Happy Birthday, Atom

Shipud writes "200 years ago today (Oct. 21) John Dalton revolutionized chemistry by starting the process of turning it into an exact science. He presented the Table of Atomic Weights, at the Manchester literary and Philosophical Society. Dalton's work proposed atoms exist: and not just as an explanatory or philosophical tool. His theory laid the foundations for the periodic table of the elements (1869, Mendeleev), and indeed to all modern chemistry. The molecular weight of compounds is today measured in Daltons, the weight of a hydrogen atom. Read more about Mr. Dalton in today's Nature: a man of many interests, whose atomic theory preceded experimental evidence by a century. Read also about Daltonism -- and why it is named after him."

Comments

Only 200 Years?

[Cyno01]

If dalton didn't prove anything and only theorized, didn't Leucippus and Democritus beat him by a few thousand years?

And we're still teaching it wrongly

[devphil]

Even today many schoolrooms have recently-published science books that show a model of the atom that looks like a little solar system, electrons in orbits and all. No mention of quantum/wave dynamics, or the fact that they don't behave anything like orbiting bodies in a solar system.

No, I don't expect 5th graders to learn quantum theory. But just because spherical trigonometry is also too hard for them, I don't expect them to be taught that the earth is flat.

Side note: http://www.intuitor.com/physics_test/index.html is from the same people who brought you the Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics site. See whether you know more about physics than a random chimpanzee!

Re:And we're still teaching it wrongly

[Rasta Prefect]

Even today many schoolrooms have recently-published science books that show a model of the atom that looks like a little solar system, electrons in orbits and all. No mention of quantum/wave dynamics, or the fact that they don't behave anything like orbiting bodies in a solar system.

True, but assuming that they're fifth graders, this provides a handy model for the way things actually work when the point you want to get across is that everything is made of atoms and they share electrons to form molecules. We also teach them Newtons three laws of motion, not mentioning until later "Well this gets all screwed up when you add in gravity and motion". It's an approximation, it's good enough when it's a means to an end. Not everything has to be learned at once.