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460
Democritus 460 BCE- 370 BCE
Democritus proposed a philosophy that said that there was a point at which you could not continue separating matter. This unit that could not be separated he called "atomos," which is Greek for "inseperable." -
Antoine Lavoisier- 1743-1794
Antoine Lavoisier was the "father of modern chemistry," according to some sources. Being as Lavoisier liked to build off of other chemists' work without giving them credit, whether or not he owns all of his conclusions is debatable. However, none can deny his final product's genius: the discovery of several elements that are still on our periodic table today. (Hydrogen, Oxygen, etc.) It is these fundamental discoveries that laid the path for many chemists and physicists after Lavoisier. -
John Dalton- 1766-1844
John Dalton proposed that all matter was made up of different kinds of atoms which combined to create the things in nature. While none of the elements he described looked like they do today, John Dalton set some more background for future chemists. -
Marie & Pierre Curie- Nobel 1903
A story of love and science, Marie and Pierre Curie's discovery of Radium and Polonium began as a simple joint project until it grew into something more. Eventually, the two married eachother and continued their experiments throughout the rest of their lives. -
Henri Becquerel- Nobel 1903
Henri Becquerel found radiation! How? Well, it may be interesting to note that Henri made his discovery while testing something completely different! While testing the effects of light on Uranium, he found that it emitted particles that could show up on undeveloped photo paper without exciting them using light. -
J.J Thompson- Nobel 1906
J.J Thompson discovered the electron, the tiny particle that gives us electricity and chemical reactions. -
Ernest Rutherford- Nobel 1908
Ernest Rutherford constructed a more accurate model of the atom through his research involving radioactivity.(And, subsequently, parts of the atom.) -
Henry Mosely-KIA 1915
An English soldier and scientist, Henry Moseley studied the effects of introducing X-rays to different elements, and discovered something important about the periodic table that had confounded chemists for years until he studied it: finding a way to organize the periodic table. Now, chemists could figure atomic number quickly and efficiently. -
Max Planck- Nobel 1918
If you've done physics, you've heard of Planck's Constant. This factors into a lot of equations involving the use of light, which is useful in the study of the parts of the atom as it can be used to excite radioactive materials and have them give off particles. -
Niels Bohr- Nobel 1922
Niels Bohr constructed a model of the atom which was the base for most models that came after it (Rutherford's model being the closest in appearance.) Other than that, Niels Bohr worked on a project dedicated to the peaceful application of nuclear energy. -
Robert Millikan- Nobel 1923
Robert Millikan calculated the exact value of the charge of an electron, among other notable entries in several written volumes involving his field of study. -
Werner Heisenberg- Nobel 1932
Werner Heisenberg won the Nobel Prize in 1932 for his work with quantum physics, but that was not the only thing he did. He discovered the different allotropic forms of hydrogen (different forms, in solid elements it might be difference in crystal structure or other physical properities.) -
Erwin Schrodinger- Nobel 1933
Famous for his experiments with cats and paradoxes, (some would say that this was a creative excuse to kill cats in the name of science) Erwin Schrodinger not only dealt in psychology and theoretical physics, but also built on Niels Bohr's work with the hydrogen atom. -
James Chadwick- Nobel 1935
James Chadwick managed to prove the existence of one of the core particles of the atom- neutrons! With his discovery eventually came the atomic bombs today. -
Aristotle-384 BCE
Aristotle proposed a system more based off of the elements (wind, fire, water, earth, different temperatures, etc.) to structure our reality. While it seemed like a good idea at the time (and it continued to do so for several thousand years) Democritus was the one who theorized correctly, (That is, once we gathered proof of the existance of atoms,)
