Micah Allsup

The scientists who contributed to the discovery of the atom include: Democritus, John Dalton, J.J. Thompson, Rutherford, and Chadwick. All of their ideas came together and created what we call the atom.
-Democritus- was the first to come up with the term "atom". He stated that matter consisted of tiny particles that he named atom which comes from two Greek words meaning invincible.
- John Dalton- conducted a series of experiments and realized that these "atoms" had a definite composition by weight. Dalton then came up with a theory:
Dalton’s Atomic Theory
1. All matter is composed of very small indivisible particles called atoms
2. Atoms of the same element are alike in weight and other properties. Atoms
of different elements are different in weight and other properties.
3. Compounds are formed by the union or separation of definite numbers of atoms
4. Atoms do not divide in chemical reactions; only whole atoms unite with other atoms.
Dalton combined his studies with another chemist named Proust to come up with the Law of Definite Proportions. Dalton’s Theory also proves the law of conservation of mass which had previously been stated by Lavoisier.
The last scientist to make his theory about the atom was Niels Bohr in 1913.
It is important to know about the atom because we are all made up of them, and it makes up everything around us.