analyzed into something simpler. Thus, Dalton concluded the following.
:Chemical
analysis
Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...
and
synthesis
Synthesis or synthesize may refer to:
Science Chemistry and biochemistry
*Chemical synthesis, the execution of chemical reactions to form a more complex molecule from chemical precursors
** Organic synthesis, the chemical synthesis of organ ...
go no farther than to the separation of particles one from another, and to their reunion. No new creation or destruction of matter is within the reach of chemical agency. We might as well attempt to introduce a new planet into the solar system, or to annihilate one already in existence, as to create or destroy a particle of hydrogen. All the changes we can produce, consist in separating particles that are in a state of cohesion or combination, and joining those that were previously at a distance.
And then he proceeded to give a list of relative weights in the compositions of several common compounds, summarizing:
:1st. That
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
is a binary compound of hydrogen and oxygen, and the relative weights of the two elementary atoms are as 1:7, nearly;
:2nd. That
ammonia
Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...
is a binary compound of hydrogen and azote
nitrogen
Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...
, and the relative weights of the two atoms are as 1:5, nearly...
Dalton concluded that the fixed proportions of elements by weight suggested that the atoms of one element combined with only a limited number of atoms of the other elements to form the substances that he listed.
Dalton's
atomic theory
Atomic theory is the scientific theory that matter is composed of particles called atoms. Atomic theory traces its origins to an ancient philosophical tradition known as atomism. According to this idea, if one were to take a lump of matter a ...
remained controversial throughout the 19th century. Whilst the Law of definite proportion was accepted, the hypothesis that this was due to atoms was not so widely accepted. For example, in 1826 when
Sir Humphry Davy presented Dalton the
Royal Medal
The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important ...
from the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, Davy said that the theory only became useful when the atomic conjecture was ignored.
Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie in 1866 published the first part of his Calculus of Chemical Operations as a non-atomic alternative to the Atomic Theory. He described atomic theory as a 'Thoroughly materialistic bit of joiners work'.
Alexander Williamson used his Presidential Address to the London Chemical Society in 1869
to defend the Atomic Theory against its critics and doubters. This in turn led to further meetings at which the positivists again attacked the supposition that there were atoms. The matter was finally resolved in Dalton's favour in the early 20th century with the rise of
atomic physics
Atomic physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. Atomic physics typically refers to the study of atomic structure and the interaction between atoms. It is primarily concerned wit ...
.
Atoms and molecules had long been theorized as the constituents of matter, and
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
published
a paper in 1905 that explained in precise detail how the motion that Brown had observed was a result of the pollen being moved by individual water molecules, making one of his first big contributions to science. This explanation of Brownian motion served as convincing evidence that atoms and molecules exist, and was further verified experimentally by
Jean Perrin
Jean Baptiste Perrin (30 September 1870 – 17 April 1942) was a French physicist who, in his studies of the Brownian motion of minute particles suspended in liquids ( sedimentation equilibrium), verified Albert Einstein’s explanation of this ...
in 1908. Perrin was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Physics
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...
in 1926 "for his work on the discontinuous structure of matter". The direction of the force of atomic bombardment is constantly changing, and at different times the particle is hit more on one side than another, leading to the seemingly random nature of the motion.
See also
*
Eliminative materialism
Eliminative materialism (also called eliminativism) is a materialist position in the philosophy of mind. It is the idea that majority of the mental states in folk psychology do not exist. Some supporters of eliminativism argue that no coheren ...
*
Mereological nihilism
*
Becoming (philosophy)
In philosophy, becoming is a concept referring to constant change opposed to being. It is the focus of process philosophy as a whole, or with the related study of process theology.
History Nietzsche and Kierkegaard
In his written works, Friedric ...
*
First principle
*
History of chemistry
The history of chemistry represents a time span from ancient history to the present. By 1000 BC, civilizations used technologies that would eventually form the basis of the various branches of chemistry. Examples include the discovery of fire, e ...
*
Infinite divisibility
Infinite divisibility arises in different ways in philosophy, physics, economics, order theory (a branch of mathematics), and probability theory (also a branch of mathematics). One may speak of infinite divisibility, or the lack thereof, of matter ...
*
Ontological pluralism
*
Physical ontology
In philosophy, physicalism is the metaphysical thesis that "everything is physical", that there is "nothing over and above" the physical, or that everything supervenes on the physical. Physicalism is a form of ontological monism—a "one substanc ...
*
Prima materia
*
Montonen–Olive duality#Philosophical implications
Notes
References
* Clericuzio, Antonio. ''Elements, Principles, and Corpuscles; a study of atomism and chemistry in the seventeenth century''. Dordrecht; Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000.
*
Cornford, Francis MacDonald. ''Plato's Cosmology: The ''Timaeus'' of Plato''. New York: Liberal Arts Press, 1957.
*
Dijksterhuis, E. ''The Mechanization of the World Picture''. Trans. by C. Dikshoorn. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969.
* Firth, Raymond. ''Religion: A Humanist Interpretation''. Routledge, 1996. .
* Gangopadhyaya, Mrinalkanti. ''Indian Atomism: history and sources''. Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities Press, 1981.
* Gardet, L. "djuz'" in ''Encyclopaedia of Islam CD-ROM Edition, v. 1.1''. Leiden: Brill, 2001.
* Gregory, Joshua C. ''A Short History of Atomism''. London: A. and C. Black, Ltd, 1981.
* Kargon, Robert Hugh. ''Atomism in England from Hariot to Newton''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966.
*
Lloyd, G. E. R. ''Aristotle: The Growth and Structure of his Thought''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968.
*
Lloyd, G. E. R. ''Greek Science After Aristotle''. New York: W. W. Norton, 1973.
* Marmara, Michael E. "Causation in Islamic Thought." ''Dictionary of the History of Ideas''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973–74. online at th
of Virginia Electronic Text Center
* McEvilley, Thomas (2002). ''The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies''. New York: Allworth Communications Inc. .
*
* Redondi, Pietro. ''Galileo Heretic''. Translated by Raymond Rosenthal. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1987.
*
*
External links
*
''Dictionary of the History of Ideas'':Atomism: Antiquity to the Seventeenth Century
''Dictionary of the History of Ideas'':Atomism in the Seventeenth Century
* Jonathan Schaffer, "Is There a Fundamental Level?" ''Nous'' 37 (2003): 498–51
Article by a philosopher who opposes atomism
Article on traditional Greek atomismAtomism from the 17th to the 20th Centurya
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
{{Authority control
Atomism,
Metaphysical theories
Presocratic philosophy