Danita Allen

April 13, 2016

Dr.Oz
Gen Chem I
Take Home Exam Essay
An atomic structure is defined as a structure consisting of a positively charged nucleus
neutralized by negatively charged electrons revolving in orbits varying in different directions. We
can't see atoms but scientists have proven that atoms do exist. Although throughout the years
we've been taught one simple imagery of how an atomic structure is designed, there is no definite
image on how the structure actually looks. For thousands of years, scientists have made many
correct or incorrect theories and discoveries and till these day scientists are still discovering a
concise analysis on the atomic structure.
Leucippus is credited for developing the theory of atomism which is the idea that
everything is composed of atoms. Leucippus was also the mentor of Democritus who formulated
an atomic theory of the universe in about 400 B.C.. They both are mentioned together because it
is difficult to break down who contributed what to the theory. Robert Boyle mainly studied gases
in which he discovered in 1662 that pressure of gas tends to increase as the volume of a gas
decreases. In 1666 a philosopher named Isaac Newton discovered the different wavelengths
involving white light refracted at various angles when passed through a prism to give a colored
spectrum. Benjamin Richter, not John Dalton, created the Law of Multiple Proportions which
stated that if two elements form more than one compound between them, then the ratios of the
masses of the second element which combine with a fixed mass of the first element will be ratios
of small whole numbers. In 1769 Carl Wilhelm Scheele discovered a method of mass producing
phosphorus. Antoine Lavoisier created the law of conservation in 1774, which states that matter
can not be made or destroyed. Also in 1774, the decomposition experiment done by Joseph
Priestley who discovered that oxygen was released by heating mercuric oxide.

In 1802 Charles law was an experiment done by Louis Gay-Lussac to describe how gases expand
when heated credited to Jacques Charles. In 1803 a publication of William Henry's formulation
of his law on solubility of gases was released. John Dalton began using symbols representing
different chemical elements and his atomic theory and list of molecular weights became known.
Frederick Soddy came up with the term isotope explaining the breakdown of radioactive
elements. Joseph Proust's law of definite proportions stated that all samples of a given chemical
compound have the same elemental composition by mass in 1806. In 1906 Hans Geiger
invented a device that could detect alpha particles.
The Nobel prizes in Chemistry, Physics, and Physiology or Medicine were first awarded
in 1901. J.J. Thompson whom won a Nobel prize in 1906, investigated the magnetic deflection
of cathode rays and succeeded in measuring the mass of cathode rays discovering electrons.
Thompson thought of the atom as being particles orbiting in a bunch of positive charges and
created a plum pudding model that was proven to be wrong by Ernest Rutherford. Ernest
Rutherford classified two types of radiation, alpha rays, and beta rays in 1899. Rutherford earned
his Nobel prize in 1908 and is responsible for assisting in discovering radio activity and
discovering the nucleus creating the Planetary Model also known as Rutherford Model. He
performed his most famous experiment which is the gold foil experiment in which I believe he
stole this from his protg Neil's Bohr who is known for discovering radio activity as well and
won the Nobel prize in 1922. Bohr introduced the energy level diagram also known as Bohr
model in 1913. In 1900, Max Planck states the quantum hypothesis and law of black body
radiation which marked the birth of quantum physics. Planck received a Nobel prize in 1918 by
discovering energy quanta. His idea that energy is not emitted continuously was one of those
incorrect theories. Albert Einstein earned his Nobel prize in 1921 for discovering the

photoelectric effect based upon Max Planck's black body radiation theory. In 1929 Louis
DeBrogelie won his Nobel prize for his discovery of the wave of nature of protons.
Theodore Lyman discovered spectral lines in ultraviolet band in 1906-1914. Johann
Balmer created a formula used to detect the presence of hydrogen in astronomy. Werner
Heisenberg received a Nobel prize in 1932 for the creation of quantum mechanics in 1929 which
led to the discovery of allotropic forms of hydrogen. Erwin Schrodinger and Paul Adrienne
Maurice Dirac won a Nobel prize for discovering new productive forms of atomic theory by
trying to apply Planck's rule. Heisenberg and Schrodinger invented the new quantum theory in
which the theory became relativistic. James Chadwick won his Nobel prize in 1935 for his
discovery of the neutron which are particles whose mass was close to that of a proton in 1932.
Wolfgang Pauli discovered the Exclusion Principle which stated that two identical fermions can
not occupy the same quantum state at the same time. This is why he received his Nobel prize in
1945. Max Born won a Nobel prize in 1954 for his research in quantum mechanics and his
interpretation of wave function. Hund discovered the tunnel effect and created Hund's rules to
govern electron configurations which was formulated around 1927. He didn't win a Nobel prize
but Robert S. Mulliken, who was awarded the 1966 Nobel Prize in chemistry for molecular
orbital theory was heavily influenced by Hund and would have liked to share his reward with
him.