Powell.Adams.atomichistory.fall.2010

NIELS HENDRICK DAVID BOHR- Oct 7,1885- Nov 18,1962 James Chadwick- Oct 20,1891- July 24,1974
 * Danish physicist who worked on atomic structure and quantum mechanics.
 * He received the Nobel prize in 1922, he was one of the top physicists to work on the Manhattan project.
 * He initially enrolled in Copenhagen university as an undergraduate studying mathematics and philosophy.
 * His fascination with science began with a gold medal competition in which he discussed surface tension.
 * in 1916 he became a professor at the university of Copenhagen. Focusing on atomic structure, he was a great asset to the Manhattan project.
 * later in life he aided Britain in WWII in "Tube Alloys."
 * " Tube Alloys" was the code name for Britain's nuclear weapons program.
 * during his life he suggested along the lines of he creation of an international atomic energy agency to help regulate the worlds atomic issues.
 * Bollington, Cheshire, England.
 * did most of his studies in the university of Cambridge and Manchester.
 * He interned with Earnest Rutherford, and interned in a POW camp just outside of Berlin, Germany.
 * Most of his work consisted of the Ionization of phosphorus and he also worked on the photochemical reaction of carbon monoxide and chlorine.
 * he earned several awards such as the Hughes medal of the royal society in 1932, the Nobel prize for physics in 1935.
 * he was given these awards for new discoveries of the atomic nucleus.



Marie Curie- Nov 7,1867- July 4,1934 John Dalton- Sept 6,1766- July 27,1844 Democritus: 460 BC to 370 BC “Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion” “Throw moderation to the winds, and the greatest pleasures bring the greatest pains” “Our sins are more easily remembered than our good deeds” “It is greed to do all the talking but not to want to listen at all” Werner Heisenberg: December 5th 1901 to February 1st 1976 Henri Becquerel: (Antoine Henri Becquerel) December 15, 1852- August 25, 1908 Earnest Rutherford: August 30, 1871- October 19, 1937 Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen: March 27, 1845- February 10, 1923 Erwin Schrodinger: August 12, 1887- January 4, 1961 Robert A. Millikan: 22, March 1868 – 19, December 1953 JJ Thomson: December 18, 1856- August 30, 1940
 * Studied at the university of Paris.
 * was awarded the Nobel prize in physics in 1903.
 * The Davy Medal in 1903.
 * The Matteucci medal in 1904.
 * and the Nobel prize in chemistry in 1911.
 * most of her studies were based on radioactivity and the discovery of polonium and radium (two new radio active elements.)
 * she died as a result from her studies and dealing with radioactive materials.
 * Renowned for his work with atomic theory, Law of multiple proportions, and Dalton's law of partial pressures.
 * **__five main points of Dalton's atomic theory.__**
 * 1) the atoms of a given element are different from those of any other element. the atoms of different elements can be distinguished from one another by their relative atomic weights.
 * 2) All atoms of a given element are identical.
 * 3) Atoms of one element can combine with atoms of other elements to form chemical compounds. A given compound allways has the same relative numbers of types of atoms.
 * 4) Atoms cannot be created, divided into smaller pieces, nor destroyed in the chemical process, a chemical reaction simply changes the way atoms are grouped together.
 * 5) Elements are made of tiny particles called atoms.
 * Democritus was an ancient Greek philosopher who specialized in mathematics and astronomy.
 * Democritus along with his mentor Leucippus believed that absolutely everything was composed of atoms. In his atomic hypothesis he said that atoms are indivisible and indestructible, are always in a state of constant motion, there is an infinite number of atoms and they differ in size and shape.
 * Some famous quotes by Democritus consist of…
 * Werner Heisenberg was a German scientist who specialized in quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, quantum field theory, and particle physics.
 * He is well known for the uncertainty principle of quantum theory.
 * Heisenberg was awarded the nobel prize in Physics in 1932 for creating quantum mechanics.
 * Becquerel worked with Piere and Marie Curie.
 * with their work together he helped discover radioactivity.
 * He won a nobel prize in 1903
 * Becquerel was born in Paris
 * His wife was Louise Desiree Lorieux.
 * The SI unit for measuring radioactivity is the (Bq) named after Becquerel
 * he also received the Rumford medal, the Helmholtz medal, and the Barres medal.
 * Lived in New Zealand, he migrated there from Scotland.
 * Rutherford was both a physicist and a chemist.
 * he is known as the "father of nuclear physics."
 * Rutherford made the Rutherford model which better derived the make up of an atom by discovering a nucleus.
 * Rutherford discovered the Proton.
 * Rutherford unit.
 * he was awarded the Rumford medal, Nobel prize in chemistry, Elliot Cresson medal, Matteucci medal, Copley medal, and the Franklin medal.
 * Was born in Prussia but lived in Germany.
 * Roentgen was a physicist who taught at the university of Strauss burg, the university of Giessen, the university of Wurzburg, and the university of Munich.
 * Roentgen is best known for the discovery of x-rays and he won a nobel prize in physics in 1901.
 * Roentgen married Anna Bertha Ludwig and they had 1 child.
 * It is said the Roentgen was known to be very religious.
 * In many languages "Roentgen" is the word for Radiology.
 * Japanese- Rentogen, Lithuanian-Rentgeno, Hebrew- Rentgen.
 * Was a citizen to Austria, Germany, and also Ireland, but he was born in Austria.
 * He was a Physicist.
 * Schrodinger was known for the Schrodinger equations, Schrodinger's cat, The Schrodinger method, Schrodinger functional, Schrodinger picture, Schrodinger-Newton equations, and Schrodinger logics.
 * Schrodinger was awarded then Nobel prize in physics in 1903.
 * The Schrodinger equation is an equation that describes how the quantum state of a physical system changes in time.
 * This equation is to quantum mechanics as Newtons laws are to classic mechanics.
 * was an American experimental physicist, and Noble laureate in physics for his measurement of the charge on the electron and for his work on the photoelectric effect.
 * He served as president of Caltech from 1921 to 1945. He also served on the board of trustees for Science Service, now known as Society for Science & the Public, from 1921-1953.
 * Millikan went to high school inIowa. Millikan received a Bachelors in the classics from Oberlin College in 1891 and his doctorate in physics from Columbia University in 1895 – he was the first to earn a Ph.D. from that department.
 * Millikan won the 1923 Nobel prize for his work measuring the charges of electrons through oil droplets and electric probes.
 * Millikan died of a heart attack in 1953 at the age of eighty five.
 * Thomson discovered the electron through a series of experiments for the studying of the nature of electric discharge in a high vacum cathode ray tube.
 * Thomson was able to interpet the data by the deflection of the rays by electrically charged plates and magnets.
 * He determined that there were bodies much smaller than atoms and he was able to make cacluations on this and was able to determine the charge from his findings.
 * From this he created the plum pudding model which was a sphere of positive matter with electrons scattered through out it with a negitive charge.
 * Thomson was awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the electron and for his work on the conduction of electricity in gases.
 * Royal Medal(1894)
 * Hughes Medal (1902)
 * Nobel Prize (1906)
 * Elliot Cresson Medal (1910)
 * Copely Medal (1914)
 * Franklin Medal(1922)
 * In 1991 the thomson (symbol: Th) was proposed as a unit to measure mass-to-charge ratio in mass spectrometry.

model of an atom

plum pudding model

Atomic planetary model



electron orbit chart



electron configuration chart

periodic talbe of elements