Atomic Model Timeline

  • 427 BCE

    Plato

    Plato
    Plato introduced the idea that atoms are idea geometrical forms that break down into triangles.
  • 400 BCE

    Democritus

    Democritus
    Democritus named the building blocks of matter atoms, meaning invisible.
  • Robert Boyle

    Robert Boyle
    Robert Boyle discovered that atoms must exist, due to the relationship between pressure and the volume of gas.
  • The Alchemists

    The Alchemists
    The Alchemists made their major atomic discovery in the 17th century, when they realized that elements are pure substances that cannot be separated into any other chemical components.
    1669 was when the first element was discovered
  • Antoine Lavoisier

    Antoine Lavoisier
    Antoine Lavoisier defined that matter was composed of atoms that were not created or destroyed during chemical reactions.
  • John Dalton

    John Dalton
    John Dalton was the person who, in 1803-1808 proposed the atomic theory
  • Billiard Ball Model

    Billiard Ball Model
    Proposed by John Dalton
  • Amedeo Avogadro

    Amedeo Avogadro
    Avogadro made a law that states that the equal volume of gases at the same pressure and temperature contain an equal number of molecules.
  • Dimitri Mendeleev

    Dimitri Mendeleev
    In 1867, Dimitri wrote symbols for chemical elements, putting them in order according to specific attributes.
  • JJ Thomson

    JJ Thomson
    In 1897, JJ Thompson discovered that atoms are made of similar components.
  • Pierre and Marie Curie

    Pierre and Marie Curie
    The Curies discovered two strongly radioactive elements polonium and radium.
  • Plum Pudding Model

    Plum Pudding Model
    Created by JJ Thomson
  • Albert Einstein

    Albert Einstein
    Albert Einstein, among other things, was able to fully prove through usage of evidence that atoms exist.
  • Robert Millikan

    Robert Millikan
    Robert Millikan discovered the charge of an individual electron.
  • Ernest Rutherford

    Ernest Rutherford
    Ernest Rutherford theorized that atoms have their charge concentrated in a very small nucleus.
  • Henry G. J. Mosely

    Henry G. J. Mosely
    Mosely discovered that the frequencies of the x-ray of an atom are proportional to the square of whole numbers that are equal to the atomic number plus a constant.
  • Solar System Model

    Solar System Model
    Created by Nells Bohr
  • Electron Cloud Model

    Electron Cloud Model
    By Erwin Schrodinger and Werner Heisenberg
  • James Chadwich

    James Chadwich
    In 1932, Chadwich was able to prove the existence of neutrons.
  • Nells Bohr

    Nells Bohr
    Nells Bohr made fundamental contributions to understanding the atomic structure and quantum theory. He received a Nobel Peace Prize in Physics in 1992