Robert Rusch Mrs.

Moon Chemistry 2 11 December 12 Atomism: The Men Who Proved It Right Joseph Proust was a French chemist born in Angers France on September 26, 1754 and passed away in 1826. (vzhang.com) Proust is best known for his experiments that contributed to the Law of Definite Proportions. (8) The Law of Definite Proportions states that compounds contain the same proportions of elements by mass.. Beginning in 1794, Proust experimented with copper carbonate. (Proust began with pure samples of the components of copper carbonate: copper, carbon, and oxygen, and he would then mix them to create the compound. Proust found that by weight there was always a ratio of five parts of carbon, four parts of oxygen, and one part of carbon when he created the copper carbonate. (8) Oxygen would be left over if he added extra oxygen. Not all contemporary chemists agreed with Proust. One of the chemists who disagreed, C.L. Berthollet used his chemistry fame to prevent adoption of the idea by other chemists. (10) The Law of Definite Proportions created a firm argument for atomism by showing how atoms combine in definite numbers. Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen was a German Physicist born on March 27, 1845 in the Rhine Province of Germany and died on February 10 1923. (nobel) Roentgen is best known for his discovery of X-Rays, which earned him the first ever Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. (nobel) Roentgen discovered Xrays during experiments while investigated the luminescence of certain chemicals while being bombarded by cathode rays. On November 5, 1895 while Roentgen was bombarding with cathode rays a sheet of paper coated with barium platinocyanide, a chemical that luminesced under cathode rays, he

noticed another coated sheet glowing that cathode rays could not reach. (69-70) Roentgen deduced that another form of ray must have been causing the paper to glow, a type of ray that could pass through walls, something cathode rays cannot do. Roentgen named this new ray the X-ray. Roentgens discovery greatly contributed to the study of the atom as the new ray allowed scientist to study more at the atomic scale and learn things about the atom from the nature of the x-ray. Scientists and the public received Roentgens discovery with enthusiasm. John Dalton was an English chemist born on September 6, 1766 (my birthday) in Eaglesfield, England and died on July 26, 1844 in Manchester, England. (biography.com) Dalton is famous for his assertion that elements could be distinguished by their atomic weight and his discovery of the law of multiple proportions. Daltons atomic theory consisted of five points: elements are made of small particles named atoms, atoms cannot be divided, created, or destroyed, atoms are combined, separated, or rearranged in chemical reactions, atoms combine in simple whole number rations to form compounds, and atoms of a certain element are identical in properties, and differ in properties with other elements.(biography) Dalton discovered in his experiments the elements could combine in different number to form different elements like how carbon and oxygen can form carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, but would combine still in ratios of weight.(11) He used this experimentation as the base for his Law of Multiple Proportions and as part of the evidence for his atomic theory. Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871 in Brightwater, New Zealand and died on October 19, 1837. (nobel.com) Rutherford is best known for creating the Rutherfordian atomic model of a positive nucleus containing most of the mass of the atom surrounded by orbiting negative electrons that is quite similar to the atomic model that is in use today. In 1809, Rutherford discovered alpha rays, which could be stopped by a thin sheet of aluminum, and beta rays that required a thicker sheet of aluminum to be stopped by, and finally another scientist discovered gamma rays. (93) Rutherford used a

stream of alpha particles emitted by a radioactive substance to try to probe the atom. He fired the stream at a thin sheet of gold with a photographic plate behind it that alpha particles would fog. Rutherford discovered that a few of the alpha particles were being strongly deflected. (94-95) He deduced that a small, positive nucleus was strongly deflecting the alpha particles. He then later discovered the proton by examining the reaction between alpha particles and nitrogen gas. (98-99) Rutherford contributed greatly to the study of the atom by creating his model of the atom that is so similar to what we use today and his discovery of the proton. During Rutherfords earlier scientific career, scientists occasionally scorned his achievements, but he eventually gained great fame during his lifetime. James Clerk Maxwell was a Scottish mathematician who lived from 1831-1879. (Maxwell.com) Maxwell is famous for unifying electricity and magnetism as well as work on the kinetic motion of atoms. (15) Maxwells work on the kinetic motion of atoms showed that temperature was the average motion of atoms making up gases, liquids, and even solids. Maxwells equation based off Faradays work on fields and lines of force, shows the mathematical implications of the electromagnetic field. Through his equations Maxwell also showed that light was a form of electromagnetic radiation. (45)Maxwells simple electromagnetic equations were eventually proven true through experimentation. Maxwells discoveries contributed the study of atomism by explaining the nature of electricity and electromagnetic waves, which helped scientists learn about the atom, and Maxwells work on the kinetic motion of atoms helped contribute to knowledge about the atom. J. J. Thomson was born in Manchester, England on December 18, 1856. (nobel) He enrolled at Trinity College in 1886. Thomson is most famous for his discovery of the nature of the electron, which had been previously known as the cathode ray. He won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1906 for this discovery. (nobel) J. J. Thomson discovered this by repeating the earlier experiment of Hertz who

attempted to determine if cathode rays carried a negative charge, which could only be a result of particles, not waves. Due to problems in Hertzs experiment, Hertz wrongly concluded that the cathode rays were waves, however, Thomson who used stronger electrical plates that would push charged particles, but not waves, and knew just about how quickly the cathode ray moved rightly deduced that the cathode ray was a negative particle. (65-66) Thomson recorded the mass of the cathode ray particle as 1/1837 of a hydrogen atom by measuring the strength of the deflections. Thomson christened the cathode ray particle, The electron. (67) Thomson rightly believed the electron to come from the atom though he wrongly believed it to be embedded in the nucleus, which was positive so the charges would cancel out. Thomson also carried out important research on isotopes. Thomsons breakthroughs were well received by other scientists and his discovery of the electron greatly contributed to scientific knowledge of the atom. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1908/rutherford-bio.html http://www.biography.com/people/john-dalton-9265201 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1906/thomson-bio.html http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Maxwell.html http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1901/rontgen-bio.html http://www.vzhang.com/vzfiles/joseph_proust.htm Isaac Asimov, D. F. Bach, Atom: Journey Across the Subatomic Cosmos, Plume; Reprint edition (August 1, 1992), ISBN 0-452-26834-6