The theory of atoms and atomic history have been changing throughout history. The atomic theory has had many factors changed and restated to go along with the more recent discoveries. Today, we know all atoms have electrons, protons, neutrons, and of course, the nucleus. Those are a few of the fundamental terms we use to understand the basic structure of an atom. Those are just the simple building blocks of an atom. There is also a electron cloud that is around the nucleus. It was thought to have electrons orbiting, not in a spherical cloud. It all started in 400 BCE when the greek philosopher, Democritus, was testing an experiment with amber. He rubbed the amber on fur, it created what we know as static electricity. However, he was unaware of this at the time. He thought to himself “What would happen if you broke matter in half, and then in half, and in half again?” This is what build the conclusion that all matter is made up of small indivisible particles, which he called atomos. After almost two thousand …show more content…
Thomson found the electron through an experiment with the CRT (Cathode ray tube). This helped him discover the electron. The cathode ray tube had a beam of light going through it. Thomson then put different charges on each side of the ray. Thomson knew that electrons had a negative charge. This led to his basic understanding and model; The Plum Pudding Model. The plum pudding model lasted a while until it was soon replaced with an even more complex structure. In 1899 Ernest Rutherford held the Gold Foil Experiment. The gold foil experiment was a ray of light that was expected to go through the gold foil. However, about 95% of the light actually went through, so what happened to the other 5 percent? The other 5% was actually rays that hit the nucleus of the atoms. The rays were then reflected off as they hit the nucleus. This really intrigued Rutherford, and made him want to investigate on just what may have been making the rays bounce