Evolution of Atomic Theory

Atomic theory is a scientific description of the nature of atoms and matter that combines
elements of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. According to modern theory, matter is made of
tiny particles called atoms, which are in turn made up of subatomic particles.

The Atom and Atomism

Atomic theory originated as a philosophical concept in ancient India and Greece. The word
"atom" comes from the ancient Greek word atomos, which means indivisible. In the fifth century
B.C., Democritus proposed that matter consists of indestructible, indivisible units called atoms.

Dalton’s Atomic Theory

It took until the end of the 18th century for science to provide concrete evidence of the existence
of atoms. In 1789, Antoine Lavoisier formulated the law of conservation of mass, which states
that the mass of the products of a reaction is the same as the mass of the reactants. Ten years
later, Joseph Louis Proust proposed the law of definite proportions, which states that the masses
of elements in a compound always occur in the same proportion. These theories didn't reference
atoms, yet John Dalton built upon them to develop the law of multiple proportions, which states
that the ratios of masses of elements in a compound are small whole numbers. Dalton's law of
multiple proportions drew from experimental data. He proposed that each chemical element
consists of a single type of atom that could not be destroyed by any chemical means.

Amedeo Avogadro

In 1811, Amedeo Avogadro corrected a problem with

Dalton's theory when he proposed that equal volumes of
gases at equal temperature and pressure contain the same
number of particles. Avogadro's law made it possible to
accurately estimate the atomic masses of elements and made
a clear distinction between atoms and molecules.
Another significant contribution to atomic theory was made
in 1827 by botanist Robert Brown, who noticed that dust
particles floating in water seemed to move randomly for no
known reason.

Plum Pudding Model and Rutherford Model

Up to this point, atoms were believed to be the smallest
units of matter. In 1897, J.J. Thomson had discovered the
electron. He believed atoms could be divided. Because the
electron carried a negative charge, he proposed a plum
pudding model of the atom, in which electrons were
embedded in a mass of positive charge to yield an
electrically neutral atom.
Ernest Rutherford, one of Thomson's students, disproved
the plum pudding model in 1909. Rutherford found that
the positive charge of an atom and most of its mass were at
the center, or nucleus, of an atom. He described a planetary
model in which electrons orbited a small, positive-charged nucleus.

Bohr model of an Atom

In 1913, Niels Bohr proposed the Bohr model, which states
that electrons only orbit the nucleus at specific distances from
the nucleus. According to his model, electrons couldn't spiral
into the nucleus but could make quantum leaps between
energy levels.

Quantum Atomic Theory

Bohr's model explained the spectral lines of hydrogen but didn't
extend to the behavior of atoms with multiple electrons. Several
discoveries expanded the understanding of atoms. In 1913,
Frederick Soddy described isotopes, which were forms of an atom
of one element that contained different numbers of neutrons.
Neutrons were discovered in 1932.
Quantum mechanics led to an atomic theory in which atoms
consist of smaller particles. The electron can potentially be found
anywhere in the atom but is found with the greatest probability in
an atomic orbital or energy level. Rather than the circular orbits of
Rutherford's model, modern atomic theory describes orbitals that may be spherical, dumbbell shaped, etc.
Modern scientists have found smaller particles that make up the protons, neutrons, and electrons, although
the atom remains the smallest unit of matter that can't be divided using chemical means.

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Chemistry 10
The Evolution of Atomic Theory