Chantel Thachenkary

Atomic Theory of Matter

Everything we find in the world from wood, water, metal, rocks, are all made up from
atoms. Atoms were thought of as indivisible particles that floated around in a void, but
certain philosophers disagreed with this theory and thought that everything was made up
four elements; fire, earth, water, and air. This theory was accepted for a long time until
findings from other scientist disproved the theory and also revealed various characteristics
of atoms.

The atomic theory is a theory that describes the make up of the entire world. It was first
approached as a scientific topic when a Greek philosopher, Empedocles (492 b.c. - 432 b.c)
determined a theory that four elements (water, fire, earth, wind) were essential to the
framework of everything in the world. This theory was incorrect but the conclusion that
everything was made formed from elements was correct. Later another Greek philosopher,
Democritus (460 b.c. – 370 b.c.), proposed another theory of matter that revolved around
the idea that an infinite number of atoms move through an infinite space or the void. These
particles were supposedly so small that he believed that there was nothing smaller than
these atoms. Democritus also conceived that these pieces of matter were specific to the
object that it made up thus being different to the atoms that made up another object1.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) was an influential philosopher who was also interested in the atomic
theory. He disagreed with Democritus’ theory because he believed that matter was
continuous and there were no spaces in-between the matter. Aristotle recognized
Empedocles theory that everything was made up of the four elements, but he also added his
idea that the four elements could merge together2.
It was much later when Robert Boyle (1627-1691) attempted experiments that would help
prove the now known atomic theory. He believed that the definition of elements was
incorrect and proposed instead that elements were rather a fundamental substance
essential to the composition of the world3 .
He was also known to have perceived the difference of mixtures from compounds and even
proved that compounds have very different properties than from those of the elements of
which it was formed from4.

Throughout the next couple of decades there were several other significant discoveries
made by other mathematicians and physicists that allowed the atomic theory of elements
and indivisible particles to be redeveloped. Evangelista Torricelli discovered another crucial
fact during an experiment. The experiment indicated that air had weight but how could
something that could not be physically represented have an effect on another substance?
This question was answered by another mathematician, Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), who
presented a theory that air and other gases consisted of tiny particles that were too small to
be seen and that they randomly filled any empty space of volume. He maintained that these
particles must be in a constant motion, thus we do not feel the air particles because they
moved apart as we passed through.

1
Harrison, A.G. (2002).
2
http://www.aare.edu.au/02pap/har02049.htm
3
Carpi, A. (2003).
4
Reville, W. (2004).
 Chantel Thachenkary

After Bernoulli had presented his theory Joseph Priestly (1733 – 1804) discovered a
substance, to be specific a gas that allowed candle flames to burn quite strongly and
allowed a living creature to survive for longer periods sealed in this gas. This substance was
named ‘dephlogisticated air’. This air was found through experimenting with a red mineral.
Priestly found that when heated it turned into a mercury like substance and released a gas,
the oxygen. This observation presumably uncovered that substances could not only merge
together but also break down to form new substances5.
Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) was a French scientist who produced experiments that
showed several unexpected results. One major finding resulted from experiments when
Lavoisier used sealed containers to monitor the amounts of the chemicals used. It was this
apparatus that allowed Lavoisier to see that the total weight of substances produced from
the experiment were equal to the total weight of the initial substances used 6. These
experiments helped Lavoisier deduce that chemical reactions could be written down into
chemical equations. Another finding was that elements could not be created or destroyed.
After several tests with another gas, Phlogiston (now known as hydrogen) Lavoisier noted
that water droplets always formed on the containers. Lavoisier found that this was the
result of the phlogiston and oxygen reacting with each other7. The experiments results
proved the theory that elements could not be created or destroyed, as it was seen that the
elements reacted to form compounds with different properties rather than the formation of
a new element. Through these experiments Lavoisier eventually established the Law of
Conservation of Mass which states that mass is not lost nor gained during a chemical
reaction.

J.L. Proust (1754-1826) was a French scientist known for his Law of Definite Proportions. The
law was developed from results observed from experiments where he found elements that
reacted with each other to form compounds, always had the same proportions of the
elements in each experiment regardless of whatever apparatus as chosen to create the
compound 8,9,10. The significance of each scientist’s observations was only later understood
by John Dalton (1766-1844). He understood that all matter was made up from tiny particles.
He accepted that as Bernoulli had stated, in a gaseous state particles existed, drifting freely
around and capable of mixing with other gases, but Dalton assumed that this applied to all
matter not to gases specifically. Thus he hypothesized that “each element is composed of
atoms, atoms of a given element are identical and that compounds form when atoms of
more than one element combine” (Ceyer, S., Cummins, C., 2005. para 4). Also that atom’s
cannot be created or destroyed11,12.

Daltons theory has since then been the backbone of most scientific research and the
understanding of matter and its manipulations. Thus the evolution of the Atomic Theory has
resulted in scientific breakthroughs since the periodic table of elements, to understanding
its components and reactions, these helped develop plastics, dyes and medicines. The
5

6
AbsoluteAstronomy.com (2009)
7
Fowler, M. (1997)
8
Ceyer, S., Cummins, C. (2005)
9
Sensee, F. (2005).
10
Mauskopf, S.H. (2009).
11
Carpi, A. (2003).
12
Ceyer, S., Cummins, C. (2005)
 Chantel Thachenkary

sources used to compose this assignment were not completely reliable. Most sources were
educational websites, encyclopedias, and online encyclopedias. The websites that were not
as reliable were useful for different views and more information as most content could be
backed up by information on educational websites.

REFERENCES

Harrison, A.G. (2002). John Dalton's atomic theory: Using the history and nature of science
to teach particle concepts?. Retrieved 10/10/09
http://www.aare.edu.au/02pap/har02049.htm

Carpi, A. (2003). Matter: Atoms from Democritus to Dalton. Retrieved 8/10/09

http://www.visionlearning.com/library/module_viewer.php?mid=49

Reville, W. (2004). Robert Boyle, The Father of Chemistry. Retrieved 8/10/09

http://understandingscience.ucc.ie/pages/sci_robertboyle.htm

AbsoluteAstronomy.com (2009) Title. Retrieved

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Joseph_Priestley .

Fowler, M. (1997) . Evolution of the Atomic Concept and the Beginnings of Modern
Chemistry. Retrieved http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/classes/252/atoms.html

Ceyer, S., Cummins, C. (2005) 5.112 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall (Massachusetts
Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare). Retrieved 2, 10, 2009 http://ocw.mit.edu

Sensee, F. (2005). Dalton’s Atomic Theory. Retrieved 11/10/09

http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/atoms/dalton.shtml

Mauskopf, S.H. (2009). Joseph-Louis Proust. Retrieved October 3, 2009, from Encyclopædia
Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/480555/Joseph-Louis-
Proust

Fowler, M. (2008). Aristotle. Retrieved

http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/lectures/aristot2.html

Robinson Library. (2009). Democritus. Retrieved 3/10/09

http://www.robinsonlibrary.com/philosophy/philosophy/greek/democritus.htm

Lycos Inc. (2009). Democritus. Retrieved 3/01/09

http://www.lycos.com/info/democritus.html

McPhee, I.M. (2008). Ancient Theories of Atoms. Retrieved 4/10/09 http://atomic-

molecular-optical-physics.suite101.com/article.cfm/ancient_theories_of_atoms

The New Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 1, 15th ed, 1986 Page 677
 Chantel Thachenkary

The New Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 4, 15th ed, 1986 Page 6

Davies, P. (2000). The New Physics. Retrieved 6/10/09 http://books.google.com.au/books?

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