The Last Sorcerers The Path from Alchemy to the Periodic Table (2003) / Chapter Skim
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7. The Atom
7. The Atom
Pages 130-144
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From page 130... ...
Dalton revolutionized chemistry, not by reintroducing this ol(1 idea but by formulating a workable theory of the formation of chemical compounds. When Dalton propoun(le(1 his theory, chemistry was not yet a quantitative science.
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From page 131... ...
It might be impossible to determine how much individual atoms weighed, but one could establish, for example, that the atoms of one element weigh threequarters or seven-eighths as much as those of another. This made it possible to determine the exact chemical composition of chemical compounds.
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From page 132... ...
Unlike other English schools, the Quaker schools included science in their curricula in the belief that this would help students to better understand God's plans for the natural world. As a child Dalton was sent, along with his older brother Jonathan, to Pardshaw Hall School, about two miles from his home.
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From page 133... ...
Robinson, who had a great interest in natural philosophy, allowed Dalton to use his extensive library, and tutored him and another boy in mathematics. In 1781, when Dalton was 15, he joined his older brother Tonathan as an assistant at a Quaker boarding school in Kendal, 45 miles away, which was headed by their first cousin, George Bewley.
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From page 134... ...
THE PROVINCIAL $CIENTI$T Gough adopted Dalton as his protege, tutoring him in Latin, Greek, and natural philosophy. He gave Dalton access to his library and to his collection of scientific instruments.
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From page 135... ...
Feeling in need of advice, he wrote to his friend Elihu Robinson and to his uncle Thomas Greenup, who was a London barrister. Robinson's reply was discouraging.
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From page 136... ...
So he hypothesized that the fluid inside his eyes was colored blue and that it absorbed red rays of light. In abler to test this theory, he specified in his will that an autopsy be performed and his eyes examined after his death.
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From page 137... ...
Being invited by her to tea a few days after, along with a worthy man here, a public Friend, I should have in any other circumstances been highly pleased with an elegant tea equipage, American apples of the most delicious flavor, but in the present these were only secondary objects. Deeming myself, however, full proof against mere beauty, and knowing that its concomitants are often ignorance and vanity, I was un(ler much apprehension; but when she began to descant upon the excellence of an exact acquaintance with English grammar and the art of letter-writing; to compare the merits of Tohnson's and Sheridan's dictionaries; to converse upon the use of dephIogisticated marine air in bleaching; upon the effects of opium on the animal system, &c., &c., I was no longer able to hold out, but surrendered at discretion.
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From page 138... ...
Though much of the work that he did during this period was noteworthy, it was far less significant than the atomic theory that was gradually taking shape in his mind. THE ATOMIC THEORY In 1803 Dalton read a paper to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society in which he mentioned his atomic theory for the first time.
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From page 139... ...
Dalton theorized that all chemical elements are made up of small particles called atoms. He assumed also that all the atoms of any given elements are exactly alike but different from the atoms of other elements.
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From page 140... ...
REACTIONS TO THE THEORY Dalton's theory hardly won immediate acceptance, and debate about it continued for decades. Chemists generally accepted the idea that elements combine in fixed proportions, and they found the idea of relative weights extremely useful.
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From page 141... ...
DALTON'$ LATER I,IFE After the publication of his atomic theory, Dalton's fame increased steadily, and he began to receive numerous honors. He was elected to membership in the French Academy of Sciences in 1816, and he became president of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society the following year.
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From page 142... ...
At the time, most science was still done by wealthy amateurs, and Pelletan undoubtedly expected to find Dalton residing on some grand estate. After making inquiries, Pelletan found Dalton's laboratory, where he encountered Dalton looking over the shoulder of a boy doing arithmetic on a slate.
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From page 143... ...
was a great exertion." He nevertheless continued to read papers to the Literary and Philosophical Society, and during the years 1839 and 1840 his health improved to the point that he was again able to spend some time performing experiments in his laboratory. In 1841, however, he took a turn for the worse and one of his former pupils had to read a paper to the society for him.
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From page 144... ...
The public funeral was held on August 12, when the coffin was taken from Town Hall to a nearby cemetery in a funeral procession that was nearly a mile long. Six horses drew the hearse, followed by the more notable members of the community riding in almost a hundred carriages and the common citizens of Manchester on foot.
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