General Chemistry Online: Companion Notes: Atoms & ions: Dalton's atomic theory

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We might as well attempt to introduce a new planet into the solar system, or to annihilate one already in existence, as to create or destroy a particle of hydrogen.

John Dalton, A New System of Chemical Philosophy, 1808)

Vocabulary
atom
chemical change
hypothesis
stoichiometry

John Dalton (1766-1844) developed the first useful atomic theory of matter around 1803. In the course of his studies on meteorology, Dalton concluded that evaporated water exists in air as an independent gas. He wondered how water and air could occupy the same space at the same time, when obviously solid bodies can't. If the water and air were composed of discrete particles, Dalton reasoned, evaporation might be viewed as a mixing of water particles with air particles. He performed a series of experiments on mixtures of gases to determine what effect properties of the individual gases had on the properties of the mixture as a whole. While trying to explain the results of those experiments, Dalton developed the hypothesis that the sizes of the particles making up different gases must be different. He later wrote [1]

numbers

Dalton's exceptional gift for recognizing and interpreting patterns in experimental data lead him from a problem in meteorology to the idea of atoms as fundamental constituents of matter. He realized the vital theoretical connection between atomic weights and weight relations in chemical reactions. He was the first to associate the ancient idea of atoms with stoichiometry.

Some of the details of Dalton's original atomic theory are now known to be incorrect. But the core concepts of the theory (that chemical reactions can be explained by the union and separation of atoms, and that these atoms have characteristic properties) are foundations of modern physical science.

Dalton's Atomic Theory
Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Dalton's assumptions Five steps forward and one step back.
Page 3: Atoms in compounds An "invisible hand" fixes atom ratios in compounds
Page 4: Atoms in reactions Dance of the atoms
Page 5: Learning check Take a quiz on Dalton's Atomic Theory
Page 6: References and resources

General Chemistry Online! Dalton's atomic theory