History of Atomic Theory

  • Period: 322 to

    Aristotle's Theory

    Aristotle disagreed with Democritus' ideas that atoms move through empty space. He completly denied the existence of atoms due to personal ideas about nature.
  • Period: 370 to 460

    Democritus' Theory

    Democritus was the first person to suggest that matter cannot be divided. Came up with the word "atom." He couldn't figure out what holds atoms together.
  • Period: to

    John Dalton's Theory

    English Schoolteacher who showed the beginning of development of the modern atomic theory. Revived the term "atom."
  • Period: to

    Ernest Rutherford

    Rutherford studied how positivley charged α-particles interacted with solid matter. He designed an expirement to see if the particles would be deflected as they passed through a thin sheet of gold.
  • Period: to

    J.J. Thompson

    He is a physicist who designed a series of CRT expirements at Cambridge to ditermine the ratio of the particle's charge to its mass
  • Period: to

    Robert Millikan

    He designed an oil drop apparatus to see the charge of electron. He also determined the magnitude of the charge of electron. Also determined the mass of the electron.