Thursday 17 November 2011

Dalton's Atomic Theory


 
 Dalton's Atomic Theory

1) All matter is made of atoms. Atoms are indivisible and indestructible.
2) All atoms of a given element are identical in mass and properties
3) Compounds are formed by a combination of two or more different kinds of atoms.
4) A chemical reaction is arearrangement of atoms.

Modern atomic theory is, of course, a little more involved than Dalton's theory but the essence of Dalton's theory remains valid. Today we know that atoms can be destroyed via nuclear reactions but not by chemical reactions. Also, there are different kinds of atoms (differing by their masses) within an element that are known as "isotopes", but isotopes of an element have the same chemical properties.
Many heretofore unexplained chemical phenomena were quickly explained by Dalton with his theory. Dalton's theory quickly became the theoretical foundation in chemistry.

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