-
Period: 460 BCE to 370 BCE
Democritus
Defined atoms: the smallest unit of matter which retains the identity and properties of that matter. Found out átomos cannot be cut. Influential Ancient Greek pre Socratic philosopher primarily remember today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. Born in Abdera, Thrace. Quoted " Happiness resides not in possessions and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul." -
Period: 384 BCE to 322 BCE
Aristotle
Believed in the four elements. Refuted Democritus atomic theory led to nearly 2,000 years of bogus "science". Born in Stagira, Chalkidice on the northern periphery of Classical Greece. -
Period: 330 BCE to 700 BCE
Alchemy
332 B.C. Alexander the Great conquered Egypt.
Greek philosophers became interested in the Egyptian religion. Greeks views of how matter is made up of the four elements of nature were emerged with Egyptian religion. The result of Khemia, the Greek word for Egypt. The word alchemy came from the word Khemia, which means Egypt. 600 AD arabs occupied Egypt and further developed the science spread it to the west (Spain) in the 700s. It's practitioners mainly sought to turn lead to gold. -
Period: to
Vitalism
Living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain a "vital spirit." Living things are thus governed by different principles that are inanimate things. The theory that the origin and phenomena of life are dependent on a force or principle distinct from purely chemical or physical. -
Period: to
The phlogiston theory
The phlogiston theory is a superseded scientific theory that postulated that a fire-like element called phlogiston is contained within combustible bodies and released during combustion. The theory attempted to explain burning processes such as combustion and rusting, which we now know as oxidation. -
Period: to
Anton Laurent de La Voisier
Known as the Father of Modern Chemistry because he relied on quantative observation to develop conclusions. French nobleman and chemist central to the 18th century chemical revolution. Found out that matter can change form but cannot be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. Beheaded during the French Revolution. -
Benjamin Franklin
Discovered that electrical charges come in 2 varieties- positive and negative. Like charges repel, opposite charges attract. Renowned polymath and a leading author. -
Period: to
Joseph Louis Proust
Discovered the law of definite propertions sometimes called The Law of Constant Composition, states that a chemical compound always contains exactly the same proportion of elements by mass. French nobleman born in Angers, France. Discovered grape sugar. -
Period: to
John Dalton
Father of Atomic Theory. Matter is made up of atoms that are indivisible and indestructible. English chemist, physicist, and meteorologist. Also known for his research into color blindness. All atoms of an element are identical. Atoms with different elements have different weights and different chemical properties. -
Period: to
William Crookes et.al
English chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry in London and worked in spectroscopy. Pioneer of the vacuum tubes, cathode ray tube and a paddle wheel that is placed in the crt -
Sir John Joseph Thomson
Continued experimenting on the CRT. English physicist and Noble laureate in physics. Credited with the discovery and identification of the electron and the discovery of the first subatomic particle. -
Ernest Rutherford
A New Zealand born British physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics. Classified radiation. 1st baron rutherford of Nelson. -
Becquerel
French physicist, Nobel laureate, and the first person to discover evidence of radioactivity in uranium ore. Worked alongside Marie Skladowska-Curie and Pierre Curie and together they won the noble prize in physics in 1903. -
The curies
Marie Curie was a polish and naturalized French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity and her spouse Pierre Curie was also a French physicist, a pioneer in crystallography, magnetism, piezoelectricity and radioactivity. -
Millikan
American experimental physicist honored with the Nobel prize for physics in 1923 for the measurement of the elementary electronic charge and for his work on the photoelectric effect. Also known for calculating the mass of an electron. -
James Chadwick
Proved the existence of another subatomic particle,named it the neutron. English physicist who was awarded the 1935 Nobel prize in physics for his discovery of the neutron.
