What Are Atoms Made Of?
The article discusses the historical development of atomic theory and the discovery of atomic particles. It outlines how early chemists deduced the existence of atoms and their components through experiments and observations. Key figures such as Mendeleev, Thomson, and Rutherford contributed to our understanding of atomic structure, leading to the identification of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
- ▪Mendeleev created the periodic table in 1871, organizing elements by their atomic weights.
- ▪J. J. Thomson discovered electrons in 1897, proposing a model of the atom known as the plum-pudding model.
- ▪Rutherford's experiments in 1909 revealed that the positive charge of an atom is concentrated in a small nucleus.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
This post starts with the the slides of an elementary talk I gave at Sloans Bar and Grill, in Glasgow, as part of a wonderful series called A Pint of Science. At the end I include some fascinating details which I only had time to briefly touch on in my talk. If you already know plenty of physics, this is the juicy stuff. Start with a hair: A red blood cell is ten times smaller across: A flu virus is 10 times smaller across than that: The flagellum of this cell is ten times smaller across than that: A molecule of hemoglobin is about ten times smaller than that: A water molecule is ten times smaller than that: A hydrogen atom is 5 times smaller than that: This is an actual image of a single hydrogen atom, which is amazing.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Wordpress.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from Wordpress
