5th period Beginning of Chemistry Blog Response

Main Characters- John Dalton, J.J. Thomson, William Crookes, Michael Faraday, Robert Millikan, James Chadwick, Democritus.

Why were the vital to the developement to the atom- John Dalton was vital to the development of the atom because he came up with symbols to represent the atoms of the different elements, also he had an Atomic Theory and contributed to the atomic weight scale. J.J. Thomson was vital to the atom because he discovered electrons, he came up with the model called the "plum pudding"atomic model. He said that there must be positvely charged particles which must carry the mass of the atom. William Crookes was vital in the development of the atom because of his contribution to cathode ray research. He actually developed a better vacuum pump that allowed him to produce cathode-ray tubes with smaller residual gas pressure. Micheal Faraday was vital to the atom because of the cathode and anode. Robert Millikan was vital to the atom because he measure the charge of an electron with his oil drop apraratus. James Chadwick was vital to the atom because he discovered the neutron in the atom which later results in the atomic bomb. Democritus was vital in the discovery of the atom because he produced this particle and the Atomic Theory.

What made them different- The things that made them different were just all of their different personalities and thoughts. They are linked in the same sort of category, the atom, but they all just went about it in different ways. Some experimented and some just went with their gut.

Time period they lived in and the outcome of discovery- Money was definitely important in the way they discovered the atom. If they had money then they were able to use better technology. And yes it did matter when they grew up because of course the later they grew up there was more technology and more scientists that would discover things that would help with what they might be working on.

Why do we consider the atomic theory still a theory? What are the new developments?- it is still a theory because of the discovery of nuclear fusion/fission and radioactivity. Dalton was also incorrect saying that the atom was indivisible. We now know that atoms can be destroyed in nuclear reactions but not chemical reactions.

Why does it matter that we understand the structure of the atom?- It is important to know the structure of the atom because we need to know the world around us and they are all around us. They are the basic building blocks of matter so if you don't understand the structure of the atom then you can't get much into the discovery of anything else.