Ancient

Atomic Theory
Learning Goals
Students will:
1)Understand the improvements to the
Atomic Model through history
2)Understand how each advancement
leads to the present model of the atom.
Success Criteria
Students will:
1) Record the important facts in an information
chart.
2) Understand the advancements of each new
atomic model.
3) Identify the weakness of the model that lead to
further investigation.
 Presentation Outline
• Introduction
• Leucippus and Democritus
• Empedocles and Aristotle
• Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas and the effect of
the Church
• The Alchemists
 Introduction
Atomic theory first originated with Greek philosophers around 2500 years
ago. This basic theory remained unchanged until the 19th century when it
first became possible to test the theory with more sophisticated experiments.

As science has rapidly advanced over the past few centuries the atomic
theory has been refined in accordance with the accepted scientific principles
and theories of the time.

Advances in technology and theory that have allowed experiments to be

designed that enable us to probe matter to microscopic scales.
Ancient Atomic Theory
The atomic theory of matter was first proposed by
Leucippus, a Greek philosopher who lived at around
400BC. At this time the Greeks were trying to understand
the way matter is made.
But according to Leucippus, it is possible to subdivide
matter in smaller and smaller parts, and he proposed that
this process can be continued until eventually you arrive
Leucippus at small particles which can not be further subdivided.
Leucippus called these indivisible particles atoms (from
the Greek word atomos, meaning “indivisible”).
Ancient Atomic Theory continued..
Leucippus's atomic theory was further developed
by his disciple, Democritus
Democritus suggested the atomic theory,
explaining that all things are "composed of
minute, invisible, indestructible particles of pure
matter which move about eternally in infinite
Democritus
empty space“. This was the atom.
Problems
• Leucippus and Democritus were on the right
track but they were PHILOSOPHERS
• NOT OF THESE THEORIES WERE EVER
TESTED EXPERIMENTALLY
• Given the simple technology – it was difficult to
test these theories
Ancient Atomic Theory continued..
According to the ancient Greeks, atoms
were all made of the same basic material,
but atoms of different elements had
different sizes and shapes.
The sizes, shapes, and arrangements of a
material’s atoms determined the material’s
properties.
Another Greek Philosopher, Empedocles,
proposed the 4-element theory of matter –
in which all matter was seen to consist of
Air, Fire, Water and Earth.
Aristotle• Around 340 B.C. Aristotle said he didn't believe
in the theory of Atoms because you would be
putting a restriction on the gods.
• If the gods wanted to divide an element to
something smaller than an atom, they could.
The concept that God or gods had unlimited
power was quite popular.
• In addition Aristotle introduced the fifth
element (ether) that he said all heavenly
bodies (Sun, moon, and stars, etc.) were made
of. Hence ether was a heavenly material
St. Thomas Aquinas
Aquinas was one the great philosophers of the
Catholic Church.
He used logic to prove the existence of God and used
the teachings of Aristotle as a basis for his thinking.
As a result the Catholic Church followed Aristotle’s 5-
element theory.
Since it was considered blasphemy to question the
teachings of the church, most people (including
scientists) did not question the 5-element theory.
As a result, Aristotle’s the 5-element theory existed
for over 2000 years.
Modern Astronomy vs. The Church
Famous Astronomers Galileo and
Copernicus believed that the Sun was in
the middle of the solar system and not
the Earth.
This conclusion was based on many years
of careful data collection by many
scientists, yet the Church was convinced
that God placed man at the center of the
universe.
Galileo was forced to recant his theory
and his life was spared but he was placed
under house arrest for the rest of his life.
 Alchemy

 Alchemists were a combination of scientist, wizard, medicine man and

philosopher. They believed in the 5-element theory of matter and made
some developments to Science in the Middle Ages (1000 – 1500).
 Alchemists also made many biased, incorrect conclusions based on poor
scientific reasoning.
 Since Aristotle believed that the fifth element could turn cheap metals
into gold and cure disease and old age. Many alchemists pursued the
discovery of the 5th element.
Alchemists

An alchemist conducting An alchemist expelling demons

experiments with his elves
Changes in Scientific
Thinking Alchemists do take the credit for developing
many types of glassware used today in
Chemistry, as well as many experimental
processes. BUT they made few scientific
advances.

 Modern science did not begin until scientists:

1. Began using careful experimental techniques to make observations
2. Made conclusions based on these experiments with no biases.

This led many early scientists into trouble from the Church.
The Modern Atomic Theory
For centuries scientists did not have the methods or technology
to test their theories about the basic structure of matter, so
people accepted the ancient Greek view.

In the 19th century John Dalton made inferences that

exhibited how atoms bond together in definite
proportions.
Dalton was able to say that atoms of different
elements combine in whole number ratios.
John Dalton