Atomic theory

In science, atomic theory is an argument that all matter in Father of Atomic Theory
the universe consists of small particles called atoms
or atomos (Greek meaning 'uncuttable' or 'indivisible') moving about “All reality consists of hard
in a void or vacuum. indivisible particles, moving and colliding
in empty space.”
The atomic theory was originated by Greek philosopher Leucippus in
circa 450 BC as a point of argument to contradict the
earlier circa 485 BC hypothesis by Greek Leucippus (c.450BC) Theory
philosopher Parmenides that vacuums are a natural impossibility or
that “nature abhors a vacuum”.

The following table lists the chronological development of atomic theory, from the early 'Greek school' of atomic theory (450-55BC), to
fragmented commentary in the dark ages, to the revival of atomic theory (1600-1800), to subatomic theory (1902-1926), to subnuclear
theory (1963-), to human molecular theory (2002-).

1787 Antoine Lavoisier Considered bodies to be composed of particles, which were kept separate by means of caloric or the
(1740-1794) matter of heat, such that the more caloric there was in a given body, the more it would be made to
expand according to Boerhaave’s law; he also introduced the modern definition: “with the word
‘element’ or ‘principles of bodies’, we associate the notion of the ultimate entity arrived at by
analysis; all substances that we have not yet decomposed by any means, we consider elements.”
1789 William Higgins His A Comparative View of Phlogistic and Antiphlogistic Theories, had developed a theory of
(1763-1825) 'ultimate particles' attached via divided force fractions, a type of atomic union to form molecules
model; in 1814 he published Experiments and Observations on Atomic Theory and Electrical
Phenomena. [14]

1803 John Dalton Using the hooked atom theory as a model for bonding, founded modern 'atomic theory' by initiating
(1766-1844) the basics of stoichiometry, assigning the hydrogen atom, the lightest element, as unity, and
determined the atomic ratios in various molecules, such as nitrous anhydride N2O3. Dalton is often
considered the 'father of modern atomic theory.'

1811 Amedeo Calculated the number of atoms in a volume of gas, as defined by the Avogadro constant.
Avogadro
(1776-1856)

1814 Andre Ampere Developed a ‘geometric model’ in which he pictured atoms of chemical elements as being composed
(1775-1836) of subatomic particles. [7]

1816 Jean Biot Central person of the 'atomic theory' group at the Ecole Polytechnique, including Augustin Cauchy
(1774-1862) (1789-1857) and Simeon Poisson (1781-1840), who, in the 1810s to 1830s, employed models in
which the atom consisted of a massive nucleus surrounded by an atmosphere of imponderable ether
particles. [7] In his 1816 textbook on experimental and theoretical physics, he mentioned views on
atomic structure similar to Ampere’s.
1826 Gustav Fechner After translating Biot’s 1816 textbook into German, in 1828 he went on to construct a dynamic
(1801-1887) atomic model in which the ‘atoms simulate in small dimensions the situations of the astronomical
objects in larger dimensions, being animate in any case by the same forces; and each body may be
regarded as a system of innumerably many small suns, floating at comparatively large distances
from one another, such that each or several of them together are surrounded by orbiting planetary
atoms.” [7]
1841 Karl Marx Completed his 1841 PhD dissertation on Differences between the Natural Philosophies of
(1818-1883) Democritus and Epicurus, in which he is very critical of Gassendi’s efforts to rehabilitate
Epicureanism; also authored a post-humorous piece entitled “Epicurean Philosophy”.

1870 William Thomson In 1867, inspired by Hermann Helmholtz’s 1858 paper on “vortices”, recently translated by his
(1824-1907) friend Peter Tait, the two came up with the idea, following smoke ring experiments done by Tiat,
→ Vortex atom that atoms were types of vortex rings, like smoke rings, or knots of swirling vortices in the æther.
theory [19] Chemical elements would thus correspond to knots and links and that an understanding and
classification of all possible knots would explain why atoms absorb and emit light at only the
 discrete wavelengths that they do. [20] In his 1870 Nature article "Size of Atoms", he worked out a
method for estimating the size of atoms, or rather to fix the limits between which their sizes lie;
similar atomic sizing methods were worked out independently, in this period, by Josef
Loschmidt and George Stoney. In 1902, he is said to have proposed the first modern 'structural
theory of the atom' (see: subatomic theory section, below), in which an atom was hypothesized to
have a uniformly distributed positive electrical cloud in which electrons were inserted so as to
produce an equilibrium situation when the negative charges were at rest. [4]
1871 Wilhelm Weber Built on Fechner’s model of the atom, but assumed the heavy solar atoms and the almost massless
(1804-1891) planetary atoms to be electrically charged, replacing Fechner’s gravitational attraction with electrical
forces. Weber gave the following picture of an atom:

“Let e be the positively charged electrical particle, and let the negative particle, carrying an opposite
charge of equal amount, be denoted by –e Let only the latter be associated with the massive atom,
whose mass is so large that the mass of the positive particle may be considered as negligible. The
particle –e may then be considered as being at rest, while just the particle e moves around the
particle –e.”

This model, supposedly, became defunct with James Maxell’s electromagnetic theory of transverse
electric and magnetic waves.
1868 Ludwig Building on the kinetic theory work of Clausius and Maxwell, developed the statistical mechanics of
Boltzmann atomic movement (velocities), thus bring conclusive validation to atomic theory, over detracting
(1844-1906) views, such as professed by those of the energetics school, particularly Ernst Mach, Wilhelm
Ostwald, and Pierre Duhem, who considered atoms to be a metaphysical abstraction.

1878 Alfred Mayer To study how atomic points of charge might be arranged, he took equally magnetized needles and
(1836-1897) stuck them through corks so that they would float with their north poles all at the same height above
→ Floating the water, all repelling each other equally. He then held the south pole of a more powerful magnet
magnets some distance above the water, to attract the needles towards this central point. The idea was to see
experiment what equilibrium patterns the needles would form for different numbers of needles. He found that
the needles liked to arrange themselves in shells: three needles formed a triangle, five a square with
a needle at the center; ten a ring with a triangle at the center; fifteen a needle surrounded by two
shells or rings; and so on. These experimental findings inspired the later 1904 "plum pudding
model" of Joseph Thomson.
1883 Henri Bergson Published Les Extraits de Lucrece (Excerpts from Lucretius) giving commentary on the atom-void
(1859-1941) views of Lucretius, a view which he favored.

1897 Ernst Mach Famously declared: "I don't believe that atoms exist!", following an 1897 lecture by Ludwig
(1838-1916) Boltzmann at the Imperial Academy of Science in Vienna; often cited as the “last physicist to deny
the existence of the atom”; Mach’s opposition to Boltzmann, along with his teaming up
with Wilhelm Ostwald with the energetics school, is said to be what drove Boltzmann to the
grave; Max Planck’s famous “a new scientific truth” quote is attributed to this debacle; Albert
Einstein later met with Mach to see if he would be willing to recant, if he could predict a property of
a gas in such a way that it required the assumption of the existence of atoms—Mach, supposedly, as
Einstein recalled delightedly, “replied affirmatively”. [23]
1897 Joseph Thomson After experimenting with cathode-ray tubes, published a paper, in which he postulated that the
(1856-1940) cathode rays are streams of “negatively electrified particles” [i.e. electrons] with mass.

Subatomic Theory
1891 George Stoney Coined the term "electron" (1891); also estimated the size of the atom (along with William
(1826-1911) Thomson and Josef Loschmidt) in circa 1870.

1903 Hantaro Nagaoka Building on the 1859 work of James Maxwell on the stability of Saturn’s rings, Nagaoka
(1865-1950) mathematically considered the properties of a ‘Saturnian’ atom, which he supposed the atom to
consist of a central attracting mass surrounded by rings of rotating electrons, showing that such a
system was stable if the attractive force was large. [6]
1904 Joseph Thomson After experimentally discovering the electron (1897), conceived of the 'plum pudding model' in
(1856-1940) 1904 of an atom, in which small negatively charged electrons floated in a uniformly positively-
charged sphere.

1909 Wilhelm Ostwal Quote: “I am now convinced that we have recently become possessed of experimental evidence of
(1853-1932) the discrete or grained nature of matter, which the atomic hypothesis sought in vain for hundreds
and thousands of years. The isolation and counting of gaseous ions, on the one hand, which have
crowned with success the long and brilliant researches of J.J. Thomson, and, on the other, agreement
of the Brownian movement with the requirements of the kinetic hypothesis, established by many
investigators and most conclusively by J. Perrin, justify the most cautious scientist in now speaking
of the experimental proof of the atomic nature of matter, the atomic hypothesis is thus raised to the
position of a scientifically well-founded theory, and can claim a place in a text-book intended for use
as an introduction to the present state of our knowledge of general chemistry.” (Ѻ) [21]
1911 Ernest Rutherford After experimentally discovering the nucleus, in his 1909 gold foil experiment, conceived of the
(1871-1937) 'Rutherford model' of the atom in 1911, according to which the atom had most of its mass at the
center characterized by a "positive central charge N e, and surrounded by a compensating charge
of N electrons"; Rutherford failed to speculate further on electronic structure, but did mention the
Saturn ring model of Nagaoka; Rutherford later coined the term 'proton' (1919) for structure of
hydrogen nuclei. [5]
1913 Niels Bohr Established the basic modern model of the internal structure the atom, called the 'Bohr model', in
(1885-1962) which an atom consists of a central positively charged nucleus surrounded by a certain number of
→ Bohr model negatively charged electrons, moving about in specific orbits about the nucleus, at certain discrete
distances from the nucleus, with specific energies, whereby the electrons can gain or lose energyby
jumping from one allowed orbit to another, absorbing or emitting electromagnetic radiation, in the
form of energy elements, with a frequency ν determined by the energy difference between the
two energy levelsaccording to the Planck relation (E2 – E1 = h ν), determined in 1900 by Max
Planck.
1924 Louis de Broglie Introduced the 'wavelike atom' model, proposing that all matter, particularly electrons, must have a
(1892-1987) wave-like behavior in their motion.

1926 Jean Perrin Won the Nobel Prize in physics for proving, conclusively, the reality of the “atomistic description”
(1870-1942) of nature—a recognition often said to mark the final and formal acceptance of Leucippus’ c.450BC
atomic theory by science officially; he did this by calculating Avogadro's number using three
different methods, all involving liquid phase systems. First, he used a gamboge soap-like emulsion,
second by doing experimental work on Brownian motion, and third by confirming Einstein’s theory
of particle rotation in the liquid phase.
1926 Erwin Utilized de Broglie's wave hypothesis to develop a wave equation that describes the movement of
Schrodinger the electrons about a nucleus (or rather the distribution of the charges electrons in space), thus
(1887-1961) initiating the 'orbital model' of the atom.

1932 James Chadwick Experimentally discovered the 'neutron' an uncharged nuclear particle slightly larger in mass than
(1891-1974) the proton.

1955 Erwin Muller \Using a field ion microscope, he became the first person to “see” an individual atom (Ѻ); the dots in
(1911-1977) the image shown, a platinum micrograph (1973), similar to the view seen by Muller, are individual
platinum atoms. (Ѻ)

1963 Murray Gell-Mann Assigned the name "quark" to the fundamental constituents of the nucleon (protons and neutrons).
(1929-)
Human molecular theory

See main: Human molecular theory, Human molecular hypothesis, human molecule
A subset of atomic theory logic is 'human molecular theory', the premise that humans are made of atoms, ordered in specific
arrangement, in the form of a dynamic molecule. The immensity of this simple doctrine cannot be overestimated in terms of it far-
reaching implications. To illuminate, as commented, in aggregate form, famously by American physicist Richard Feynman, in his
famous time capsule wisdom:

“If all scientific knowledge were lost in a cataclysm, the single statement that I would propose to best pass on our understanding of the
world, so to preserve the most information for the next generations of creatures, would be: ‘all things are made of atoms’.”

The extrapolation of this, up to the human scale, namely that:

“All humans are made of atoms”

is the more far-reaching statement with which to pass on to subsequent generations.

That humans are little particles (made of atoms), which go by various names: human molecules, human atoms, human
atomisms, human particles, human chemicals, or human elements, etc., that move around, attracting each other when in near vicinity,
but repelling upon being squeezed together in too close a manner. In this one sentence, one sees that there is an enormous amount of
information about the human world, if just a little imagination and thinking are applied. In this perspective, the following table gives a gist
outline of human molecular theory:

Modern Human Molecular Theory

1919 George Carey Definitively stated that: "man's body is a chemical formula in operation."
(1845-1924)

2000 Robert Sterner In their ecological stoichiometric studies of elemental composition variations in related species of small fresh
(c.1958-) water organisms, Sterner and Elser initiated modern 'human molecular theory' by calculating the following 22-
element empirical molecular formula for one person:

H375,000,000 O132,000,000 C85,700,000 N6,430,000 Ca1,500,000 P1,020,000 S206,000 Na183,000 K177,000

James Elser Cl127,000 Mg40,000 Si38,600 Fe2,680 Zn2,110 Cu76 I14 Mn13 F13 Cr7 Se4 Mo3 Co1
(c.1959-)
which they specifically defined as the chemical formula for one 'human molecule', thus giving, for the first time,
experimentally measured proof or derivation that a human being is a 'molecule' comprised of a specific number
of operational atoms.

2002 Libb Thims In his human thermodynamic studies, particularly surrounding efforts to understand how the spontaneity
(c.1975-) criterion applies to human relationships, in 2002 calculated the following 26-element empirical molecular
formula:

H2.5E9 O9.7E8 C4.9E8 N4.7E7 P9.0E6 Ca8.9E6 K2.0E6 Na1.9E6 S1.6E6 Cl1.3E6 Mg3.0E5 Fe5.5E4
F5.4E4 Zn1.2E4 Si9.1E3 Cu1.2E3 B7.1E2 Cr98 Mn93 Ni87 Se65 Sn64 I60 Mo19 Co17 V

and in 2007 wrote the first textbook on the behavior and reactions of human molecules; and in 2008, after
becoming aware of the earlier work of Sterner and Elser, wrote the first booklet on history of the concept of the
human molecule.
2005 New Scientist In 2005, in an anon author of a New Scientist article entitled “That’s Life”, gave the following 12-element
empirical formula was: [15]

This attempt at what the author calls "one's chemical formula", however, is lacking in 14 elements shown to
have active role in the internal functioning of a person.