John Dalton
And His Contribution To The Study Of Atoms
Condensed Biography
Born: September 1766 in Cumberland, England
Died: 1844
John Dalton was a Quaker and was a teacher/public lecturer at a Quaker school and in Manchester.
His Contribution To The Study Of Atoms
Dalton studied meteorology for several years looking at different types of weather around where he lived. He began to wonder how air and the water vapor could be in the same place at once. Then Dalton came up with his atomic theory. In his theory, Dalton says that all matter is made up of small atoms of different weights and those atoms, combined in simple ratios by weight. Dalton was the first to make a table of atomic weight.
A Quote From Dalton
"...it became an object to determine the relative sizes and weights, together with the relative numbers of atoms entering into such combinations... Thus a train of investigation was laid for determining the number and weight of all chemical elementary particles which enter into any sort of combination with another."
John Dalton's Atomic Theory
Dalton's Atomic Theory: Main Points
1. All matter is made of microscopic particles.
2. Atoms cannot be destroyed or changed.
3. Elements are grouped by the mass of their atoms.
4. When elements combine with other elements their atoms combine in simple ratios.