used the term atom in the same general way. Robert Boyle and Antoine
Lavoisier were the first to use the word element to describe one of the newly discovered
chemical substances. All of this work, however, was based on general philosophical theory,
not on scientific observation and evidence.
John Dalton was born in 1766 near Manchester, England, and received a strict Quaker
upbringing. With little formal education, he spent 20 years studying meteorology and
teaching at religious, college-level schools. Near the end of this period, Dalton joined, and
presented a variety of papers to, the Philosophical Society. These included papers on the ba-
rometer, the thermometer, the hygrometer, rainfall, the formation of clouds, evaporation,
atmospheric moisture, and dew point. Each paper presented new theories and advanced
research results.
Dalton quickly became famous for his innovative thinking and shifted to science re-
search full time. In 1801 he turned his attention from the study of atmospheric gasses to

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chemical combinations. Dalton had no experience or training in chemistry. Still, he plowed

confidently into his studies.
By this time almost 50 chemical elements had been discovered—metals, gasses, and
nonmetals. But scientists studying chemistry were blocked by a fundamental question they
couldn’t answer: How did elements actually combine to form the thousands of compounds
that could be found on Earth? For example, how did hydrogen (a gas) combine with oxygen
(another gas) to form water (a liquid)? Further, why did exactly one gram of hydrogen al-
ways combine with exactly eight grams of oxygen to make water—never more, never less?
Dalton studied all of the chemical reactions he could find (or create), trying to develop
a general theory for how the fundamental particle of each element behaved. He compared
the weights of each chemical and the likely atomic structure of each element in each com-
pound. After a year of study, Dalton decided that these compounds were defined by simple
numerical ratios by weight. This decision allowed him to deduce the number of particles of
each element in various well-known compounds (water, ether, etc.).
Dalton theorized that each element consisted of tiny, indestructible particles that were
what combined with other elements to form compounds. He used the old Greek word, atom,
for these particles. But now it had a specific chemical meaning.
Dalton showed that all atoms of any one element were identical so that any of them
could combine with the atoms of some other element to form the known chemical com-
pounds. Each compound had to have a fixed number of atoms of each element. Those fixed
ratios never changed. He deduced that compounds would be made of the minimum number
possible of atoms of each element. Thus water wouldn’t be H4O2 because H2O was simpler
and had the same ratio of hydrogen and oxygen atoms.
Dalton was the first to use letter symbols (H, O, etc.) to represent the various elements.
Scientists readily accepted Dalton’s theories and discoveries, and his concepts quickly
spread across all Western science. We still use his concept of an atom today.

Fun Facts: The smallest atom is the hydrogen atom, with just one elec-
tron circling a single proton. The largest naturally occurring atom is the
uranium atom, with 92 electrons circling a nucleus stuffed with 92 pro-
tons and 92 neutrons. Larger atoms have been artificially created in the
lab but do not occur naturally on earth.

More to Explore
Greenway, Frank. John Dalton and the Atom. Ithaca, NY: Cornel University Press,
1997.
Lewis, Spencer. The Mystery of John Dalton and His Alchemy Laws. Whitefish, MT:
Kessinger, 2005.
Millington, J. John Dalton. London: AMS Press, 1996.
Patterson, Elizabeth. John Dalton and the Atomic Theory: The Biography of a Natural
Philosopher. New York: Doubleday, 1996.
Smith, Robert. Memoir of John Dalton and History of the Atomic Theory Up to His
Time. Dover, DE: Adamant Media, 2005.
Smyth, A. L. John Dalton: 1766–1844. New York: Dover, 1998.