Atomic timeline

  • Period: 460 BCE to 370 BCE

    Democritus life

  • Democritus
    400 BCE

    Democritus

    Democritus proposes that the model of an atom is made up of tiny, invisible, indestructible, particles called “atoms” moving through an empty space.
  • Socrates' Death
    399 BCE

    Socrates' Death

    the Greek philosopher Socrates was sentenced to death in Athens for impiety and corrupting the youth
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    John Dalton's life

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    Michael Faraday life

  • John Dalton “marble” model

    John Dalton “marble” model

  • John Dalton

    John Dalton

    John Dalton proposes atoms of each element are identical in mass and properties atoms of different elements vary in these characteristics. He explained that compounds form when atoms of different elements combine in simple whole-number ratios, and that chemical reactions involve only the rearrangement of these atoms, which are never created or destroyed.
  • Lewis and Clark expedition

    Lewis and Clark expedition

    a journey led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean
  • Michael Faraday

    Michael Faraday

    Faraday demonstrated that a continuous circular motion could be produced using the interaction between electricity and magnetism, showing that an electric current could create a magnetic field and that this magnetic field could in turn produce mechanical motion.
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    Eugen Goldstein life

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    JJ Thomson life

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    Robert Millikan life

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    Ernest Rutherford life

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    Neils Bohr life

  • Eugen Goldstein

    Eugen Goldstein

    Eugen discovered canal rays streams of positively charged particles that formed in gas discharge tubes and traveled in the opposite direction of cathode rays. He observed these rays passing through small holes, or “canals,” in the cathode, which allowed them to be detected behind it.
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    Edwin Schroedinger life

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    James Chadwick life

  • JJ Thomson “plum pudding” model

    JJ Thomson “plum pudding” model

  • JJ Thomspon

    JJ Thomspon

    JJ Thompson discovered the electron while studying cathode rays in vacuum tubes. By measuring how these rays deflected in electric and magnetic fields, he concluded that they were made of tiny, negatively charged particles much smaller than atoms, challenging the long-held belief that atoms were indivisible.
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    Werner Heisenberg life

  • The Wright brothers

    The Wright brothers

    The Wright brothers make the first successful airplane flight
  • Robert Millikan

    Robert Millikan

    Robert Millikan conducted the oil drop experiment, through which he precisely measured the electric charge of the electron. By observing tiny charged oil droplets suspended between electrically charged plates, Millikan determined the exact value of the electron’s charge and showed that electric charge is quantized, occurring in discrete units.
  • Ernest Rutherford “nuclear” model  or “Jimmy Neutron” model

    Ernest Rutherford “nuclear” model or “Jimmy Neutron” model

  • Ernest Rutherford

    Ernest Rutherford

    Ernest Rutherford discovered the atomic nucleus through his famous gold foil experiment. By directing alpha particles at a thin sheet of gold foil, he observed that while most particles passed straight through, a small number were deflected at large angles. This unexpected result showed that atoms are mostly empty space but contain a tiny, dense, positively charged center, the nucleus.
  • Neils Bohr “Solar system” model

    Neils Bohr “Solar system” model

  • Niels Bohr

    Niels Bohr

    Niels Bohr introduced a new model of the atom by proposing that electrons orbit the nucleus in fixed energy levels and can move between these levels by absorbing or emitting specific amounts of energy. This idea explained the observed spectral lines of hydrogen and resolved problems in Rutherford’s nuclear model by incorporating early quantum theory
  • End of WW1

    End of WW1

    A cease-fire was signed in a railroad car in Compiègne, France, effectively ending the fighting on the Western Front.
  • Werner Heisenberg

    Werner Heisenberg

    Werner Heisenberg developed matrix mechanics, the first complete and consistent formulation of quantum mechanics. Instead of describing electrons by visual orbits, he used mathematical matrices to represent observable quantities like energy and frequency.
  • Edwin Schroedinger “electron cloud” model

    Edwin Schroedinger “electron cloud” model

  • Erwin Schrödinger

    Erwin Schrödinger

    Erwin Schrödinger developed the wave equation that describes electrons as wave-like entities rather than particles moving in fixed orbits. This breakthrough formed the foundation of quantum mechanics and led to the quantum mechanical model of the atom, in which electrons occupy regions of space called orbitals defined by probability rather than precise paths.
  • The Great Depression

    The Great Depression

    The stock market crash, widespread bank failures, and a sharp drop in consumer demand
  • James Chadwick “electron cloud” model with neutrons

    James Chadwick “electron cloud” model with neutrons

  • James Chadwick

    James Chadwick

    James Chadwick discovered the neutron, a neutral particle found in the nucleus of atoms. He demonstrated its existence by bombarding beryllium with alpha particles, which produced a highly penetrating radiation that was not deflected by electric fields.
  • US enters WW2

    US enters WW2

    The United States enters World War II after Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in December.