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Atom and Atomic Theory

Atomic Theory

Atoms are very tiny. They could not be seen before scanning tunneling microscopes were

developed in 1981. Nevertheless, the awareness of atoms goes back to ancient Greece.

In ancient Greek, around 450 BC, the word atom meant the smallest indivisible particle

that could be conceived, in fact, the Greek word for atom means "not divisible.". The atom was

thought of as indestructible; What we know/conceive about the atom now, started with an essential

theory created by Democritus, a Greek philosopher who proposed that matter consisted of various

types of tiny discrete particles and that the properties of matter were determined by the properties

of these particles.

Years later, in the 1800s a British chemist John Dalton was the first to adapt Democritus’

theory into the first modern atomic that stated:

1. All matters consist of tiny particles called Atoms

2. Atoms are indestructible and unchangeable

3. Elements are characterized by the weight of their atoms

4. When elements react, it is their atoms that have combined to form a new compound

(https://www.sisd.net/cms/lib/TX01001452/Centricity/Domain/1297/The_history_of_the_atom_Notes-

_condensed.pdf)

Dalton did many experiments that prove the evidence of atoms, like, the study of the pressure in

the gases, this led him to the conclusion of gases must consist of tiny particles in constant motion,
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Dalton also researched the properties of compounds. He showed that a compound always consists

of the same elements in the same ratio and different compounds always consist of different

elements or ratios, from this he reasoned that particles can combine in an endless variety of ways.

How the discovery helped the development of science

The atom has greatly influenced science, informed us about many concepts, nourished our

knowledge, the discovery of the atom had both positive and negative effects, positives like

enlightening people’s life such in fields as medicine, technology, food/packaging and providing

knowledge and explanations, and negative impacts like destructive items like the atomic bomb

Conclusion

On our everyday lives, atoms are present, our knowledge of them helps us understand

everything and improve what we know/have and also explains how things work