Atomic theory chemical atom theories

The dawn of the nineteenth century saw a drastic shift from the dominance of French chemistry to first English-, and, later, German-influenced chemistry. Lavoisier s dualistic views of chemical composition and his explanation of combustion and acidity were landmarks but hardly made chemistry an exact science. Chemistry remained in the nineteenth century basically qualitative in its nature. Despite the Newtonian dream of quantifying the forces of attraction between chemical substances and compiling a table of chemical affinity, no quantitative generalization emerged. It was Dalton s chemical atomic theory and the laws of chemical combination explained by it that made chemistry an exact science. 

Atomic hydrogen spectrum, 253 Atomic number. 88 and periodic table, 89 table, inside back cover Atomic orbitals, 262. 263 Atomic pile, 120 Atomic theory, 17, 22, 28, 234 as a model, 17 chemical evidence for, 234 of John Dalton, 236 review, 34... 

The Early Development of the Chemical Atomic Theory," HSPS 9 (1978) 225263, on 249250. 

Edward Frankland, in "Discussion," 302305, following Benjamin Brodie s paper, "On the Mode of Representation afforded by the Chemical Calculus, as Contrasted with the Atomic Theory," Chemical News 15 (1867) 295302 both reprinted in David Knight, ed., Classical Scientific Papers (New York American Elsevier, 1968) 250 in original text, 302 in Knight. 

The closer followers of Newton took up serious efforts to deal with the forces between the unseen particles, and though their efforts continued with great loyalty to the Newtonian ideal, none produced much of utility for chemistry. Nor did these efforts form a progressive step on which John Dalton later built his successful chemical atomic theory. Dalton owed little to anyone other than Newton himself, and here probably less than he thought. 

In offering my version of the origin of Daltons theory, I have generally followed the similarly titled account Leonard Nash, The Origin of Daltons Chemical Atomic Theory, Isis 47 (1956) 101-116, 2 Arnold Thackray, The Origin of Daltons Chemical Atomic Theory Daltonian Doubts Resolved, Isis 57 (1966) 35-55. 

Cole, Jr, Theron. Dalton, Mixed Gases, and the Origin of the Chemical Atomic Theory. Ambix 25 (1978) 117-130. 

Nash, Leonard, the Origin of Daltons Chemical Atomic Theory. Isis 47 (1956) 101-116. 

Thackray, Arnold. The Origin of Dalton s Chemical Atomic Theory Daltonian Doubts Resolved. Isis 57 (1966) 35-55. 

John Dalton, regarded by most ehemists as the originator of the first scientifically fruitful chemical atomic theory, lived and worked in Manchester, England, for much of his life. Several commemorations of Dalton can be found in Manchester, from an unobstrusive plaque on the site where Dalton s laboratory once stood to a bronze statue outside the John Dalton building of Manchester Metropolitan University. 

While Lavoisier undoubtedly laid the foundations for the rapid rise of chemistry in the nineteenth century, his work was supported by that of other French chemists both before and after him.247 Without the Lavoisierian notion of the chemical element, it is unlikely that the chemical atomic theory and the laws of chemical combination would have been so widely accepted. However, a new perspective on the history of the concept of the chemical compound as the basis of modem chemistry suggests that it began long before Lavoisier and belongs to a different line of development involving the notion of chemical affinity .248-250... 

In the early years of the nineteenth century, the new chemistry began to bear fruit on both sides of the Channel,270 as well as in other countries, notably in Sweden. The chemical atomic theory proposed by Dalton and developed by Berzelius led to the formulation of the stoichiometric laws of chemical combination and the diligent search for accurate atomic weights. The important link between atoms and electrical charges in the early years of the nineteenth century enabled a new interpretation of chemical combination and the theory of valency. Significant improvements in... 

John Dalton, Atoms and Elements The Birth of a Chemical Atomic Theory... 

What Lavoisier had said about the unknowability of ultimate elements and the distinction between chemical species and physical atoms continued to trouble a lot of chemists long after the publication of Daltons ideas in the early 180os. Was it possible to reject Daltons chemical atomic theory while adopting everything else that he offered A significant minority of Daltons con-... 

Satish C. Kapoor, Berthollet, Proust, and Proportions, Chymia 10,1965, 53-110 Kiyohisa Fujii, The Berthollet-Proust Controversy and Dalton s Chemical Atomic Theory, 1800-1820, British Journal for the History of Science 19, 1986, 177-200. 

Alan J. Rocke, Atoms and Equivalents The Early Development of the Chemical Atomic Theory, Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences 9, 1978, 225-263 idem. Chemical Atomism in the Nineteenth Century (Ohio State University Press, 1984). 

Fujii, Kiyohisa. The Berthollet-Proust Controversy and Dalton s Chemical Atomic Theory, 1800-1820. BJHS 19, 1986, 177-200. 

In the past 200 years a great deal of experimental evidence has accumulated to support the atomic model. This theory has proved to be both extremely useful and physically reasonable. When atoms were first suggested by the Greek philosophers Democritus and Leucippus about 400 B.c., the concept was based mostly on intuition. In fact, for the following 20 centuries, no convincing experimental evidence was available to support the existence of atoms. The first real scientific data were gathered by Lavoisier and others from quantitative measurements of chemical reactions. The results of these stoichiometric experiments led John Dalton to propose the first systematic atomic theory. Dalton s theory, although crude, has stood the test of time extremely well. 

See also Atomic number Atomic theory Chemical bond Chemical evolution Chemical reactions Equation, chemical Molecular geometry. 

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