Basic Unit of Matter

Who were the main characters in the development of the atom? Why were they vital to the development of the atom? What made them different if anything?

1.

Not until around 460 B.C., did a Greek philosopher, Democritus, develop the idea of atoms.

In the 1800's an English chemist, John Dalton performed experiments with various chemicals that showed that matter, indeed, seem to consist of elementary lumpy particles (atoms). Although he did not know about their structure, he knew that the evidence pointed to something fundamental.

In 1897, the English physicist J.J. Thomson discovered the electron and proposed a model for the structure of the atom. Thomson knew that electrons had a negative charge and thought that matter must have a positive charge.

In 1912 a Danish physicist, Neils Bohr came up with a theory that said the electrons do not spiral into the nucleus and came up with some rules for what does happen. (This began a new approach to science because for the first time rules had to fit the observation regardless of how they conflicted with the theories of the time.)

2.

Every person had a role in coming up with developments to the atom we know today.

Some more than others just cause the time period people were involved in creating their ideas.

3.

Every scientist is different; from where they come from or the way they thought about things. They all had different ideas about the atom.