Early Atomic Theory

• The concept of the atom as the fundamental particle of nature
• Chemical elements, the ingredients of all material things
• The discovery of sub-atomic particles, and its implication
• Early models of atomic structure

We have now learned about the greatest triumphs of classical physics, summed up nicely by Newton’s laws of motion and Maxwell’s equations along with a dab of thermodynamics. We will see how eighteenth and nineteenth century physicists applied these concepts to explore the microscopic world—the domain of quantum physics.

We will learn how scientists at that time resurrected a powerful concept from the ancient Greeks—the existence of atoms—and how they used classical physics to explore the inner workings of the atom and arrive at a classical description of atomic structure. In the early twentieth century, the atom would serve as the entryway to quantum physics. Today, it serves as nothing less than the ultimate quantum playground.

We will have completed our account of the way the physical world was understood on the very eve of the quantum era, and brace ourselves for the moment that everything changed.