history of the atom

• The first major theory that had tried to explain what stuff is made out of was atomic theory
• Atomic theory


  The idea that everything is made up from tiny little particles that can't be broken down any further and that they're separated from each other by empty space
• Democritus proposed atomic theory

  Around 500 BC
• When atomic theory was improved upon

  1800s
• John Dalton's atomic model


  Atoms as solid spheres, different types of spheres make up different elements
• J.J. Thompson proposed the plum pudding model


  1897
• Plum pudding model


  • Atoms contain negatively charged particles (electrons)
  • Atoms have a general ball of positive charge with discrete electrons stuck in it
• Rutherford and students made a big discovery


  1909
• Rutherford's experiment


  1. Fired positively charged alpha particles at a thin sheet of gold

  2. Some alpha particles were deflected to the side or back, proving the plum pudding model wrong
• Rutherford's nuclear model


  Atoms have a compact nucleus containing all the positive charge, with a cloud of negative charge around it
• Rutherford's nuclear model had a flaw - the negative electrons should collapse into the nucleus
• Niels Bohr suggested a solution

  1913
• Bohr's model


  Electrons orbit the nucleus in shells, preventing the atom from collapsing
• Further experiments supported Bohr's model, which is similar to the current understanding of atomic structure
• Rutherford found the positive charge in the nucleus is made up of protons
• James Chadwick provided evidence for neutral particles (neutrons) in the nucleus