Dalton’s Atomic Theory
Although the origin of idea that matter is composed of small indivisible particles’ called ‘a tomb’ (meaning —indivisible), dates back to the time of Democritus, a Greek Philosopher (460— 370 BC), it again started emerging as a result of several experimental studies which led to the Laws of Dalton’s Atomic Theory.
In 1808, Dalton published ‘A New System of Chemical Philosophy’ in which he proposed the following:
- Matter consists of indivisible atoms.
- All the atoms of a given element have identical properties including identical mass. Atoms of different elements differ in mass.
- Compounds are formed when atoms of different elements combine in a fixed ratio.
- Chemical reactions involve reorganization of atoms. These are neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.
Dalton’s theory could explain the laws of chemical combination.
