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Atomic Theory Timeline

  • Democritus
    440 BCE

    Democritus

    Atoms are "uncuttable."
    Atoms are small, hard particles.
    Atoms constantly move.
  • Democritus
    440 BCE

    Democritus

    The atom model
  • Period: 440 BCE to

    Atomic Theory

  • John Dalton

    John Dalton

    All substances are made of atoms.
    Atoms of different elements are different.
    Atoms of the same element are exactly alike.
    Elements combine in specific proportions.
    He conducted experiments in combining elements.
  • John Dalton

    John Dalton

    The atom model
  • J.J. Thomson

    J.J. Thomson

    He conducted the cathode-ray tube experiment.
    His theory of the atomic structure lead to the "plum-pudding" model.
    There are small, negatively charged atoms inside an atom.
  • J.J. Thomson

    J.J. Thomson

    The atom model
  • Ernest Rutherford

    Ernest Rutherford

    Atoms contain mostly empty space.
    Electrons move in empty space in the atom.
    He conducted the gold foil experiment.
    Most of an atom's mass is in the nucleus.
    There is a small, dense, positively charged nucleus.
  • Ernest Rutherford

    Ernest Rutherford

    The atomic model
  • Niels Bohr

    Niels Bohr

    Electrons jump between levels from path to path.
    Electrons travel in definite paths.
  • Niels Bohr

    Niels Bohr

    The atom model
  • Erwin Schrodinger and Werner Heisenberg

    Erwin Schrodinger and Werner Heisenberg

    Electron paths cannot be predicted.
    Electrons are found in electron clouds, not paths.
  • Erwin Schrodinger and Werner Heisenberg

    Erwin Schrodinger and Werner Heisenberg

    The atom model.