The ancient Greek philosophers Leucippus and Democritus believed that atoms existed, but they had no idea as to their nature. Centuries later, in 1803, the English chemist John Dalton, guided by the experimental fact that chemical elements cannot be decomposed chemically, was led to formulate his atomic theory. Dalton’s atomic theory was based on the assumption that atoms are tiny indivisible entities, with each chemical element consisting of its own characteristic atoms. Modern View of the Atom The atom is…
